Brave cats tackle the ocean
Majority of yachties bail out in Richards Bay to Durban epic
ONLY five of the 12 catamarans that set sail on Saturday in the Richards Bay to Durban Epic completed the gruelling 200km trip.
The intrepid sailors left in two groups, first start being the three Hobie 16s at 6am, with the Tigers, Nacras and Tornado setting off at 8am with a light northeaster at their backs and a flat sea.
The wind picked up during the challenging journey, which took its toll on a number of the fleet who were forced to surrender halfway and beached at Zinkwazi and Salt Rock.
Among them were sole Zululand Yacht Club entrants, Jacques Kleyn and Heinrich Stoltz.
First over the line were Mark Nicholls and Struan Campbell on a Nacra F20 Carbon shortly before 5.30pm in a time of 9hours 29minutes.
However, handicap honours went to Charles Girard and Gary Hubach who crossed over in 10hrs31min, just two minutes ahead of father and son team Mark and Brandon Wijtenburg.
Next event on the calendar is the Hobie 14 Nationals, taking place offshore over the Easter Weekend, hosted by the Point Yacht Club.
