Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
To read the full reports, click on the LINK following each headline.
1967. “Race Innovation by Yacht Club”. The Point Yacht Club’ new sailing season, which will begin at the end of this month, will open with an attractive scheme. There will be no entry fees for Sunday morning races.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1967 09 09 – Pfotenhauer – 000107
1967. “SA’s Lone Atlantic Sailor Selected”. Bruce Dalling, 29, of Maritzburg, lecturer in agriculture at the University of Natal, has been chosen to sail South Africa’s entry in the single-handed yacht race across the Atlantic next year from Plymouth to New York.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1967 10 09 093_
1970. “Short-list of Yachtsmen for Mercury Released”. The names of 14 Natal yachtsmen who are on the short-list of crew members for Natal’s ocean racing yacht, the Mercury, were released yesterday.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1970 09 09 535_Redacted
1985. “Yachtsman Back in Race in Another Boat After Sinking”. Only two days after his yacht sank in the Indian Ocean, a magic carpet has appeared to waft Mr Alan Woolnough back into the Indian Ocean Beachcomber yacht race from Mauritius to Durban.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1985 09 09 – 000236_Redacted
1989. “All-Women Crew Stun Old Salts”. The all-women crew competing in the Crystic Beachcomber Crossing from Mauritius next weekend have surprised even hardened yachtsmen with their determination in this premier ocean yacht race.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1989 09 09 – 000087
1996. “Trading Insults on the High Seas”. A friend of mine confronted me at the Royal Cape Yacht Club last week and openly accused me of being a dirty lying cheat.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1996 09 09 207
1997. “Youths’ Township Flair Making Waves”. Accolades are in order. Somewhere, someone is doing something right when five black teenagers emerge from the violence-torn township of Kwa-Thema in Gauteng to excel in one of the world’s most elite sports – ocean racing on yachts.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 1997 09 09 249
2005. “Competitive Field for this Year’s Race”. With the last of the 12 boats in the fleet for the Mauritius to Durban race at last safely berthed at Port Louis harbour, crew registration and other procedures relating to the start – at noon (SA time) tomorrow – are being completed today.
To read the full report, Click on the following LINK: 2005 09 09 506
Comments, thoughts and contributions are welcome. Email: editor@sailing.co.za
About “On This Day”
It was towards the end of September last year, yes 2019, that I started “On This Day. A Newspaper History of Sailing.” So nearly a year has passed without a day being missed and without there being any newspaper news or pics available in my newspaper archives to share.
It all started while I was 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 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, and that of our sport.
This is my personal crusade, and instead of simply archiving and keeping the contents away from prying eyes, I share my spoils in the hope that you will enjoy reminiscing as much as I do.
As of the end of September the format will change as it’s simply not sustainable to continue for another full year on a similar basis. I have some 25 000 scanned newspaper cuttings, and have used the best so far – but as in life some variation and change is required. What those changes are I have not crystallised yet, and would enjoy feedback from followers of this Blog as to what they would like to see.
I have tons of material available – from every single issue of SA Yachting, Yachtsman RSA (newspaper – remember it?) and Sailing Inland & offshore Magazine. Between those publications – from October 1957 until June 2017 – a period spanning 60 years of coverage of the sport of sailing in this country – I have in my possession.
I am scanning every single issue of those 60 years – that’s 720 issues – and digitising them to get the fullest value possible from them. So far I have uncovered some incredible gems in their pages, and will share these as we go.
Plus I have a photographic archive of photographs in b/w negative format, colour negative, colour slide (transparency) and photographic prints I intend to scan, digitise and share with the sailing community at large.
But all this takes time – and is a slow process – so all I ask is for patience.
My plea thought – to all followers and everyone interested in the history of sailing in RSA, is to please assist me by sharing their personal archives, pics, press cuttings and whatever with me, so that I can scan them and share them. My promise is that I will treat them with the utmost care, and get them back to you safely.
To date, the response to “On This Day. A Newspaper History of Sailing” has been phenomenal, and it’s heartening to see how many people appreciate, LIKE and SHARE the material I have shared in the past year. And this is from ‘Saffers’ and others who have lived and sailed here, or have travelled internationally to sail here.
I am overwhelmed by the response – and thank all those who have personally 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.
As each scanned cutting and article is searchable, I am 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) – for those 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 as it all simply gets better every single day!
So sit back, grab a cup of your favourite brew, and enjoy what’s on offer today.
