Jonsson Cup wrapped up

A FLYING Fifteen sailed to victory in the Point Yacht Club’s 2016 Jonsson Cup, for the second year in a row on Saturday 5 November in the bay.

The delighted Gregg Hurter, sailing with Jeff Rose valiantly raised the trophy in a closely contested race that saw a fleet of 41 dinghies compete. Seconds later defending champion, Myles White and Estelle Buys on their Flying Fifteen crossed in second. A clean sweep in the medal category showed another Flying Fifteen claim the bronze medal, at the helm was Dr Craig Campbell who had Chris Kloppenborg crewing with him. 

This is the first time in two years that Hurter and Rose have teamed up on the Flying Fifteen, both concentrating their efforts on keelboat racing. “We had fun being back on the FF, but the win was a bit of a surprise. The more experienced team of Patrick and Jeremy were well ahead of us when we made our way to the final rounding, but they kept on going. They must have thought that the final mark was M18 and not M8. So we were able to steal the lead.” a chuffed Hurter claimed after the race.

“We had Myles and Estelle breathing down our neck as we made our way to the line. It was good to be pushed to the finish and we were pretty stoked to be able to hold them off. Myles has been sailing well this season, so it was great to get the feather in our cap.” Hurter stated.

The course was a winding route around the harbour with careful coordination intending for the fleet to be on the water for roughly two hours. Race Officer, Kevin Bingham had a busy time getting the yachts off in set times with the slower boats getting underway first and the faster boats chasing down the field. Conditions grew light as the gentle rain squalls stalling the wind.

The start line was set in the shadow of the massive sugar terminals. The course then took the boats further down towards the Bluff, before turning around and heading back to the Point and then racing around the sand bank. The dinghies then rounded the bottom mark, and made their way back around the sand bank and up to the sugar terminals.

Two junior sailors were brave enough to venture out and compete in the pursuit race, brothers Ian and Scott Bowman were the first to set off in their Oppies. They duo were set a shorter, special course for them. Older and more experienced, Ian was first over the line with Scott gliding over the line a handful of minutes behind him. Competing with them on the Junior course was newcomer to the club, Maya Opperman who competed in a gorgeous little Plus. Opperman took to the water with her daughter Maxine. Mother and daughter sailed magnificently in their first race in their small traditional fibreglass boat.

The club celebrating its 125th year has a number of events planned in their anniversary year, with the next main event for the club being the Christmas Lunch with a number of sailing events planned for the weekends leading up to it. Visit www.pyc.co.za or like the club’s Facebook page for more information.