Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
Locally built and internationally campaigned yachts have fared well on sailing circuits around the world, but way back in the ‘60s the name ‘Stormvogel’ was one to be respected, and possibly even feared.
She was built in Stellenbosch, and generally sailed under the Dutch flag as her owner, Kees Bruynzeel, was a countryman. Nonetheless it appeared that despite the trivial matter of the national flag, she was always referred to as a South African yacht in the local media! And why not?
Her pedigree is probably best summed up thus: “By beating the sloop ‘Kialoa’, best ocean-racer on the Pacific coast, and leading in the fleet hands-down in the subsequent Trans-Pacific Race last month, Kees Bruynzeel ‘s Stellenbosch-built ketch ‘Stormvogel’ has firmly established herself as the hardest-sailed ship of the past decade. No yacht can approach her distance record -156,000 miles in six years, the equivalent of once round the world every year. She has put up fastest time in 30-odd of the 40 major races in which she has entered”.
And if that does not quite convince you, try this for size! “C. B., of Stellenbosch, receives congratulations from ‘Kialoa 11’s’ skipper, Jim Kilroy, after his three straight wins in an America ‘s Cup-style series of boat-for-boat match races off Los Angeles. This California Cup contest attracted almost as much attention on the Pacific as the international tussle between the Twelves off New York”.
This article is a personal account, by Bruynzeel, of the Transpac race from San Pedro (Los Angeles) to Honolulu – 2250 miles “downhill” over the Pacific Ocean.
It’s a long and entertaining read – and a fascinating insight into ocean racing at that time.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE: 1967 08 – SA Yachting – pgs 20-21-54-56
