Sailing calendar announced

THE Rear Commodores of Point Yacht Club have been hard at work getting the 2017/2018 Summer Season Sailing Calendar ready for the season.

On the tail end of a hugely successful Bart’s Bash in the bay, October sailing gets cracking with the bigger chaps raring to go with the first of three Port Captain’s Sprints kicking off on the first of the month. The well supported traditional Wednesday night sailing begins on the 4 October.

There are four series within the calendar, with three Sundays having the Port Captain’s Sprints, followed by three Sundays of the Caney Series, the Sigma Series over two Sundays and two Sundays with the Jonesy Sprints.

A new addition to the sailing calendar is the social event Braai to Breakfast that features three times on the keelboat calendar. Explaining, Rear Commodore for Keelers, Jon Marshall said, “The Braai to Breakfast events are a social under the thatch on the Saturday evening followed by a sunrise cruise off shore on Sunday morning. Participants will probably sleep on their boats. It will hopefully be a very social event.”

This year, South African keelboat racing is transitioning to the ORC Rating system, making for easier handicap ratings both at club level and bigger events countrywide.

The launch announcement with the dates for the MSC Week, a popular week-long offshore regatta, was sent out nationwide to all classes of keelboats giving the heads up for the July regatta. Charlotte Marshall takes the reigns of this event to invigorate and give it a more youthful appeal.

The big fundraising event that the club organises to assist the hardworking lifeline for sailors in need, NSRI Station 5, is the fun Barrel Race which takes place towards the end of the season. In previous years, the club has raised several hundred thousand Rand for this exceptionally worthwhile cause.

For both the keelboats, and the dinghies, there are Match Racing events, and a couple of Pursuit Races. The first main event on the dinghy calendar is the Jonsson Cup, a pursuit race on the 21 October.

Top events include the Flying Fifteen Nationals and the Hobie 16 Regionals held offshore from 16 to 18 December, the class champs in February, the Easter Regatta in March and the SAS Grand Slam in June.

For the smaller sized boats, the season kicks off with two weekends of Newbie sailing, encouraging casual, less experienced and newer boat owners to learn the intricacies of actual yacht racing.

Regular Saturday morning sailing for youngsters is available with Trevor Gibb. Anyone interest in joining in can contact Butler on 082 342 9677 or email: commpa@pyc.co.za. Youth Nationals is rapidly approaching and this year it takes place from 9 to 15 December up the road at Henley Midmar Yacht Club.

For any person wanting to gain experience, passionate sailor and committee member, Nhlanhla Phakathi is offering first timers an opportunity to learn the ropes with him on any boat at the Wednesday night sailing. Anyone interested in learning can contact Jocelyn at the club on 031 301 4787 to book a berth on a Wednesday night with Phakathi.

Visit www.pyc.co.za.