Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
On 6 March I shared news on the RCOD concept, and today share news of the first one which was launched late in 1961. This sturdy, rock-solid little yacht gave so much joy and great sailing to so many, but today sadly the only ones left are those made of fibreglass.
This is how the newly launched boat was introduced in the 1961 November/December issue of SA Yachting magazine: “Speed in hard-wind sailing conditions in deep water, at the lowest price, is the idea behind this class. ‘Erika’ was launched recently by Mrs. A. R. Donovan, extreme right. With her are RCYC flag officers Basil Lindhorst and Gordon Burn Wood. The two pictures below show the rakish hard-chine hull and deep bulb-keel casting.
“The first yacht of the Zeeslang Class built by the Royal Cape Yacht Club has been launched at the yacht harbour in Cape Town. This marks a distinct milestone in the history of this Club and local optimists, not without reason, consider possibly also a milestone in keelboat yachting in South Africa.
“It is significant that just before the launching of this trim and finely-built craft, two more hulls have been simultaneously laid down by a firm of boatbuilders in Cape Town, and yet another two hulls are in the process of being privately built, also locally.”
READ MORE HERE: 1961 11-12 – SA Yachting – RCYC Keelboat – OCR
