Father and son take on Hobie 14
More than half of the fleet were from Durban’s Point Yacht Club.
WESTVILLE sailor, Peter Hall, claimed top spot at the Hobie 14 Northern Region Provincials Regatta held at the Vaal Dam from Saturday, 3 October to Sunday, 4 October.
More than half of the fleet were from Durban’s Point Yacht Club, with 32 boats competing, of which 18 were flying the PYC burgee. Top honours belonged to the Durban lads, earning the top three spots and flying the coastal flag high. Hall was followed by Durban North’s Greg de Beyer and then Mount Edgecombe’s Garth Loudon.
Hall had a consistent regatta, notching up four first places and two thirds out of the ten races sailed. Second-placed de Beyer also took line honours in the ninth race, with a handful of second places. His consistent ride saw him finish with a total of 36 points after the two race discards, 15 points off Hall’s final 21 points.
Third-placed Loudon looked to be the favourite on the last day, but disaster struck in the ninth race where he was black flagged for jumping the start gun. Loudon tallied up five first places in the ten races and was having a good tussle with Hall for the honours overall, but his enthusiasm and pushing the line to get a decent start cost him dearly, finishing 17 points behind first-placed Hall.
Second-placed de Beyer raved, “We flew the PYC flag high in the Vaal this weekend. It was a great effort by the boys. Every single race over the two days was won by a Durban lad, we claimed them all. I think we went up to the Vaal to sail hard but also to enjoy ourselves and we successfully proved that Durban certainly has one of the strongest fleets in South Africa, if not the world.”
Hobie stalwart, Sean Fennessy, performed well over the two days, ending his efforts with an impressive sixth place. Next in line out of the Durban contingent was uMhloti’s Wayne Smith, who finished in tenth place.
The three youngsters who travelled up to the Vaal to get in some experience had a splendid time on the water. Durban North’s Dylan Albert ended his regatta in 11th spot while Jethro Brophy-Tintinger took 15th and the youngest, Matthew Hall, Peter Hall’s son, got a 31st place.
Point Yacht Club results
1 Peter Hall, 2 Greg de Beyer, 3 Garth Loudon, 6 Sean Fennessy, 10 Wayne Smith, 11 Dylan Albert, 13 Richard Gorlei, 14 Rob Handley, 15 Jethro Brophy Tintinger, 16 Justin Butler, 17 Struan Campbell, 21 Andrew Heathcote, 23 Murray May, 24 Gary Hubach, 27 Aldino Gorlei, 30 Nik Albert, 31 Matthew Hall, 32 Rob Goulden.
