Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
It’s hard to source the very first announcement of the Rio Race, but this one I share today, and published 56 years ago, must be right up there?
One has to applaud the efforts of all those who brought the very first race together, and subsequently also to those who have preserved its stature as a classic ocean race between the two most beautiful cities in the world, and kept it going.
An extract from today’s newspaper report read as follows: “Brazilian Government representatives have assured the South African organisers of the proposed trans-South Atlantic yacht race of their support for the event, scheduled to be held early in 1971.”
This was a race that transformed sailing in this county, and spurred on a huge group of backyard boat builders.
READ MORE HERE: 1969 04 24 – Rio 1971 – Don Pfotenhauer Collection – 000073 – OCR
