Seasoned sailors claim weekend wins

FOR a number of sailors, the Youth Day long weekend was spent on the water, competing in the Flying Fifteen and Hobie 16 provincials offshore of Durban with the two teams of experienced campaigners taking the win in their classes.

For long-time partners, Garth Loudon and Robbie Eduard Betsy, it was a faultless regatta for the two in the Hobie 16 fleet. The team who have been sailing together for the last two and a half decades, re-joined forces after an eight year break to compete in the two hander Hobie 16 class. From the get-go the combo of Loudon and Eduard Betsy topped the log in every single race, with a convincing lead over the rest of the boats in the nine races.

Father and son team, Peter and Matthew Hall also had an impressive time on the water, finishing second with six seconds and two thirds and a fourth which was their discard. They ended their regatta 10 points behind Loudon and Eduard Betsy. Another father and son team, Brandon and Mark Wijtenburg won the final spot on the podium, 10 points behind the Halls. From Johannesburg, the Wijtenburgs relished their time on the warmer waters, notching up two seconds, two thirds, two fourths, two fifths and a sixth spot which was their discard.

“Garth and Robbie were untouchable, they sailed phenomenally, a world class display! We only got to see the back of them the entire time we were on the water. Congrats to them,” said second-placed Peter Hall, Hobie representative.

In the Flying Fifteens, another formidable team of Patrick Harris and Jeremy Kriek walked away with the top honours. Harris and Kriek’s names both appear a number of times on the provincial trophy, being long-time campaigners in the class. Entering the regatta, they were unbeaten in the last provincials. The duo scored six firsts out of the 11 races in the 2016 edition with some fiery young blood adding to the mix this year to give the experienced competitors a run for their money. Previous winners Paul Changuion and Tim Duguid finished five points off the winners, with Olympic Laser campaigner Rudy McNeill joining forces with Lipton sailor, Byron Watt to push the leaders all the way and end their regatta in third spot. The young team proved their mettle in the foreign class, scoring two firsts in the last two races, a second, four thirds and a fourth place.

The final class to compete was the extreme Hobies, the Hobie Tigers with three boats getting on the water. Local lads, Struan Campbell and Murray May walked away victorious in the class, winning all but one race when their spinnaker got jammed while turning at the bottom mark and they were forced to retire. Up-and-coming Dylan Albert favoured racing the Hobie Tigers over the J22 youth nationals, scoring a second overall with Riaan Botha. Another mixed club team of Kobus Fourie and Jaco Labuschagne finished third, three points behind Albert and Botha.

It’s a great feeling when you push yourself to another level and that level becomes your new normal

“It’s a great feeling when you push yourself to another level and that level becomes your new normal. Sailing my Hobie Tiger scared me half to death the first time I sailed it, and now 18 knots downwind, flying a hull down waves only a Durban NE wind can produce, is merely heart-pumping exciting! What a day of racing. I’m super stoked,” said first-placed Struan Campbell.

Rear Commodore for Point Yacht Club, Myles White said: “We had a seriously awesome time on the water. We managed to get three days of racing in, with the Flying Fifteens racing on Thursday as well and the Hobie guys only sailing the two days. I’d like to thank all the teams that travelled for the regatta. Nineteen guys travelled from Johannesburg and Cape Town to race this weekend, so well done.”

The father and daughter team of Lance and Heidi Burger from Cape Town were a late entry, only deciding on a whim last week Tuesday that they would enter. Heidi, who is more accustomed to racing the faster 29er or 420s had her trapeze gear all packed until she realised on Wednesday morning when she googled the boat they would be competing on that there was no trapezing on a Flying Fifteen.

The next big event for the Point Yacht Club is the upcoming Inter-Varsity Regatta in July, followed by the annual favourite, the MSC Week.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za.

Results

Hobie 16 fleet: First Garth Loudon / Robbie Eduard Betsy eight points, second Peter Hall / Matthew Hall 18 points, third Brandon Wijtenburg / Mark Wijtenburg 28 points, fourth Sean Fennessy / Rudi Fokkens 40 points, fourth Mark Kopel / Liam Fennessy 40 points, fifth Mike Goodyer / Jennifer Goodyer 53 points, seventh Wayne Smith / Nathan Constant 54 points, eighth Andrew Heathcote / Sean Hurter, Andrew Butler 56 points, ninth Justin Butler / James Butler 59 points, 10th Henie Swanepoel / Bart Fokkens 74 points, 11th Rudi Rogge / Kristina Rogge 79 points, 12th Stephanie Goodyer / Jessica Howard 89 points, 13th Camryn Doubell / Jessica Schmid 101 points, 14th Mike Everett / Josh Everett 116 points, 15th Ian Modola / Cameron Booth 126 points, 16th Rick Guttierez / Paul Guttierez 137 points, 17th Charles Girard / Gary Hubach 144 points.

Flying Fifteen fleet: First Patrick Harris / Jeremy Kriek 12 points, second Paul Chanuion / Tim Duguid 17 points, third Rudy McNeill / Byron Watt 24 points, fourth Campbell Alexander / Ralph Thomas 33 points, fifth Anthony McMillan / Lorna Daniel 42 points, sixth Myles White / Estelle Buys 54 points, seventh Trent Bingham / Mike McNeill 59 points, eighth Lance Burger / Heidi Burger 60 points, ninth Iain Bowman / Rob Bowman 80 points.

Hobie Tigers: First Struan Campbell / Murray May eight points, second Riaan Botha / Dylan Albert 21 points, third Kobus Fourie / Jaco Labuschagne 24 points.

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