On This Day – 9 August. 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.

1971. “Jakaranda in Fourth Place”. South Africa’s Jakaranda lay fourth last night after 180 miles of the 605-mile Fastnet race following American Eagle, Ragamuffin and Apollo from Australia past the famous Lizard Lighthouse en route to the fastnet rock.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1971 08 09 – Thirsty Bertie – 000037

1986. “Two New Hulls Hit the Water in Fremantle”. Two new 12-metre yachts were lowered into the waters of Fremantle harbour yesterday, the latest arrivals in an expected 28-vessel flotilla aiming to win the America’s Cup.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1986 08 09 057

1987. “Sammy Naidu’s Dream is About to Come True”. ·Its all aboard for Mauritius for shipwright Sammy Naidu – thanks to a company which this week announced a R20 000 sponsorship to cover his expenses in an international yacht race from Mauritius to Durban.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1987 08 09 – 000265_Redacted

1989. “Abromowitz Misses Out on Indian Ocean Hat Trick”. Dave Abromowitz’s chances of scoring a hat trick in the biennial Crystic Beachcomber Crossing from Mauritius to Durban next month have disappeared, along with his hope of landing the biggest single sponsorship in the history of the Indian Ocean classic.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1989 08 09 – 000008

1989. “The Meeks Inherit the Sea”. The meek, we are assured, shall inherit the earth – but the talented Meek family of Cape Town aim to conquer the sea by winning the prestigious Crystic Beachcomber Crossing from Mauritius to Durban in September.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1989 08 09 – 000186

1990. “ SA Yacht Heads Field At Cowes Week”. SA yacht M S and A Chromium is lying first after four days of racing at the world’s most famous regatta, Cowes Week, in England.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1990 08 09 390 1

1997. “Five Out of Eight Boats From Durban”. South Africa’s National Mirror team is in Kingston, Canada for the World Championships. Five of the eight boats are Durban-based while the other three are from Cape Town.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK:  1997 08 09 666

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

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