Point Yacht Club

Wrapping up our individual reports, we clock out with our Rear Commodore of Keelers, Ashley Rainier.

‘I have competed in 11 MSC Week Regattas and this one is defiantly in the top three for me! ‘

This was the affirmation from Point Yacht Club’s Rear Commodore of Keelers, Ashley Rainier. Rainier was skipper on the Simonis 35, Zing. ‘This year’s MSC was run extremely well, all round a great event and great experience for all. And Anthony Howes needs to take a bow, well done Sir!’

Commenting after the regatta, he shared, ‘We had a very green crew and used the race as a good training event. As the skipper, I was extremely impressed with everyone, some had only heard the word spinnaker for the first time the week before.’

Finishing fifth overall in the ORC Nationals, with a scorecard revealing two fourth places, five fifth places and one race where they unfortunately timed out. Rainier stated, ‘Our best position and boat handling would be the fourth race on Tuesday, the long haul where we managed to beat the pacer Impi for line honours. A big blow for the new sailors. On the water in those conditions, we were doing really great as a crew.’

Rainier has had a big sailing season, racing on Zing in the Vasco da Gama and then in the inaugural Tuzi Tekwini Ocean Race last month. Team Zing finished eighth overall in the Vasco and fourth in the ORC division in the Tuzi Tekwini. 11 Monohulls entered the Tuzi Tekwini in the ORC division, and only four managed to finish the race.

Concluding, Rainier enthused, ‘Zing was thoroughly impressed by the comradely and sportsmanship displayed by the competitors at this year’s MSC, in specific with Spirit of Anna Wardley. Congrats to all, it was a pleasure racing with you.’

Pix by Robyn Ambler Photography / Rhipkin Photography and Ross Kramm

‘This is my seventh MSC Week, and I would say this is one of my best. Experiencing the regatta with my novice crew was completely memorable, I am so proud of how they grew in one week.’

A delighted Praise Baras from Sail Africa gently boasted. ‘I was the skipper for Lindiwe, and my team were all completely inexperienced, some of them, this was the first time sailing out on the open ocean! Seeing my boys doing great sailing was an indescribable joyous feeling.’

‘From the very first race to the tenth race, the boys learnt so much. They learnt about the roles, the procedures, how to keep your boat fast in the fleet, tactics of sailing, chores and maintenance and of course good seamanship!’

For a young inexperienced crew, they did phenomenally well finishing fifth overall in the L26 KZN Regionals. Included in their scorecard was two impressive third places, a fourth, four fifth places, a sixth, seventh and ninth – the two later ones were their race discards.

‘The courses were fun; the weather was perfect for beginners. On Thursday when the big winds pushed through, the boys were disappointed we didn’t go out as they were keen to try some heavy weather sailing.’

‘The final two races were the best for me, they were super amazing. We weren’t at the back of the fleet, but were actually chasing the leaders, hunting them down and really racing. Kudos to the boys on Lindiwe, what an adventure we had.’

Pix by Robyn Ambler Photography / Struan Campbell / Richard Hipkin / Chris Clark

Competing in his second MSC Week, Sabelo Mpungose from Clermont had a blast offshore with his crew on PGMT.

Sailing for Sail Africa under the burgee of Point Yacht Club, the eager skipper stated, ‘The Regatta was just phenomenal, we have nothing bad to say about it. We enjoyed absolutely everything this week.’

Making memories, Mpungose shared, ‘My standout moment was the Karaoke after sailing on Thursday night. Nearing the end of the racing, with only one day left, we were able to let our hair down. We just had fun singing together with our competitors, and getting to know each other. A special time off the water.’

Finishing tenth in a highly competitive fleet of L26s in the KZN Regionals, Mpungose said, ‘My best race was the final race on Friday, I had the best start, adding to that, it was an all in start, sharing the line with big boats competing in the ORC's.’

Concluding, the young sailor closed by saying, ‘Thanks to PYC and Sail Africa for the opportunity and a lovely MSC Week, my team and I truly enjoyed it.’

Pix by Robyn Ambler Photography and Struan Campbell

Mulling over his MSC Week, New Germany’s Khulekani Sibambo is taking the positives out of his week after skippering his DUT Sailing team on BNR finishing their week on the water in eighth spot.

