Standing beside the water at Emmarentia Dam, surrounded by miniature yachts and model vessels, Brent Garvie spoke about a journey that will soon take him from local sailing waters to one of the biggest stages in radio-controlled yacht racing.

The Gauteng Model Boat Club member has been selected to represent South Africa at the 2026 DF95 Global Championship, taking place at Theewaterskloof Dam in the Western Cape from October 16. For Garvie, simply qualifying is already an achievement, but there is also another emotion bubbling beneath the excitement. “It’s intimidating,” he admitted. “I’m sailing against guys that I’ve been hero-worshipping for the last 10 years.”

The championship will bring together about 80 competitors, including some of the world’s best sailors, names Garvie has followed for years on social media. “To be on the same water as those guys, that’s quite intimidating,” he said.

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His path to the global championship was not a simple one. Sailors had to compete in a series of national regattas, with selections based on their strongest performances over a three-year period. Garvie has competed at championships held across the country, including in Witbank, Gqeberha and Theewaterskloof.

Now, the real preparation begins. There is fundraising to cover the R6 500 entry fee and a week-long stay in Cape Town, followed by the preparation of the boat and practice. “Practice, practice, lots of practice,” he said.

Straight after the interview, Garvie was heading to Midrand for another training session. The open water there offers steadier wind and fewer trees, conditions he believes will better prepare him for the championship venue.

His love affair with sailing began long before radio-controlled yachts. Garvie grew up sailing dinghies and larger boats offshore and on dams. When a friend first invited him to try radio sailing, he was not immediately convinced, but one day, with little wind for conventional sailing, curiosity got the better of him, and a radio controller was placed in his hands. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is just like sailing a real boat’.”

He quickly discovered that the miniature yachts were anything but toys. “The boats behave exactly the same as big boats,” he said. “The rules are the same. The racing strategies are the same.”

Success depends on precision. Before a race, sailors must carefully tune their boats, shaping the sails to catch the wind as efficiently as possible. Once on the water, the competition becomes a mental battle. “The wind is your engine,” Garvie explained.

Sailors must constantly search for clean air, anticipate changing conditions and position themselves strategically against competitors. “It’s almost like a chess game,” Garvie said.

He has set himself an ambitious goal of finishing in the top 10, though a top 20 finish would also be fantastic. After a decade of slowly climbing from the back of the fleet, he knows progress in sailing is rarely instant. “When I started, I was right at the bottom,” he said. “Just getting past one guy was an achievement.”

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Then came gradual improvement – a few places gained one year, then a few more. That patience, he believes, is part of the beauty of the sport. “You will have fun at whatever level you sail,” he said.

For Garvie, radio-controlled sailing offers far more than competition; it combines technical skill, strategy, nature and friendship, and in October, when he launches his DF95 yacht onto the waters of Theewaterskloof Dam, the sailor from the shores of Emmarentia will find himself sharing the water with the very people he once watched from afar.

The goal may be a top-10 finish, but after years of practice, persistence and incremental progress, simply earning the chance to compete among his heroes is already a dream realised.

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