GEORGE NEWS - On the racing schedule for George Lakes Yacht Club last weekend were the first series of races for the Presidents Trophy for the senior fleet and the Junior Championships, which is contested over the whole season.
Only a small fleet turned up to compete - six Lasers, a Hobie 14 and a Sonnet for the senior fleet and a Tera Pro, a Dabchick and an Optimist for the junior fleet. A light south-westerly wind provided the motive power.
A brief rain squall during the first race produced slightly stronger wind, which faded to nothing once it had passed. Whether or not to hold a second race was debated after race 1 was finished in drifting conditions, but the south-westerly wind filled in again, allowing the second race to be completed. The three boats in the junior fleet only sailed race 1.
The wind was too light for the Hobie 14 to keep up with the Lasers and it was Georgou Divaris who took an early lead, ahead of John Marc Olivier and David Laing. In race 2, most of the Lasers arrived at the first mark together, with Olivier rounding first, ahead of Divaris and Osborne, and Maurits Lammers and Laing close behind. Divaris regained the lead on the downwind leg and proceeded to extend to the finish. Olivier was once again in second place, ahead of Osborne and Lammers.
Hans Delport sailing his Hobie 14 in a relaxed style in the light wind.
In the junior fleet, first to finish in race 1 was the Dabchick of Jordyn Soldin, ahead of the Tera Pro of Markos Divaris and the Optimist of John Paul Buys. However, the application of class ratings gives the win to Buys, ahead of Divaris and Soldin.
A number of major sailing events took place recently, starting with the Finn National Championships held on Swartvlei Lagoon two weeks ago where, in a 33-boat fleet, KYC's Greg Davis finished 3rd overall and Dudley Isaac was 11th. Over the same period, the Laser National Championships was held on Vaal Dam from Aeolians Club. Here, GLYC's Georgou Divaris was 5th in the Laser Standard fleet, James Hellstrom was 4th in the Laser Radial fleet and Robyn Hellstrom 2nd in the Laser 4.7 fleet.
Last weekend, the Sonnet class National Championships were held on Swartvlei Lagoon, also from Pine Lake Marina. In a 25-boat fleet, John-Marc and Joy Olivier were 15th and first wooden boat. Over in East London, the Eastern Cape Championships were held offshore from the harbour. GLYC was represented by James Vonk on Tera Pro, who came first in the Open fleet and Sean Vonk, who bagged a 5th place in the Optimist fleet.
n People who want to find out more about sailing can experience sailing on different types of yachts on Saturday 8 October. An Open Day for adults and children will be held from 13:00 onwards. Everybody interested in finding out more about sailing is welcome. For more information, please contact Evelyn at evelyno@telkomsa.net. Read more about George Lakes Yacht Club on its website at www.glyc.org.za and keep up with happenings at the club by liking its Facebook page: GLYC.
Hans Delport sailing his Hobie 14 in a relaxed style in the light wind.
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