Sailing Magazine
(Back row, left to right) Hal Thesen, David Robertson, Goertz Klehn, Keith Bellamy, Gordon Neill, Hans Berker, Paul Bennett (Team Manager), Bobby Bongers, David Joyce, Phil Wade, Sandy Ord.
(Middle row) John Wolfe, Bertie Reid, David Bongers, James Brewer, Bob Harrison, Hal Hofmeyr, Bruce McCurrach.
(Front row) Mike Puttergill, Jeff Roben, David Abromowitz,
Felix Unit, Nigel Heath, Keith Wilson and Les Fella.
By Richard Crockett
It appears from editorials that the SA Teams were all far better organised this time round, probably being the third consecutive time that the country had competed in the event.
However there do appear to have been some cracks which were quickly plastered over thanks to sponsorship. South Africa did not have a competitive third boat – that was until Ian Haggie stepped in as follows:
Mr. Ian Haggie, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of Haggie Rand Limited, announced today that his company had decided to underwrite one of the South African entries for this year’s Admiral’s Cup event in England.
In an interview Mr. Haggie said: “In terms of the rules of the Admiral’s Cup, each participating nation is required to enter a team of 3 yachts. Originally, only two competitive South African yachts were available and if we had not decided to assist with a further entry, the Republic could have fallen out of the contest.
“As a South African company we believe that South Africa’s continued participation in international sport is absolutely essential, and we are proud to be able to contribute to this aim”.
“The boat chosen for sponsorship is ‘Frigate’, specially built for the contest in 1973, and one of the British team in that year’s event. She will be an extremely competitive entry, and is to be skippered by the well known Cape Town yachtsman, Bobby Bongers, selected as South African Yachtsman of the Year for 1973, who has had great experience of racing in this type of event. The· Admiral’s Cup is probably the most prestigious event in international sailing, with 20 nations expected to compete this year.”
The crew were as follows:
FRIGATE
B. Bongers
M. Puttergill
D. Abromowitz
S. Ord
P. Wade
D. Bongers
J. Robertson
G. Robin
N. Heath
Omuramba
H. Berker
D. Joyed
G. Klohn
G. Meek
K. Bellamy
F. Unite
J. Brewer
H. Thesen
Golden Fleece
G. Neill
B. Harrison
B. Reed
K. Wilson
J. Wolfe
H. Hofmeyr
L. Fella
C. Talbot
B. McCurrach
D. Hudson
Manager
P.L.A. Bennett
READ THE SA YACHTING REPORT HERE: 1975 09 – SA Yachting – OCR
READ THE YACHTSMAN RSA REPORT HERE: 1975 09 – Yachtsman RSA – OCR