Competing in his third MSC regatta, having finished in a well earned second place last year, he stated, ‘The regatta, for me and my team, was challenging. We had hoped to do better when it comes to the results, but we enjoyed, and we learnt a lot from this regatta. When you are positioned towards the back of the fleet, you ask yourself as a skipper and as a team what are we doing wrong? What are we not doing right? These niggling questions sit with you and makes you want to know what is missing and what the lessons are. In sailing you never stop learning!’

Reminiscing, Sibambo shared, ‘The standout moment for me was on the second day second race where we finished second. That race showed me that it is possible to win although I was sailing with a different boat from last year with my team.

My best race was the second race on the second day of MSC, we started on the port side of the start line, and we were moving fast behind the leading yacht, B2G2. The race was two laps and we maintained our position during the race until we finished.’

Pix by Richard Hipkin Photography

Four yachts from Richards Bay took part in the MSC Week, two flying the flag for King Shaka Yacht Club and two representing Zululand Yacht Club.

The King Shaka sailors were both competing in the ORC Nationals. They managed to sail eight races over the week, including a long haul race to uMhlanga on Tuesday. Argo FY skippered by Clinton Guald finished in third place after a consistent performance, notching up four third places and four fourth places. Craig Deverson racing on Impi one point behind their club mates, with four third places, two fourth places and two fifth places in their eight races.

The two Zululand Yacht Club’s entries in the L26 KZN Regionals also shone brightly. Defending champion, Estian du Plooy had a magnificent start to his week with his crew on Waldecia, leading the log on the first two days and looking like he was on track to reclaim his title. Participating in his third MSC, he states, ‘The whole week was quite the experience. I would say our best race was the second one on the first day. Everything went right for us, and we crossed the line in first place, our first of the regatta.’

Having charged out of the starting blocks looking so promising, the 17 year old skipper shared, ‘The week was exciting! We gave it our all, and looking at the conditions I would say we did quite well.’

Unfortunately for the visitors, two of the Durban local boats reigned du Plooy in, overtaking him on the third day and managed to stay just in front for the remainder of the regatta.

One of only two boats to have an all-female crew impressed. Esmeralda skippered by Kay-Lynn Mc Hugh finished seventh after a long hard week of sailing in all types of conditions. The girls had a mixed bag of results, with their best finish of fourth coming in the second race on day one.

Pix by Robyn Ambler Photography, Richard Hipkin Photography and Ross Kramm

No stranger to the top steps of the podium, one of Durban’s most competitive sailors, Nigel Milln finished a commendable second in the ORC Nationals.

Competing for over two decades Milln recalls,’ We must have competed in 20 MSC Weeks over the years, they were NCS Weeks when we started back in about 2000.’

Milln had a ding-dong battle with the Cape sailors racing on the classic boat, the J33 - MSC Donna Mia. The results seesawed between Kenwin Daniels from the Izivunguvungu MSC Foundation and Milln, with the visitors scoring five first places and three seconds and the Kloof resident notching up three first places and five seconds. Only two points separated the top two boats at the conclusion of the five days of epic racing.

‘We didn’t have a bad regatta overall. Probably the distance race was the best one for us, as it had the most wind - up to 18knots. We were more than 40 minutes ahead of the next yacht. After we finished the wind got up to 25k. which was enough for the second yacht to close the gap to about 30 minutes which cost us the race win. Frustrating, but thats handicap racing.’

Continuing, Milln shared, ‘The event was well run. The conditions were standard warm Durban winter which made it special for those coming from the cold of Johannesburg or Cape Town. The wind light enough to test everyone.’

After a busy sailing season, Milln and crew will be recharging their batteries ahead of the summer sailing season. The team had a wonderful season, with some big wins, including line honours in the Vasco da Gama Ocean Race down to East London recently.

Pix by Ross Kramm, Robyn Ambler Photography and Photography

Making a welcome return to competitive sailing in Durban, Nqoba Mswazi from uMgababa showed off his skills in the recent MSC Week.

Mswazi who used to crew on the racing boats like Sean Jone’s Bandit, took a sabbatical from racing. His first big event back and there were no signs of rust.

