by Richard Crockett
The very first Mainstay Week was a great success and achieved the goals set by those who conceived it – as stated in the opening paragraph of the report: “Durban shores emerged from the yacht racing backwater by becoming the scene of an international class regatta early in July. Mainstay week (10 to 16 July) was sponsored by Stellenbosch Farmers’ Wineries, who have promised sponsorship for another two years. They are keen to encourage Natal waters as the venue for an annual regatta comparable to the revered Rothman’s week in Table Bay in December and Castle Week held on Vaal Dam in September.”
The response from Cape yachties, and indeed yachties from around the country, was really good, with five races sailed, including a long distance race for all classes. The bigger boats racing to Richards Bay and back (160nm), the smaller ones on 40nm a course that took them to Umdhloti, Umhlanga and home.
The long distance races were always a make-or-break race as they counted double points or more, so one had to be consistently good around-the-cans as well as overnighting. Sadly this feature of the major offshore regattas lost popularity and were ultimately dropped – a regrettable move in my view.
There lots to read in this report, and some good old pics to view too.
READ IT ALL HERE: Pages from 1978 09 – Yachtsman RSA – OCR

