Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
Remember the sports boycott against South Africans in the late ‘70s into the ‘80’s? Padda Kuttel and ‘Xargo III’, plus his crew nearly fell foul of this boycott before the race had even started.
The New Zealand High Commission in London lit the fuse which led to the row over a South African entry in the 1981 Whitebread Round the World yacht race.
The New Zealand Commission The commission drew the attention of Britain’s Minister of Sport to the fact that a South African yacht would be taking part, and thus making use of Royal Navy facilities in Portsmouth, and may be in breach of the Gleneagles agreement.
Ultimately Padda Kuttel and his crew completed the race in 6th place overall.
READ MORE HERE: 1981 07 04 – Archives of Padda Kuttel – 002785 – OCR
