On This Day – 4 July. A Newspaper History of Sailing

by Richard Crockett

From the overwhelming response I receive from these posts, from all over the world I may add, the interest is cranking up rapidly and I am being connected with some wonderful people thirsty for more. Thank you all who have made contact.

Should you wish to copy, forward or share material from here, PLEASE acknowledge the source as: Sourced From the SAILING Mag Archives & Historical Records.

To read the full reports, click on the LINK following each headline.

1968. “Hero’s Welcome Home for Rose”. THE lone yachtsman Alec Rose, back from his round-the-world trip, sailed into home waters today to a welcome from waiting thousands and an invitation to lunch with Queen Elizabeth.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1968 07 04 COMBINED575 12

1968. “Yachtsman to Be·met by 250,000”. ·This historic naval port will go wild today for one of its quietest heroes – the globe-circling lone yachtsman Alec Rose.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1968 07 04 COMBINED575 4

1969. “New Sloop for Lloyd’s”. Lloyd’s Yacht Club have decided to order a fibreglass sloop of the same crewing capacity as their famous yacht Lutine.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1969 07 04 590 10

1989. “Exciting Racing in Heavy Seas”. The second day of the 1989 Crystic Ocean Challenge offshore from Durban yesterday saw some very close racing in heavy conditions.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1989 07 04 – NCS REgatta – 712

1990. “Three-in-a-row Meek”. The wild seas subsided dramatically off Durban yesterday, giving way to a steady 10-15 knot wind – and Springbok Geoff Meek continued his stranglehold on the L34 Class in the Crystic Ocean Challenge.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1990 07 04 58

1990. “New Ruling on J22 Class Races”. The international J22 Yacht Class Association has decided that no sailor may be barred from an international regatta for political reasons.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1990 07 04 389 5

1991. “Bok Dave Out to Give it A Full Go”. Springbok yachtsman Dave Hudson, who heads a strong contingent of Cape sailors aiming to again take home the honours in next week’s Crystic Trophy Regatta off Durban in Port Owen Challenger, believes the event could be an ideal platform to launch South Africa’s re-entry into Olympic sailing.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1991 07 04 388

1991. “Flying Dutchman Still Flying”. Crystic Week which starts on Sunday, gives us good enough reason for swopping yarns about one of the greatest sea legends, the Flying Dutchman.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1991 07 04 391

Comments and contributions are welcome. Email: editor@sailing.co.za

What is “On this Day” About?
I am busy archiving many boxes of press cuttings I have accumulated and which I guestimate run into tens of thousands! A daunting task which I believe to be necessary before ditching them as I have been concerned for many years about the lack of interest Clubs, Classes and other sailing related organisations give to preserving their history.

Should you wish to copy, forward or share material from here, PLEASE acknowledge the source as: Sourced From the SAILING Mag Archives & Historical Records.

From the overwhelming response I receive from these posts, from all over the world I may add, the interest is cranking up rapidly and I am being connected with some wonderful people thirsty for more. Thank you all who have made contact.

This is my personal crusade, and instead of simply archiving and keeping the contents away from prying eyes, I will share my spoils in the hope that you will enjoy reminiscing as much as I do, and continue to do as I wade through the labourious process of scanning each and every cutting in my archives.

As each scanned cutting will be searchable, I will be able to create presentation packs personally tailored to a persons exact requirements – ie. Rothmans Week, the NCS Regatta, the Rio Race, Mauritius Race, Vasco da Gama Race and more – or simply by the name of an individual (like Ant Steward and his open boat exploits) who want a record of his/her sailing career for the family archives.

I have already done this by scanning in excess of 18 000 pages of material I have on ‘Voortrekker’ – from idle chatter, to concept, to the formation of what ultimately became the South African Ocean Racing Trust (SAORT), to the fruition of the 1968 OSTAR Race in which Bruce Dalling and ‘Voortrekker’ excelled – and even beyond that.

The possibilities are endless – so watch this space.

Comments and contributions are welcome. Email: editor@sailing.co.za