On This Day – 7 February. 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.

1989. “Yacht Breaks Moorings Again”. Raging gale-force winds tore a winning Agulhas Race yacht from her Simon’s Town moorings at the weekend and dumped her on Long Beach, only metres from jagged rocks.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1989 02 07 a 370 4

1992. “Able Seaman Cook Goes to Olympics”. When Eric Cook was cast adrift with his crew miles from shore,. bobbing with the waves for seven hours and with a wind of 35 knots blowing about his ears, did he ever think that his able seamanship would win him a place·on the South African Olympic team?
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1992 02 07 568

2000. “For First Time, An America’s Cup Without Any Americans”. For the first time in 149 years no American yacht will contest the America’s Cup after Italy’s Prada Challenge beat AmericaOne yesterday in the deciding race of the challengers’ elimination series final.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2000 02 07 537

2000. “Thrills,·Spills and Records in Rio Race. First Sinking As New Age of Speed Begins”. Starting in the shadow of Table ‘Mountain and finishing under the statue of Christ the Redeemer on the Corcovado Mountain, the MTN Cape-to-Rio 2000 yacht race is more than a test of speed – it’s about endurance and camaraderie.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2000 02 07 541

2005. “NSRI Rescues Solo Sailor”. A 66-year-old solo yachtsman who aimed to sail around the world was forced to put his trip on hold when he experienced problems shortly after sailing from Cape Town on Saturday.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  2005 02 07 187

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 8500 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

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