Local sailors dominate regional regatta

DURBAN sailors dominated the recent Hobie 14 Northern Region Provincials Regatta held at the Vaal Dam on the weekend, with Peter Hall claiming top spot.

More than half of the fleet was from Durban’s Point Yacht Club, with an impressive 32 boats competing, of which 18 were flying the PYC burgee. Top honours belonged to the Durban lads, earning the top three spots and flying the coastal flag high. Hall was followed by Greg de Beyer and Garth Loudon in third place.

Hall had a consistent regatta, notching up four first places and two thirds of the ten races sailed. Second-placed De Beyer also took line honours in the ninth race, with a handful of second places. His consistent ride saw him finish with a total of 36 points after the two race discards, 15 points off Hall’s final 21 points.

Third-placed Loudon looked to be the favourite on the last day, but disaster struck in the ninth race when he was black-flagged for jumping the start gun. Loudon tallied up five first places in the ten races and was having a good tussle with Hall for the honours overall, but his enthusiasm and pushing the line to get a decent start cost him dearly, finishing 17 points behind first-placed Hall.

Second-placed Greg de Beyer raved, “We flew the PYC flag high in the Vaal this weekend. It was a great effort by the boys. Every single race over the two days was won by a Durban lad, we claimed them all. I think we went up to the Vaal to sail hard but also to enjoy ourselves, and we successfully proved that Durban certainly has one of the strongest fleets in South Africa, if not the world.”

The Hobie sailors have a bit of a quiet patch ahead of their next regatta, the Hobie GP, which takes place offshore of Durban on 8 November.

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