Gordon’s Bay Yacht Club (GBYC) hosted its Autumn Mini-Regatta on the weekend of 1 and 2 April. Conditions throughout the weekend were frustratingly light, and in the end only two races were run – not enough to declare a Regatta winner.
On Saturday, the fleet was only barely able to keep up a 2-knot average speed. Out of a fleet of nine yachts, only the three fastest racing boats were able to finish the race. First across the line was Royal Flush, expertly helmed by Dennis Cochrane in the light conditions.
She was followed by Nico van Wieringen’s Go Dutch. Third place went to the Magic Bus quarter-tonner Pure Magic, skippered by Kevin Black, with Alan Dawson and André Pelser as crew. Interestingly, Go Dutch elected to not fly a spinnaker, and still edged out Pure Magic for second place.
The cruisers had a frustrating time. Civis Mundi (Dirk and Mariette Nolte), Time Out (Philippe Pringiers) and Zia (Barry Ross) were all locked in a tight battle for fourth place. Civis Mundi and Time Out sailed into a hole on the right-hand side of the course and retired, while Zia wasclocked out by Bridge officials near the windward mark after heading left into light air beneath Clarence Drive. Maverick and Shifta were also declared non-finishers by the officials, while Libre had retired early.
Sunday brought even poorer conditions. Neither Go Dutch nor Time Out elected to race. Within the first hour the only boat to make it across the start line was Pure Magic.
After 90 minutes of drifting, Libre, Maverick and Zia all decided to throw in the towel and return home. But just as Civis Mundi was dropping sails, a light breeze came through. This allowed the reduced fleet to sail a shortened course. First over the line was Pure Magic. The crew of Kevin Black, Alan Dawson and André Pelser were delighted to be the first boat to beat Royal Flush to victory.
A frustrated Cochrane brought Royal Flush over in second place. Civis Mundi hoisted sails and ran a good race to come home third, rewarded for their patience. Shifta also sailed a tidy race, but had to overcome a significant starting disadvantage, having drifted about 400 m from the start line before the squalls.
The sailors would like to thank the Bridge Crew (Carol Ferguson, Anneline Sweetman, Tony Messina, and Miranda Messina) for officiating and the skippers and crew of Old Brown (Gys Liebenberg) and Viking (Brad Roe).
Before Saturday’s racing, GBYC hosted a market day, with fresh produce, handmade soaps, craftwork and clothing sold. There was also a “Yacht Grot” sale for selling off spare sailing gear. The next event on the GBYC calendar is an overnight cruise to Simon’s Town, which will take place on the weekend of 15-17 April. For more on sailing at GBYC, contact the manager, Eleonore Bondesio, at [email protected].