Clocking up his eighth MSC Week, Nqoba skippered the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s only entry, Orion B2G2. Working on the foredeck, the experienced sailor led his young team to a magical second place.

Their first day wasn’t quite as smooth sailing as they would have wished for, notching up a fifth and a fourth on the first day, and an impressive second sandwiched in between the two middle of the fleet results. The weather Gods dished up a generous breeze on the second day, offering them exciting racing in the bay, and they netted a third, followed by two first places. They followed that up with two second places on day three and a second and first place to wrap up their event.

Mswazi shared, ‘The regatta was good, and my team enjoyed the races. If only the breeze wasn't as light at times, it would have been fantastic racing with some more wind powering us along.’

Nicknamed, ‘The Machine’, Mswazi is no stranger to competitive racing, having competed in the Lipton Challenge Cup, sailed in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, in the Vasco da Gama Ocean Race and the Round Creole Race.

‘My standout moment for the week was the last race. We put it all in with the hopes that PYC Challenger, our main competition, would finish four boats behind us, allowing us to secure the win but they pushed hard and finished third. Only one point separated the two of us on the log. Some superb tactical and most enjoyable racing in the L26 fleet.’

Pix by Robyn Ambler Photography and Struan Campbell

Visiting sailors, C’est La Vie skippered by John Reardon and his crew Rodney Alport and Jolene Tolfts relished the gorgeous Durban winter sailing during their MSC Week.

‘There were several standout moments for us all week, however, the most enjoyable was enjoying sailing our little 'Caravan of the sea', on the sea each day and learning just how capable a vessel she was and how very competent her crew is.’ Skipper, John Reardon shared.

Representing Stilbaai Yacht Club, Reardon and crew were the only entry in the Open Class division so had a impressive scoresheet throughout the event. As a surprise for the guests, the Committee organised a fun race to conclude the week of impressive sailing. With an all-in start, unbeknown to C’est La Vie, they were racing against all the big boats in the various other classes. In light conditions, the small little Holiday 23 performed magnificently and took the handicap honours, beating all the racing boats.

Continuing, he said, ‘The Regatta overall was well managed, well advertised, well enjoyed, and we were made to feel very welcome by all we had the pleasure of interacting with at Point Yacht Club. A regatta we will talk of for many months to come.’

On Tuesday, with the weather building, the Race Officer sent the various classes off on a long-haul race. Reardon commented, ‘For me, the most enjoyable single race was the there-and-back to Umgeni River pencil buoy, beating into a freshening North Easterly and then hoisting the kite for the downwind return to Durbs - spectacular sights and a white knuckle ride home.’

Chatting about his history sailing in the MSC Week, Reardon reminisced, ‘Having first sailed in 'Crystic' Week in 1993 on Solarwind, an L34, this year's MSC week makes it five events in total I have sailed in.’

Pix by Struan Campbell

Durban North resident, Jessica Fennessy relished her time during her second MSC Week Regatta. They had a challenging regatta coming up against some of the top future sailors in South Africa in a highly competitive L26 KZN Regionals fleet. Finishing fifth in their last race on the first day was their best result, with all their other races finishing comfortably mid-fleet. Fennessy was crewing for the UKZN Yacht Club on SLFC Spindrift, they finished sixth overall.

‘Our best race was definitely when we finished only one metre ahead of target competitor. There was a lot of tactics involved and ultimately our choices paid off. We didn’t make the position we aimed for, but we had a lot of fun and made good memories. We also learnt a lot and worked well together as a team.’

Asked what her standout moment was for the week, she stated, ‘A huge pod of dolphins swimming alongside the boat during the race , they were hunting the bait fish we had seen along the surface.’

Pix by Ross Kamm and Robyn Ambler Photography

Crew member, Nicolene Henkeman from the Bluff had an exhilarating week of sailing. Competing in the L26 KZN Regionals offshore of Durban, the local sailor had a magnificent time on the water competing in her sixth MSC Week. Together with her skipper, Nqoba Mswazi on Orion B2G2, they finished only one point behind the winners sailing for DUT Sailing Club.

