Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
JJ Provoyeur’s name is one synonymous with top-flight competitive sailing, and a person with grit and determination in everything he does both on and off the water. His track record precedes him, with maybe his biggest regret in the sport was being relegated to second spot, by a mere whisker, in the 1980 Fireball Worlds off Durban. He was tantalisingly close to being crowned World Champion.
But today I can share his giant step into the world of singlehanded round-the-world racing in 1994.
An extract from the report says this about him:
“South African JJ Provoyeur, however, has kept each of his determined pre-race promises, and stunned the sailing world with his performance in moving to second position last week before dropping back to third on Sunday.
“The former South African Yachtsman of the Year, a rookie solo sailor who had only previously sailed to Dassen Island on his own, conceded that his six-year-old ‘Ben Vio’ would be at a speed disadvantage to the leading contenders’ state-of-the-art fourth generation yachts.”
JJ is a legendary sailor and a great guy too.
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE: 1994 10 05 – RCYC Archives – S&A – 409_Redacted – OCR
