Following a 'tune-up' race on Sunday, July 27, formal racing began on Monday, July 28. The weather gods seemed intent on making the Northern hemisphere contestants happy with virtually no wind and plenty of sunshine for the whole morning. The sailors were able to go onto the water during the afternoon and three races were sailed in light winds.
From Tuesday, July 29 to Thursday, July 31 the winds were light, and at times non-existent, but the sun shone most of the time. The final day, Friday 1 August produced the best sailing winds of the week. At the scheduled starting time of 10:00, a light South-Easter was already blowing and the forecast had been that it would pick up later. This it did, swinging to the South and causing a delay to move the marker buoys. The wind went up to 12 knots and some breakages of gear were reported, but the end result was that 12 races were sailed during the championship.
James Hellstrom of George Lakes Yacht Club was very consistent, winning seven of his twelve races, and achieving four second places. This earned him the title of world champion in the RS Tera Pro Class, with Jason Gray of Milnerton Aquatic in second place, and Christopher Crawford of Jacana Yacht Club, Zimbabwe, in third position - a triumph for South Africa with three South Africans among the first four, two of them from the Southern Cape. Further down the list, five Knysna Yacht Club members, Sanele Magqa, Aphendule Maneli, Sakhumzi Funda, Sara Young and Mzukizi Mayathi came in at the 12th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, and 27th positions respectively. A fleet of 30 competed in this race.
In the RS Tera Sport category Arin Long of Theewaters Sailing Club achieved six first places out of 12 races, which earned him overall victory in this category. The following three places were also taken by South Africans, Micheala Robinson of Royal Natal, Benji Daniel of Point Yacht Club and Taalia Naido, also of Point Yacht Club. JP Kriel, a sea cadet of TS Knysna, whose brother is a sailing instructor in the SA Navy, achieved a 23rd spot out of the fleet of 27 in his first major race.
Sailing on Swartvlei provided some challenges for the young sailors with winds varying from very light to strong. A good time was had by all, and when not sailing the time was filled with flag-signing, volleyball, water sport, soccer, tag and making new friends. There were fun evenings with lucky draws, sucker prizes, gumboot dancing as well as traditional South African foods such as bobotie, braai and potjiekos courtesy of Pine Lake Marina and fresh fruit donated by Fruit & Veg City. Visitors from abroad enjoyed great weather and found it hard to believe that it was Winter.
International jurors and parents enjoyed meals and drinks at Knysna Yacht Club, where many comments on the beauty of the environment were made.
Cathy Avarinos, the prime organiser, thanked the Knysna company, N2RS, responsible for the event management and who also provided good music for young and old.
Mike Pogodin, junior sailing coach at Knysna Yacht Club, the host club assisted by Mossel Bay and George Lakes clubs, should be congratulated on all the hard work he has put in to bring the young Knysna sailors to a level which allowed them to participate in this very prestigious championship. Alan Waterston, the assistant sailing secretary at Knysna Yacht Club put enormous effort into managing the shore arrangements, and Kathy Avarinos is to be congratulated on bringing the event to the Knysna/Sedgefield area to the benefit of all, and for managing the event so effectively. Without the generous sponsorship of Pine Lake Marina the event would not have been able to take place, so a big debt of gratitude is due to them.
At the prize-giving ceremony on Friday night, August 1 the (full) South African anthem was played many times as young South Africans received their prizes. The president of the International RS Tera Class Association, Frans Boer announced that the 2015 RS Tera World Championships would be hosted in Holland and invited everyone to participate again next year. On behalf of both SA Sailing and the host club, Knysna Yacht Club, Andrew Finn congratulated the organisers on a well-run event and thanked all who participated in helping to make the regatta a success.
Prize-winners in the RS Tera Sport category of the world championships were (from left), Michaela Robinson (second), Arin Long (first) and Benji Daniel (third).
The winners of the RS Tera Pro Category of the world championship were from left: Jason Grey (second), James hellstrom (first) and Christopher Crawford (third).
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