The young team had a rocky start to their regatta, kicking off their week with a fifth and fourth place on the first day, and an impressive second sandwiched in between the two middle of the fleet results. Tuesday saw the winds offering them exciting racing in the bay, and they netted a third, followed by two first places. They followed that up with two second places on day three and a second and first place to wrap up their event.

‘My standout moment was definitely the competitiveness within the L26 fleet. The camaraderie on and off the water amongst us was absolutely amazing. The diversity of sailing skills, age and backgrounds is what really brought us all together.

Day one was challenging with the lighter winds and positioning ourselves within races but as the regatta progressed so did we. From coming fifth in our first race to coming first in the last race, the teamwork and effort we put in was really evident. It was a great regatta for us.

Our best race was definitely on Tuesday where the wind was in our favour because the boat performs better in the heavier winds. We got a clean start and a great first beat allowing us to lead the fleet. Rounding the top mark and putting the spinnaker up whilst implementing our downwind tactics we managed to keep our first place and crossed the finish line with smiles all around.’

Pix by Robyn Ambler Photography / Struan Campbell / Kramm

Durban’s up-and-coming sailing sensation, Seaview’s Shamir Rampersadh led his team from DUT Sailing Club to victory in the L26 KZN Regionals. Smashing it out the park, and bettering his fourth that he scored last year, Rampersadh stated, ‘I would say it would have to be one of the most pleasant MSC Weeks I’ve sailed in. The weather was great, the competition close, and everyone was on their 'A’ game'. I’m almost sad that it ended so soon, but I’m looking forward to next year’s regatta.’

Asked what a standout moment was for him, his response, ‘I think it would be race nine. We didn’t have the best start and found ourselves in fifth and Nqoba on Orion B2G2, our biggest competition, had four boats between us which meant we would lose our overall first place. We pushed throughout and eventually ended up finishing that race in first, securing our lead.’

The week started with Rampersadh and team in second place after three tough races on Monday, chasing the defending champion, Estian du Plooy from Zululand Yacht Club. 3 points separated the two as they began day two. After another three races on Tuesday in big winds, Rampersadh closed the defecate by 2 points, still sitting comfortably in second place. On Wednesday, two races were sailed in light shifty conditions and the skipper for DUT made his move. Claiming first position with 3 points ahead of second placed Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Nqoba Mswazi .

‘What went right on Wednesday? I would say our starts. From the start till finish, there wasn’t a single boat that was ahead of us at any point in the race. The big thing i would say is getting into clean air ahead of everyone. Sometimes we'd make that extra tack just to find the clean air which worked well for us.’

Closing out the regatta, he hung onto his phenomenal lead, finishing only one point clear or Mswazi and crew on Orion B2G2. The busy sailor is hoping to get up to the J22 Nationals taking place at the Vaal Dam next month. Once his studies are over, try his hand at professional yacht racing, and potentially opening up a sailing school. ‘But for now, I am aiming to get into a maritime career after wrapping up my Nautical Sciences degree. Then we will see what the future holds.’

Looking into our crystal ball, we believe there will be tons more sailing for him and his crew. We look forward to following your successes.

Pic by Ambler Photography and Rhipkin Photography

Our final batch of images have landed.
Robyn Ambler Photography captured these moments on our final day of the MSC Regatta.
Enjoy.

Spinnaker Sunday.

I love the movement captured in this image of Spirit of Anna Wardley dropping her kite, snapped by Rhipkin Photography

Images from our Prize Giving held on Friday night.

Well done to all the teams.

Pix by Nautical Images

Spinnaker Sunday...

A beautiful drone shot by Struan Campbell. Orion B2G2 skippered by Nqoba Mswazi is pictured heading down to the bottom mark.

Leading from the start, the team from Izivunguvungu MSC Foundation sailing on Captain Sarno’s J33, MSC Donna Mia impressed from the get-go. The young team were competing in the ORC Nationals. This is the second year that MSC Donna Mia has back-to-back gold medals in the ORC division, last year being led by Point Yacht Club’s Alec Lanham Love ahead of the Lipton Challenge.

This year, MSC Donna Mia was skippered by 34 year old Kenwin Daniels, a sailing instructor with the Izivunguvungu MSC Foundation. No stranger to Durban sailing, Daniels has raced offshore several times, the last in the L26 Nationals five years ago. ‘Sailing has taught me discipline, teamwork and commitment. Our team that travelled up from Cape Town, is a family and we stick together.’

