Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
The closing days of the OSTAR (Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race) were tough ones with the two yachts heading the fleet having it all to play for, so close were they thought to be.
Remember the Rand Daily Mail newspaper? Whether you do or don’t, this is how they reported today – 57 years ago.
“The transatlantic yacht race is expected to end at Newport, Rhode Island, tomorrow in a desperately close finish between Britain’s ‘Sir Thomas Lipton’ and South Africa’s ‘Voortrekker’.
“Geoffrey Williams in ‘Sir Thomas Lipton was reported to be 60 miles ahead of Bruce Dalling last night and only 400 miles from Newport.
“But Williams was penalised 12 hours for arriving late at the start in Plymouth, so Dalling could still win the big race even if Sir Thomas Lipton ties up first.
“Whoever wins, the race is certain to produce the closest finish in its brief history. The previous winners – Sir Francis Chichester in 1960 and Eric Tabarly in 1964 – were days ahead of their rivals.”
History, from reports after the finish show that Bruce Dalling sailed his heart out to finish at the head of the fleet.
READ MORE HERE: 1968 06 26 – Rand Daily Mail – Bruce Dalling Archives – S&A – 002509 – OCR
