Rain didn’t keep sailors away from Bart’s Bash
The weekend's wet weather did not deter local sailors from competing in Bart's Bash, the world’s biggest sailing event on Saturday.
DESPITE Durban’s inclement weather over the weekend, the third Bart’s Bash hosted by Point Yacht Club in the bay was a well-attended and the wet weather did not dampen sailors’ spirits.
Coinciding with the 125th opening cruise, over 40 boats braved the miserably wet weather to venture out on the water to participate in the formalities of the sail past were all the boats glided past the dignitaries’ boat giving and receiving three cheers for a fabulous Summer sailing season.
Directly after the ceremony, the fleet moved across to the race track in the bay where they competed in a two nautical mile race. Yachts of all shapes and sizes got underway in a one-start race, as they made their way in light conditions. A number of the youth entries opted to head ashore with the foul conditions, so spent most of their time on the water bailing the water out of their yachts. All 31 boats crossed the start line for a single lap around the usual Wednesday night race course.
Leading the pack, Struan Campbell and his crew member, Murray May blitzed their way around the course on Campbell’s Hobie Tiger taking line honours. Not far behind was Peter Hall sailing single handed on his Hobie 16, crossing the line in second.
As the race progressed, the sailors were doused with several down pours, the wind disappearing or changing direction making it slow going for the slower boats as they slugged their way around the bay. The last boat across the line was Terry Hargreaves who sailed the race single handedly in his fifty year old Vivacity 20 named Vivacity.
As the results are being tallied for the Bashboard, local competitors can proudly say that they were one of 7,265 competitors in the world’s biggest sailing event, with the Point Yacht Club being one of 361 venues out of 58 countries that participated. The Durban based yacht club was lying third in the world on entries received.
“It will take the organisers at the Andrew Simpson Foundation a while to go through the thousands of entries. Regardless of the outcome, I am really impressed with how many sailors came out in the wet weather to take part in the event. It bodes well for the upcoming season with the keen interest shown on Saturday,” Point Yacht Club’s Commodore, Craig Millar explained.
