SAS Grand Slam incorporating the Hobie 14 Provincials

THREE days of magnificent sailing occurred over the Women’s Day long weekend, Saturday 8 August to Monday 10 August, with Garth Louden continuing his wave of success to claim the Hobie 14 Provincials hosted by Point Yacht Club and held in conjunction with the SAS Grand Slam offshore of Durban.

A Mount Edgecombe resident, Loudon had a convincing time on the water, claiming his second major title this year in the Hobie 14 class. His first was winning the Hobie 14 Nationals, held offshore of Durban earlier this year. Westville’s Peter Hall was hot on Loudon’s tail, only a handful of points behind the experienced sailor.

There were 17 Hobie 14s participating in a challenging offset triangle with a gate set by race officer, Kevin Bingham. Bingham had the sailors heading towards the shore, rounding two marks set off Moyo and then running back towards the bridge boat with the challenge of sailing through a gate or two – markers that the boats had to sail between. The sailors then had to decide with ‘gatepost’ to round, deciding which side of the course would pay off as they made their way back to the weather-side of the course. The wind played along perfectly, offering a stiff breeze for all of the competitors.

Junior sailor, Sven Paton helmed his Hobie all by himself, having just graduated from the much smaller RS Tera Pro, and for his efforts came an encouraging and hugely respectable 16th. The more experienced Matthew Hall and Jessica Albert took their Hobie Dragoon out and enjoyed the blustery conditions, managing to finish in fourth position twice out of ten races in the PYC Open division, a promising display and an affirming glimpse into the future of sailing in Durban.

Joining the Hobies offshore, a few other dinghies came out to compete in the SAS Grand Slam. Included in the line-up was Olympic hopeful, Rudy McNeill, along with his brother, Michael, and the talented and versatile Trent Bingham, all racing on their Lasers. Older brother, Rudy, dominated on the water, ending with seven first places on his scorecard.

Also getting in on the action were two out-of-towners, having a blast on their 505s. Alexander Ham and Damien Botha travelled up from Cape Town and took on Albrecht Holm and Marius Fourie, who had a bit of a challenging time getting used to the sea conditions and went for a swim a couple of times. The next big event that Durban’s sailors will be keeping an eye on is the Optimist World Championships in Poland, where two of the PYC youngsters are heading across to compete. Hillcrest’s Calum Gaughran and Liam Fennessy from Durban North will be the KZN representation in the South African team heading across.

SAS Grand Slam incorporating Hobie 14 Provincials Results
Harbour and Offshore (Day Three)

Hobie 14
1 Garth Louden 10pts, 2 Peter Hall 15pts, 3 Greg de Beyer
26pts, 4 Sean Fennessy 32pts, 5 Richard Gorlei 38pts, 6 Murray May 47pts, 7
Wayne Smith 50pts, 8 Justin Butler 64pts, 9= Rudi Fokkens 77pts, 9= Dylan
Alberts 77pts, 11 Struan Campbell 85pts, 12 Peta Harrison 88pts, 13 Jethro
Brophy-Tintinger 91pts, 14 Clint du Toit 121pts, 15 Sven Paton 124pts, 16 Nik
Albert, 17 Nathan Constant 144pts

PYC Open Division
1 Rudy McNeill (Laser) 9pts, 2 Michael McNeill (Laser) 21pts,
3 Trent Bingham (Laser) 24pts, 4 Alexander Ham / Damien Botha (505) 26pts, 5
Albrecht Holm / Marius Fourie 41pts, 6 Kobus Holtzhausen (Dart) 64pts, 7 Ross
Gaughran (Laser Radial) 65pts, 8 Matthew Hall / Jessica Albert (Hobie Dragoon)
73pts, 9 Thomas Funke / Colin Bouwer (505) 88pts, 10 Sam Lombaard (Laser Radial)
89pts, 11 Sean Jones (Hobie 16) 97pts, 12 Alan Tintinger (Halcat) 105, 13
Richard Weddell / Byron Watt (49er) 112pts,