VHF Handheld Field Trails - Part 1
The price of basic handheld VHF radios has come down significantly over the years and while models with some of the latest features such as DSC and GPS are, of course, more pricey, units are now available for less than $200.

Book Reviews

Round the Island Race - Anything But Frosty Weather
It all started way back in 1958 when a few guys at LDYC decided to have a race around the island and back. The first race was sailed in dinghies and was, in fact, an inter-club event. The event grew, and in 1981, the record number of entries was 712. This year’s event attracted 390 boats of all classes, shapes and sizes.

America's Cup 33 - BMW Oracle Victorious
Larry Ellison’s 114-ft long trimaran BMW Oracle trounced Ernesto Bertarelli’s 110-ft catamaran Alinghi 5 in two straight races in Valencia to take the America’s Cup from the Swiss and return it to the United States for the first time in 15 years.


Katrine Cuisine - Risotto

Doing the Impossible
Geoff Holt achieved a personal dream when he completed an Atlantic crossing aboard a specially modified 60-foot catamaran earlier this year. Film maker Digby Fox went with Geoff and his care-giver Susana and writes about the remarkable nature of the voyage, the boat, and most of all, the skipper.


Separating the Ladies from the Bouys
I was ambling towards the club foyer with a bulging, purple, lavender-scented rubbish bag clasped to my chest. Inside the bag was the spray-hood that I had scrubbed free of guano, patched, scotch-guarded and practically re-sewn in its entirety. Seven broken needles and several drops of my blood were lost somewhere within its folds, but I guessed that was small compensation in lieu of the cost of a brand new spray-hood that would probably become home to yet another nesting seagull anyway.

Letters to the Editor

Sailor of the Month
Asenathi Jim, known to most of his sailing friends as ‘Squirrel’, is one of South Africa’s most talented young dinghy helmsmen.

Boat Review - Maverick 400

Groupama 3 Re-starts Jules Verne Trophy Attempt
On 31 January 2010 Franck Cammas and his ‘Dream Team’ aboard the giant trimaran Groupama 3 passed the light of Ushant to begin their third attempt to break the round-the-world record currently held by Bruno Peyron and his team aboard Orange 2.

Roy Dunster Marries
Confirmed sailing bachelor Roy Dunster has finally tied the knot after being smitten by his lovely bride, Jolanda.


Cruise: South Through the Marlborough Canal
Joanne and Edo Ankum with their son Borris and daughter Esther boarded their OVNI 435, Sally Lightfoot, for a period and destinations unknown. They sailed from Amsterdam to Gibraltar and cruised the Med eastwards to winter in Alexandria. The following spring they sailed to Istanbul by way of Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus and spent the summer exploring the Black Sea, upon which they headed for the Red Sea, retracing the same route. But before answering the seductive call of new adventures on yet another exotic sea, there was the Suez Canal to be crossed.

Varo Review
On a recent trip to Port Elizabeth I had the opportunity to go for a late afternoon off-shore sail in the recently imported RS Varo. The Varo is a single-handed boat featuring a fully battened mainsail and an asymmetrical spinnaker.

Speed & Smarts

Boat Speed - How's Your Upwind Speed?
When you are trying to improve your boat’s upwind performance, it is essential to compare your Boat speed and height (pointing) to other boats. It’s almost impossible to gauge subtle differences in performance by using just feel or instruments, so keep a close eye on nearby boats while you are racing or training.


In Theory - How to Sail Fast in 'Velocity Shifts'
The easiest way to explain the concept of velocity shifts is to start with an example. Imagine you are sailing upwind, close-hauled on starboard tack. It’s a very puffy day, with lots of increases and decreases in wind velocity. However, the wind direction remains exactly the same during all the puffs and lulls.

Regional, Regatta, Club & Class News

Two Daves Honoured
The Point Yacht Club recently honoured ‘the two Daves’ - David Cox and David Hudson - at a dinner where many of the PYC ‘old timers’ emerged from the woodwork to join in the celebration.

