Newsletter 2 – September 2024

Commodore’s Report August 24

With both the Opening Cruise and our first race behind us the 24/25 sailing season is now truly underway. What a splendid event and day the Opening Cruise turned out to be. A big BZ to all who were involved in the organising and to our large fleet of participants who enthusiastically took part. Feedback from our VIP guests was that they all thoroughly enjoyed the day and evening and I believe that, as a result, even stronger relationships and bonds were established. Even the weather was kind to us! Thank you.

You will have noticed the buzz and hive of activity in and around our club of late as all our various projects are under way and progress. Once again, I apologise for any short-term inconvenience which this may cause. We are pushing as hard as we can to complete projects as speedily as possible. In this regard a big thank you to all the committee members and volunteers who so selflessly give of their spare time in the interests of our great club.

As mentioned in our previous newsletter Saldanha Bay is now an official Port of Entry for foreign vessels either entering our country for the first time or departing. The official landing point will be at Yachtport, which is situated within the secure area controlled by the Port Authorities. Foreign yachts are our guests so let’s show them what SBYC hospitality is all about and hopefully they will spread the word globally.

A very long time ago I spent many exhilarating hours, as a young Naval Officer, sailing ‘Saldanha’ dinghies. It was therefore a really special and a somewhat emotional moment when we launched and recommissioned the first of our restored Saldanha dinghies just in time for the Opening Cruise. Designed in 1940 by the late ND Ross as a training and recreational dinghy for the then infant S.A.N. the design was first known as “The Services Sixteen-Footer” serving at the Naval Gymnasium in Saldanha Bay and Salisbury Island in Durban. As we restore the dinghies, and there are plenty to come, they will be used by both SAS Saldanha and the SBYC Academy for sail and seamanship training. A big thank you to all involved in this project. We welcome any SBYC members wishing to experience a bit of nostalgia and have a proper sailing experience, by prior arrangement, to take one of the dinghies for a sail. An article by Colin Farlam published in 1976 described the Saldanha dinghy as follows: “A far cry from the ‘ironing board’ and ‘coffin’ like sailboats of today, the ‘Saldanha’ Dinghy is a real boat.” I tend to agree!

I cannot emphasise enough and will keep reinforcing our vision that SBYC is a club whose main focus is vested in sailing to be enjoyed by all members and visitors in a positive camaraderie and family driven atmosphere. If we all bear this in mind at all times and ensure that our actions reinforce this vision then SBYC will remain a happy place for many years to come.

I look forward to seeing you all out there on the water.

Peter

Sailing Diana

After weeks of keeping an eye on the weather and moving the Opening cruise at the last minute we all left our moorings and the jetty on Saturday 24 of August with mostly blue skies and a fresh westerly breeze as we set sail for the Opening cruise and to salute our commodore. We could not have asked for better weather and as lots of us sailed for the first time since the cold, wet winter started, this was enjoyed by all, old and young.

We would like to thank everyone who joined in for the Opening Cruise on 24 August 2024 as this could not have been a successful event without the members. We had around 20 to 25 boats out on the water, even Eddie in the Club dinghy. We also had a few dinghies in the Opening cruise for the first time in years. We managed to launch the first Saldanha dinghy on Saturday morning and took part in the Opening Cruise skippered by Captain Graeme Plint and students from the SBYC Academy.

This was followed on Sunday with the first keelboat and dingy race of the season. The skippers briefing was at 10am with an 11am start. We had three Dinghies, and four keelboats entered in the race, the guys on the mirrors had a brilliant sail and everyone finished the race.

After a bit of confusion in the keelboat race, as one of the marks had been removed for repairs, everyone finished the race in grand style. Blazin, skippered by Andrew Bews, finished first in the Frost Bite 1 race, followed by Sea Glory skippered by Grant Saunders. JML skippered by Nicolas Wilsnach and Suntac with the unstoppable Mike Rothenburg at the helm were in 3rd and 4th place respectively. We are hoping to see more boats on the water for the racing season as the weather gets warmer. Please note the club currently has four Mirrors and ten Oppies that are available to our members and children to use on race days. Please liaise with Diana or Audrey regarding this.

We are proud to announce that we joined forces with the Ullman racing team to sail the 70th Lipton Cup under our flag, Andre Bestha, with his crew of development sailors, are also competing under the Defence Yacht Club’s flag. This will give Saldanha Bay two shots at winning the cup and the chance to host the Lipton Cup next year.

Please keep an eye on the calendar for the next sailing events coming up.

Academy Report – Audrey Redmond

The Academy sub-committee team continue to explore the many angles that will support our growth going forward. Dinghy maintenance plans and participation in race events are at the forefront of our planning in the coming months.

Over the past weekend (24/25th August) JML, crewed by academy members, participated in both the sail by and the first race, skippered by Nicholas Wilsnach, a matriculant and his crew, Danny-Elle Carolissen, William Constant, Edmond Kleinsmit, Marco Pieterson, Stacey Williams, Davine de Bruyn and Marzaan Pieters. Despite the challenges of a boat hook breaking and the VHF radio not working they braved the waters and did us proud.

On the mirrors we enjoyed the participation in their first SBYC dinghy race with Ethan Willaims (skipper) and Anton Trotske (skipper) and their crew Joshua Nero, Gordon Plint and Jonty Redmond. The course was set to go around Dial Rock and besides the choppy waters and gusty conditions they were super proud in completing this race.

On this special occasion food and refreshments were enjoyed by all the members, spirits were high and enthusiasm for the sport of sailing was palpable.

Outside House

The three large jetties are nearing completion, unfortunately the weather hasn’t been favourable. We are hoping to have them in the water by the second week of September.