Chatting about their week, he mentioned, ‘The regatta was not easy for us as we had to push hard with only three of us being experienced in competitive sailing. Six of the youngsters had never sailed in a proper big boat event.’

Notching up five wins, and three second places in the eight races the ORCs completed, Daniels enthused, ‘The first day of racing was best for me, with a constant wind pressure.’

Daniels, and his Izivunguvungu colleague, Kader Williams, are tremendously accomplished, having sailed in four Cape to Rio races and various big-name regattas around South Africa, including the Lipton Challenge Cup. ‘We would love to do Lipton this year, depending on if we can get a boat. I will be sailing with Kader and the Izivunguvungu boys again. Looking ahead, we are training hard with the dream of winning the next Cape to Rio race, which will be Kade and my fifth crossing in this challenging event.’

Pix by Robyn Ambler Photography / Rhipkin Photography / Ross Kramm

Stolen from an appreciation note from one of our wonderful photographers that we had on the water this week.

Thank you to the team from Hillcrest Camera Club, Robyn Ambler Photography, Rhipkin Photography, Ross Kramm, Chris Clark and Bev Reith for being brave, being adventurous and coming out and capturing our sport so magically!

We so appreciate you taking leave from work to spend hours offshore and discovering the world of yachting.

This image and adjoining message is from Richard who was out on the water on Tuesday and Friday. This image is from his Friday batch of pix.

'But once again, a wholehearted thank you for this amazing opportunity. I didn't realize yacht racing, albeit a smallish one, could have a start like that. I couldn't believe how quickly, and in hardly any wind, fly off like that - it was pretty damn spectacular. I can only imagine a race with 100's of yachts!

In saying that I captured, in my humblest opinion, one of my favourite images - if not of all time. It may not be to everyone's liking, or taste, but for me, it summed up the whole day and truly, again in my complete rookie introduction, embraced my long-held idea of yacht racing.

Can I ask to extend my sincere appreciation to Amy, James, and Ian for being such an awesome crew, all those who made us feel welcome at the club. It really is a strange bunch of folks, but that's right up my alley!

Glad to share this image with you all...

The silverware and prizes from last night's Prize Giving.

We had a wonderful evening, thank you all for attending. And thank you to the Sail Africa Choir for singing Shosholoza so beautifully for Rosario Sarno from MSC Shipping.

Thank you for all the people that made this week possible. To our sponsors, our club, and our committee - well done to everyone who made the week a tremendous success.

A fabulous conclusion to our regatta. Day Five saw light winds with Race Officer, Kevin Bingham getting in a couple of races in for the fleets.

Pix by Rhipkin Photography

And the winners are...

Congrats to all!

We look forward to seeing you again next year!

Prize Giving will be getting underway shortly.

A gorgeous day offshore for the final day of racing.

Congrats to all the teams. And thank you to all that participated.

Our final day dawns...

The week has flown past. The weather Gods have dished up a bit of everything for the fleet.

Everyone will be gathering shortly for the final briefing for 2024...

What has been your best moment on the water this year?

Pic from Day One by Robyn Ambler Photography

Day four... A few of the adventurous in the fleet went out as the winds were increasing briskly.
Race Office HQ eventually put the N over A flag up with gusts being recorded over 30knots.
A few images captured by Chris Clark on their short excursion out of the harbour.

A gorgeous day in Durban. Winter at its finest... Just no wind...
Two races were held offshore after a delayed start.
Pix by Ross Kramm

Race management has reviewed the conditions, with consideration of the lateness of yesterday's racing, we are not wanting yachts to return in strong winds to late.

14:00 decision means race can only start at 15:00 which gives the fleet only 45 mins to sail before everyone needs to get all boats in before dark.

We have decided that the regatta has been made, we will sail tomorrow.

N over A
All races are abandoned. No more racing for the day.

Results from day three.

Race Officer, Kevin Bingham managed to get in two races in light conditions yesterday.

Today, we have a calm start to the day but predictions are for a bit of a buster to come through. Briefing this morning is at 9am.

Good luck to all the competitors sailing today.