Sailing Magazine
pic by Richard Crockett
By Richard Crockett
As there was no racing yesterday due to strong winds, I am unable to share the racing report with you, so instead have posed the question in the above heading.
A “grand slam” is scored when a competitor wins every single race in a series – something that is quite rare, and a feat becoming more and more difficult I would think as fleets simply get more competitive, and more races are sailed.
In the founding era of the Lipton Cup from 1911 to 1923, there were just three races in each contest, but in last year’s contest by comparison, the first ever in J22s, there were ten races. In that founding era the Point Yacht Club scored three “Grand Slams” in 1911 by Nick Chiazzari, and then again in 1914 and 1923 by Herby Spradbrow.
During the 30 Square Metre era there were five “Grand Slams”. The first two were in 1953 and 1954 when there were also just three races, the first of these was by Sonny Thomas for the Royal Cape Yacht Club, and the second by Gill Bartholomew for Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club.
By 1958 the 30 Square Metre class had requested additional races, as well as more rounds to each race to make the competition more intense. So instead of 6 mile legs on the windward leeward course, there were 3 mile legs.
In that first year of five races Wilfred Hancock scored the very first 5 race “Grand Slam”, and repeated that same feat in 1966 for the Royal Natal Yacht Club. This was a period in which he dominated the Lipton Cup and in several contests he lost just one race – a remarkable achievement.
Another during this era was in the penultimate year of the 30 Squares when Dave Cox achieved a five race “Grand Slam” in 1972 for the Point Yacht Club.
In the 35 year period that the L26 was the chosen Lipton Cup boat there were two more, the first by Greg Davis in 2009 when he won all three races for the Royal Cape Yacht Club in a contest marred by bad weather, hence so few races. There were 28 competing clubs that year.
In 2016 Greg Davis together with David Rae as co-skipper achieved this rare feat, again for the Royal Cape Yacht Club, in that four-race contest when there were 15 clubs competing.
pic by Matt du Toit/RCYC Lipton Cup
The very last “Grand Slam” was scored by Markus Progli in 2024 when the Lipton contest was scored on the ORC handicapping system. Progli and his team were representing the Royal Cape Yacht Club and achieved this by winning all six races in that contest. More importantly does this make him the best “Grand Slam” winner ever having won the most races, or is it Greg Davis as he achieved his in a 28 boat fleet?
So let’s get back to the present and ask this simple question: Will Markus Progli, together with his co-skipper Calvin Gibbs in this year’s contest under the Hermanus Yacht Club burgee, the defenders of the Lipton Cup, be able to achieve a “Grand Slam? Or will Greg Davis who has teamed up with Yogi Divaris for the Knysna Yacht Club, and David Rae of the Royal Cape Yacht Club also pull this off?
We’ll know the answer by Saturday, maybe even earlier!
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