Father and daughter team crowned KZN champs
Peter and Sarah-Ann Hall were crowned KZN champs this weekend at the Easter Regatta.
FATHER and daughter team, Peter and Sarah-Ann Hall were crowned KZN champs this weekend at the Easter Regatta hosted by Point Yacht Club. The pair racing in the Hobie 16 regionals notched up five wins, a second, a third and a fourth in the nine races held offshore of Durban over the three day regatta. Their one race discard was a ninth position in the first race on day two where they battled with a rudder issue.
“Yeah we had a bit of a set back with the rudder failure but we managed to bounce back nicely. Sarah-Ann and I were pretty zoned in from the start, concentrating hard on the water and every opportunity we had, we took which fortunately paid off for us! Mainly we just made sure we kept Garth behind us, that guy is slippery on the water,” the proud dad said.
Hot on the Hall’s heels were two teams. The local combo of top international Hobie sailor Garth Loudon who was breaking in new crew, Liam Fennessy and upcountry sailors Ewald Erasmus and Brandon Wijtenburg. Both teams finished four points behind Hall squared with Loudon and Fennessy being awarded silver with higher scores throughout the regatta. The two PYC sailors earned two firsts, two seconds, four thirds and their discard race, an OCS. Erasmus and Wijtenburg were on the podium for all but two races. A consistent regatta had them score a first, five seconds, a third, a fourth and their race discard was a sixth place.
Out of the 12 teams competing, three were from outside of KZN. Traveling down with Erasmus and Wijtenburg were fellow Vaal Dam sailors Mike Goodyer and his daughter Jennifer, they were racing on the youngest boat in the fleet, having just imported it from Holland after the last World championships, unpacking it just in time for this event. The Goodyers finished fifth overall. Goodyer senior enthused, “Great regatta everyone, thanks. Well worth the travel! Durban flat seas and steady winds rock.”
This weekend sees the Keelers set off for a long haul race in the build up to the Vasco da Gama Ocean Race that starts on the 26 April, with the fleet heading down to Port Elizabeth.
