Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
Remember those heady days when Bertie Reed and John Martin were the talk of the singlehanded sailing scene around the world? Good days they were too as these guys were formidable sailors and wonderful ambassadors for the sport in our country.
Way back in 1982 – that’s 40 years ago now, Bertie and John teamed up aboard ‘Voortrekker II’ to compete in the two-handed Round the Britain Race where they smashed the monohull record by some 26 hours.
In this report we get a glimpse of the irresponsible attitude of some yachties towards sponsorship. One competitor, frustrated by a stubborn spinnaker simply rode over it and radio for another to be flown to him. The same man later infringed the rules regarding separation zones, and willing paid the swinging fine as he only wanted sail the fastest route. No cash out of his pocket and sadly all from that of his sponsors!
A fact I had forgotten about, and which many probably had not heard before was that when he was 13, yachtsman John Martin “stole” his father’s 25 ft gaff cutter in Simonstown, and headed out to sea. Spotted as he passed the outer mole, he was chased by his very worried naval tug master father – unnecessarily, as it turned out, because already at that age John was showing the form that would make him one of South Africa’s premier yachtsman.
There’s lots to read in today’s feature.
ENJOY IT ALL HERE: Pages from 1982 10 – Yachtsman RSA – OCR
