67 boats at Knysna regatta
Three races were sailed on Saturday in a light breeze, initially north-west but veering to the south-west later.
The sailing activity over the weekend took place in Knysna, with the staging of the Knysna Yacht Club (KYC) Inter Club Regatta on Saturday and Sunday.
The event, held on 10 and 11 February, attracted competitors from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, as well as from Garden Route clubs – Mossel Bay and George Lakes.
The Knysna estuary was filled with 67 boats racing around the courses. The largest fleet was the faster rated fleet of dinghies (Lasers etc.), which had 36 boats; the slower rated fleet (Optimist, Tera, etc) had 27 boats, while the Catamarans just had 4 boats.
Three races were sailed on Saturday in a light breeze, initially north-west but veering to the south-west later. Sunday’s racing commenced with the traditional long haul race to the Heads and back, then three further races round the buoys in the afternoon, all in a gruelling, fresh southeaster.
The fast fleet was dominated by Georgou Divaris (Laser), who won two races and was consistently in the top three places. Kai Leslie on Laser Radial got second place, ahead of Dudley Isaac. The Inter Club competition of this fleet was won by Redhouse Yacht Club, on the scores of their top five sailors. George Lakes Yacht Club (GLYC) was second, ahead of Mossel Bay.
GLYC had 11 boats in this fleet, with Jonathan Rees (Laser) the best in eighth place and Matthew de Villiers (Dabchick) in ninth place.
The slower fleet was won by James Vonk (Tera Pro), ahead of the Tera Sport of Ashley Layland and the Tera Pro of Cameron Hills.
The Inter Club competition was won by GLYC, just ahead of Mossel Bay Yacht & Boat Club (MBYBC). GLYC had seven boats in this fleet, with its top five being James Vonk and the Optimists of Sean Vonk, Kyle America, Thomas Lawa and Conrad Holm. MBYBC had a big contingent of 14 boats in this fleet.
The Catamarans were won by Andrew and Claudia Ward, ahead of Blaine Dodds and Angela Ward, and William and Lucinda Edwards (all Hobie 16s).
For more information see www.glyc.org. za or like or GLYC on Facebook.