Harbour: Saturday 19 November
Sailors rejoiced in taking to the water in sunshine for the second day of the Point Yacht Club’s Commodore’s Cup that took place on Saturday 19 November in the bay.
In recent times, wet weather has dampened the spirits of the yachties at most of the sailing events, including the massive storm two Saturdays ago, which saw the sailors scamper off the water, just in time.
This weekend saw a small fleet of 22 yachts head out in gentle conditions for three races. Race Officer for the day, Kevin Bingham set a fantastic South Easterly course with the boats setting off on a triangle, sausage, triangle, the start line sat just off the Durban Maritime Museum. Starts were coordinated with the youngsters taking off first, followed by the Finns, Lasers, Dabchick and Hunter, the Flying Fifteens setting off third and the faster Hobies getting the final start sequence.
During the second race, challenges arose for the keen participants, with three massive ships being determinedly ushered through the race course. In the final race, Bingham opted for a safer windward leeward, shortened race as the port continued to shuffle the larger boats around the bay.
In the final race of the day, it was an all-in start, with all of the competitors jostling for space on the line. As the afternoon’s racing progressed, the tradtionaly South Easterly winds dropped making the switchy, patchy and tricky conditions a bit more difficult. Struan Campbell and Murray May on their Hobie Tiger took line honours in the final race, with multi-award winning Flying Fifteen Patrick Harris swopping out his crew for a young sailor, his son Liam, crossing two minutes behind the Hobie Tiger. Shortly after laser sailors, Campbell Alexander and Andrew Walford took third place, teaming up together on the small keeler Flying Fifteen.
In the first race, James Butler took the line honours on his RS Terra. He was followed by fellow junior sailor, Ian Bowman with the fast Hobie Tiger, who got off last, crossing the line in third. Baby Bowman, Ian’s younger brother Scott took fourth place.
In the penultimate race of day two, Robbie Goulden cruised to line honours on his Laser, followed closely by CJ Milln on his Hunter. Danville Park Girls sailor, Hannah Fokkens took third place on her Laser Radial.
Rear Commodore for Dinghies, Myles White said, “The biggest class on the water was the Flying Fifteens with seven boats out, while the Hobie 14s, Finns and Lasers each had three. It was an afternoon of ‘Snakes and Ladders’ with the wind channels boosting and hindering the fleet around the race track.”
This weekend sees the conclusion of the Commodore’s Cup with sailing taking place in the bay. This is also the conclusion for dinghy sailing this year hosted by Point Yacht Club.
For more info visit www.pyc.co.za
