Harbour: Saturday 28 January
It was a tough day on the water for the majority of sailors competing in the Point Yacht Club’s Bar Anniversary pursuit race that took place in the bay on Saturday, but the duo of Campbell Alexander and Jeremy Kriek stormed to the finish line claiming their hard-earned victory.
Kriek, one half of the recent victorious Flying Fifteen match racing team, showed how knowledgeable he is on a Flying Fifteen, this time crewing for the equally experienced Campbell Alexander. They got off to a cracker of a start, sailing confidentially around the long, meandering course, and just pipped the highly competitive Paul Changuion and Tim Duguid who looked determined hot on their heels.
The oldest and youngest sailors who were sailing together on the Mirror stuck it out bravely. The brightly coloured red sail had their nose in the front for most of the race. Sailing stalwart, Trevor Gibb sharing his knowledge with youngsters Vincent and Marcel Vermaak gleefully said after the race, “I could see we were about to launch off a swell and I kept an eye on the kids. Their eyes were huge as we took off, but it was excitement that I saw. It was good to finish.”
The south Westerly wind gusting well over 20 knots challenged the fleet that had over 25 boats bustling around the sugar terminals at the start. Andrew Walford wisely decided to head home for an early shower before racing got underway, and he was joined by the two juniors on their oppies.
Winning the junior sailor award was Jethro Brophy-Tintinger who rocketed around the course on his Laser Radial. The Grade 11 sailor from Glenwood, Brophy – Tintinger is a sailor to watch out for in the future. Swopping his usual Hobie 14 for the nifty Laser, he worked hard hiking out as he crossed the line in sixth place overall. His next major sailing regatta is the Hobie 14 Provincials that takes place offshore of Durban over Easter.
For a number of sailors, the idea of staying on land at the hugely successful Beer and Bunny on the Bay seemed a better option. Conditions played havoc on a handful of boats, with three Finns capsizing and nearly sinking; the sprog suffering damage to its weather stay and Sean Fennessy capsizing in the middle of the channel and battled to right his boat.
On land, the lawns of the Point Yacht Club were bursting with life with nearly 400 adventurous Durbanites enjoying the afternoon festivities at the Beer and Bunny on the Bay. The first event that kicked off the club’s 125th anniversary year was a roaring success.
The next event that the club has planned will be for Valentine’s Day.
For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or like the club’s Facebook page.
Results
1 Campbell Alexander / Jeremy Kriek (Flying Fifteen), 2 Paul Changuion / Tim Duguid (Flying Fifteen), 3 Wayne Smith (Hobie 14), 4 Justin Butler (Hobie 14), 5 Trevor Gibb / Vincent and Marcel Vermaak (Mirror), 6 Jethro Brophy – Tintinger (Laser Radial), 7 Thomas Funke / Sean Hurter (505), 8 Patrick Harris / Liam Harris (Flying Fifteen), 9 Myles White / Estelle Buys (Flying Fifteen), 10 Andrew Dolloway / Tiger and Jason Foley (Flying Fifteen), 11 Bart Fokkens (Hobie 14), 12 CJ Milln / Charles Humphreys (Hunter), 13 Nthuthuko Makhatini / Mongezi Mfeka (RS Feva), 14 Keith Gregory (Finn), OCS Simon Musgrove (Finn), OCS Jon Marshall (Finn), OCS Rudi Rogge / Liam Fennessy (Hobie 16), OCS Peter Hall/ Matthew Hall (Hobie 16), DNF Rudi Fokkens / Charlotte Marshall (Sprog), DNF Sean Keogh (Finn), DNF Denmar Nel (Finn), DNF Nik Albert (Hobie 14), DNF Sean Fennessy (Hobie 14)