Middle of the Dam Summer Series
Consistency was the key to Streetcar’s success in the Middle of the Dam Summer Series on Vaal Dam. The L26, skippered by Rob Willcox, with crew Ingrid Willcox, Ditmar Herrman and CJ Milne, sailed in the top three throughout the series. In fact, their worst result was a third place which they were able to discard.

Cape Point Challenge
The 16th annual Cape Point Challenge will be sailed on Saturday 20 March, from Fish Hoek Beach Sailing Club, in False Bay.

Mauritius to Durban Race - First Entry Received
Now that the official documents for the race from Mauritius to Durban in September this year have been published, interest has peaked, with enquiries coming in from many different quarters and people unknown to the organisers.

'Babewatch' at FBYC
A friend phoned to enquire whether the whales were still in False Bay. Not to my knowledge, I told him. Apparently, while having lunch at a restaurant, he was drawn by the attention being paid by all and sundry, especially the menfolk, to something happening on the water.

SAS Makes Headway in Sail Training
The future of sailing in South Africa lies in training. And yet, although there are many role players involved, the sport has not been successful in creating a national training structure.


IMO Calls on Local Search and Rescue Expert
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has asked Andre Botes, of the Cape Town Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC), and Head of Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations, to chair a working group for the IMO’s Communications sub-committee for search and rescue.


Popular Kids' Sailing Camps at TCC
Since its inception in December 2006, more than 100 children have attended the annual Kids’ Sailing Camps at The Catamaran Club (TCC) on Bronkhorstspruit Dam in Gauteng.


New Sponsors for Sailing Week and IRC Nationals
D&A and AAD Groups (Automotive Distributors) have shown their faith in Cape Town’s premier regatta by announcing their support for the March 2010 event. Cape Town Sailing Week, incorporating the IRC National Championships, in its second year running, is the brain child of Royal Cape Yacht Club’s Bjorn Geiger and Hout Bay Yacht Club’s Rian Turner. The regatta is a combination of two events - the Admiral’s Cup Regatta and Table Bay Week.

Finn Class News
The news on the new locally produced Pata Finns, or Pata Africa Finns, gets better and better. Since the last article on the new venture was announced, additional negotiations have taken place to also acquire a set of moulds to manufacture Pata Finn Kevlar masts, and they will come to South Africa at the same time as the boat moulds.

Zululand Yacht Club Inhaca Race
The 2010 Inhaca Race will start on 2 April from the Mozambique island, and end in Richards Bay.

King of the Vaal
The weather forecast suggested a light regatta. For sailors and race officers, it looked dismal, with a maximum wind speed of seven knots for about an hour before dying.

Hannes Wins a Blokart
Hannes Pienaar is a 24-year-old civil engineering student at Stellenbosch University. A keen kite-boarder, he takes an interest in wind sports and this is what drew him to the Blokart exhibition at the Boat Show in Cape Town. There, Hannes bought a ticket in the raffle sponsored by Blokart SA, the proceeds of which will be used in Rotary’s efforts to fight polio.

PSC Biddulphs Charity Regatta
It was a spectacular sight as 109 dinghies of various classes took to the water at Pretoria Sailing Club for the 2010 Biddulphs Charity Regatta. All the proceeds from this regatta are donated to the NSRI, which makes it a very worthy cause as far as the sailors are concerned and a regatta well worth supporting.

Sonnet Nationals
Milnerton Aquatic Club had an exciting 2009, hosting three national events - the Fireballs in May, the Radio Controlled fleets in September, and the Sonnets at the end of December.

Redhouse Makes the Most of It
There is a history stretching back more than 30 years of keen interclub competition between traditional rivals Knysna and George Lakes Yacht Clubs

MAC Sets Its Sights HIgher
Milnerton Aquatic Club (MAC) is located in an area that is seeing tremendous urban growth, with the result that there has been some pressure on the club to provide sail training for the youth on a much larger scale.

ISAF Supplement to Case Book 2009 - 2012
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has published the 2010 supplement to the Case Book for 2009-2010, which contains interpretations of The Racing Rules of Sailing.

Industry News And Reader Services
71) Harken Events Calendar
74) Stow-a-Weigh. Industry and New Product News
78) Free Classified Adverts
79) Advertisers' Index