Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
57 years ago today Bruce Dalling set sail in ‘Voortrekker’ as a competitor in the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic race (OSTAR).
A group of South African’s had conceived the idea and put in hours of hard work to achieve their dreams of an entry in this world class race. These men were the pioneers of the South African Ocean Racing Trust (SAORT) which still exists today. And, Bruce Dalling became the very first true idol of sailing in South Africa.
The British press had not given Dalling much space in their newspapers, with the Observer newspaper blurting out that Eric Tabarly was leading. He was of course the darling of the British media, despite being French and a fine sailor.
The opening paragraph from the Observer read as follows: “With heavy rain, a calm sea and a vast armada of spectator craft, Plymouth said goodbye to 34 men, one woman and a dog who·set sail at 11 a.m. today, bound for the new lands of North America.”
I will give the British media one accolade as they always found space for sailing reports. The Observer covered the start that day with coverage on page 1 turning to an almost full page of coverage on page 2.
READ IT ALL HERE:
PAGE 2: 1968 06 02 – The Observer – OSTAR – S&A – final stitched 760 – OCR
