If you thought sailboat racing was only about putting sail to the wind and off you are, think again.

Tuks’ sailors will tell you that winning the USSA Regatta is about tactics. Being clued up on the rules is of cardinal importance. The better you understand the rules, the easier it is to find loopholes enabling you to mess up your opponent’s race.

Corienne Erasmus, one of the Tuks skippers, predicts it is guaranteed that, if Tuks get to face off against Maties or Ikeys during the USSA Regatta on the Theewaterskloof Dam in the Western Cape in December, it will be like a chess game on the water.

“UCT and Maties are very well versed in the rules. They always have a trick up their sleeve, which means they will counter any strategy used against them to slip away,” Erasmus explained her point of view during an interview.

Ikeys are the defending USSA champions.

According to Erasmus, match racing is all about getting one of your three boats off to a good start.

“If you can get a ‘rabbit or runner’ out in front, the race is half won. The strategy of the other two boats will then be to stall your opponent’s boats. If one of your boats wins and the other two finish in the top four, you win the race. It is all about having the least points,” she remarked.

Erasmus, a final year BSc Geoinformatics student, has an interesting story about how she became hooked on sailing.

“It all started when my mom saw a sailing advertisement in a newspaper. She thought it would be a good idea for me to give sailing a go. At that stage, I was in Grade Eight and had no idea what sailing was about. On my first day, I was thrown into the deep end. It was like get on to the boat and get into the water. You will figure it out. I absolutely loved it. Sailing was a completely new challenge to me,” she said.

While competing in the Hunter Class, Erasmus raked in the provincial and national regattas titles.

Asked what she loves about sailing, Erasmus answered, saying many have a misperception of what sailing is about.

“People have this idyllic idea of sailing about sitting on a boat on the water drinking champagne, moving from one point to another. Sailing is about so much more. As a sailor, I got immersed in a whole new world. I was forced to learn skills which I thought I would never need. For example, I never thought I would be able to tie as many different knots as I could. I have become versed in reading weather maps to see how pressure systems will affect the wind,” she commented.

According to Erasmus there are so many little things you must know.

“Sailing is like any other sport. You will do well if you know the game and all the tips and tricks,” she concluded.

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