The racing yachts included single-handed and double-handed racing yachts such as RS Tera's, Dabchicks, Mirrors, Lasers, 420's, 29'ers and Optimists.
The Knysna and George Lakes Yacht Clubs certainly raised the standards in both organization and results.
As expected for December, the weather conditions played ball. Top Dabchick sailor Jason Gray described the conditions as strong, "For races 1 to 8 every second or third wave came over the deck," he said. Ten-year-old girl Robyn Hellstrom described it as "scary".
The RS Tera Pro's wase won by James Hellstrom from George, with Joshua Woollard of Port Elizabeth following closely close on his heels. Hellstrom had to sail at great speed and zero mistakes as the skilled Joshua Woollard had all the attributes to capitalize on any sluggishness or capsizes. Ashleigh Hellstrom was a sensation in the wind, coming sixth overall and first girl.
Danielle de Wet and Sara Young, both of GLYC, completed the podium of the fairer sailors. The RS Tera Sport, for even younger sailors, was won by Chad Stevenson of Durban, with local GLYC sailor Jedd Page securing second place. Knysna's Wanga Mbabe fought back from the bad luck of two broken masts to eighth place, securing fourth and fifth places in the later races. Sanele Maggaza and Bhekumuzi Hani completed the Knysna entries.
The dabchicks excelled in the strong winds in which the 'oversized surfboard with a sail' shines. Durban sailor Euan Hurter had the upper hand in the fleet of 37 boats, winning from Jason Gray of Cape Town. GLYC's multi-talented Jayan Smart secured tenth place in this highly competitive fleet.
The Mirror dinghy class, which flies a spinnaker downwind, had the tightest competition. Going into the final race, Cundell Statt of Knysna and sailing under the GLYC burgee, advised the SuperSport TV crew "I have to win this race to win the regatta". He kept the spectators biting their nails to take the lead on the last leg and win by a mere metre from Keegan Ekermans and Amy Wahl of Gauteng. Sabata Gayeka and Bonisile Moni of Cape Town filled the final podium position.
The 37 boat laser fleet was raced by sporty young men and ladies, with Marcello Marcia winning from Tristan Rogotski, both of Gauteng. Rigotski's grandfather, Springbok yachtsman Ziggi Rigotki of Sedgefield, gave full support. Jenna Lammers of GLYC sailed extremely competitively in the wind to be first young lady. In the smaller Laser 4.7's, Jonathan Rees excelled in the strong winds. The lad from George was a clear winner from Matthew Gonclaves of Zimbabwe. Gonclaves is one of seven sailors from Zimbabwe. GLYC's Nathan Page and Seth Young were third and fourth, with Chris Brooks sixth overall.
In their 420 (a spinnaker trapeze yacht) Port Elizabeth's Eben and Johan Vivier stamped their authority over Ryan Robinson and Dominic van der Walt of Gauteng. Mark von Shutz and Joppie Naude of Mossel Bay raced to a creditable third.
The sailors from windy Cape Town dominated the high performance 29'er skiffs, with David Wilson and Alex Burger the clear leaders ahead of Ed Latinen and Josh Rubenstein.
The biggest class, the Optimists Class, was arguably the hardest. Sedgefield's Georgeo Divaris, a star in the making, was fast out the blocks to claim the first two victories. He crossed the finish line a clear winner in race 3, only to have a distracting penalty following a problem with a mark that had drifted out of position. Following a mediocre day 2, by Divaris standards, he had to fight back to second place, a slender point off winning the premier championship. All praise goes to Optimist winner Calvin Gibbs of Cape Town, and congratulations to Arin Long of Cape Town for third place.
Following a year of good results, Divaris is seeded number one of the 27 sailor Optimist fleet that is being trained for the Optimist World Championships in Lake Gardia, Northern Italy. The selections will reduce the fleet to five.
Georgeo Divaris in the lead at Swartvlei. (Photo: Angela Gray)
