Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
The party has started in Rio now that yachts are arriving at the finish, with many race followers in Rio to welcome their sailors.
‘Graybeard’ was confirmed as the second boat to finish – which now means that the handicap honours are hotting up. And again, due obviously to different deadline schedules, there was confusion as to who was leading – one headline said ‘Albatros’, another stated that ‘Striana’ had won! We need to put this in perspective as communications between Rio and South Africa were slow and cumbersome – and anything but instant as we have today.
There was also controversy about ‘Ocean Spirit’ not have her propellor attached for the entire race. Many felt a penalty was called for, but the race committee had other views, with Knox-Johnston giving a plausible explanation. So read it all below.
“Champagne, Hugs, Sea Dives At Rio Line”. Champagne, hugs, cheers and exuberant plunges into the South Atlantic – this is how skippers and crews celebrated their arrival at the finish line in the Cape-to-Rio yacht race.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000522 – OCR
“Graybeard·2nd At Rio, Then Fortuna”. Skipper, Lol Killam of the Canadian ketch ‘Graybeard’, which yesterday was second across the finishing line in the Cape-to-Rio race, said it had been a terrific race, but slow because of wind conditions.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000252 – OCR
“Rio Handicap Honours to Striana”. French ketch ‘Striana’ has won overall honours in the Cape-to-Rio race – 2hrs. 34min. ahead of the Stellenbosch-built Dutch-flagged entry ‘Stormy’.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000345 – OCR
“Albatros Unlikely to Keep Handicap Lead”. ‘Albatros II’ seemed unlikely yesterday to maintain her lead on handicap in the Cape-to-Rio race.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000370 – OCR
“Calm Slows Down Rio Fleet”. Light winds within a few hundred miles of Trinidade Island are putting the brakes on the main group of Rio-bound yachts, whose leaders are now engaged in a race of their own in the wake of the line honours bunch.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000521 – OCR
“Tafelberg May Have to Aid Yacht”. The Durban ketch ‘Three Bears’ has reported that she has water for only four days, that her engine is out of order and her batteries are low.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000437 – OCR
“No Cause for Dispute, Says Knox-Johnston”. Robin Knox-Johnston, co-skipper of ‘Ocean Spirit’, first yacht across the finish line in the Cape-to-Rio race, said today he knew of no reason why the removal of his yacht’s propeller in Cape Town should cause a problem.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000274 – OCR
“Rio Ketch Penalty Possible”. Speculation is mounting in Cape Town as to whether the 21.6 m British ketch ‘Ocean Spirit’, which was first across the line in the Rio race, will be disqualified or penalised for a breach of the race regulations.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000273 – OCR
“Race Rivals Pay Tribute to UK Ketch”. Prominent yachtsmen in the Cape-Rio race paid tribute yesterday to Robin Knox-Johnston and Leslie Williams, joint skippers of British ketch ‘Ocean Spirit’ which was the first boat to cross the finishing line on Monday.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000272 – OCR
“No Penalty for Ocean Spirit”. The Cape·to-Rio race committee held a three-hour meeting here on Monday night and decided not to penalize the British ‘Ocean Spirit’ – first over the finish line on Monday-for having her auxiliary propeller removed during the race, but to correct the ship’s time correction factor – all subject to any eventual protest, a committee spokesman said yesterday.
READ MORE HERE: 1971 02 10 – Rio 1971 – Dave Elcock Collection -000270 – OCR
