Varsity teams battle it out in the Point Yacht Club’s Inter-Varsity Match Racing

NINE varsity teams took to the water to participate in the second Point Yacht Club’s Inter-Varsity match racing that started on Tuesday and concludes on Friday. The event comes on the back of the highly successful Americas Cup held in Bermuda. Fifty sailors from various universities from around the country, are expected to compete in this exciting, tactical format of yacht racing. The nine teams hail from UCT, Wits, TUKS, Rhodes, Durban University of Technology, Stellenbosch and University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and will compete on L26s, racing in the harbour. Wits, with a keen sailing interest having entered a team in the recent Cape to Rio race, will have three teams representing their university.

Race Officer for the event, Edrich de Lange will hold 49 quick fire there-and-back sprints for the varsity teams where there will only be two boats competing on the race track at any given time. The two top teams will then meet in a best of three final on Friday. Heading up the vital role of judging is Cape to Rio sailor, Ricky Robinson. With Durban’s very own Siyanda Vato coordinating the shuttle service of the teams to the boats.

Hot on the heels of the MSC Week, a number of the sailors have been relishing the Durban winter conditions having competed in the week-long regatta offshore of Durban last week. The two teams from UKZN and DUT got in some fantastic training The conditions expected for the match racing promise to be light in the early stages with the wind gently building in the latter part of the week.

The next event for the Point Yacht Club on the water will be the SAS Grand Slam on the 22 and 23 July. The Yacht Club's 125 birthday celebration is scheduled for the public holiday mid-week break on the 9 August.