Yacht, boat club ‘must survive’
Early next year the Mossel Bay Yacht and Boat Club (MBYBC) will have to vacate its premises.
But there is good news because great effort is being made to keep sailing and boating afloat in town.
MBYBC president Wilhelm von Schutz said the club was in talks with concerned business people about alternative premises.
Also, there are major international events on the Mossel Bay yachting calendar - the 2020 RS Tera World Championships which are planned years in advance and the first pan-African sailing development clinic for people with disabilities scheduled for Mossel Bay in April next year - so “the show must go on”.
Using part of the yacht club premises, Elfie and Rob started the Learn to Sail School in Mossel Bay in February 2006, receiving support over the years from various sponsors including the Andrew Simpson Foundation, an international charitable organisation.
Free sailing lessons
The Learn to Sail School provides free sailing lessons to all school children in Mossel Bay, focusing on residents of the formerly disadvantaged areas of town. The children are transported to and from the yacht club at no cost to them.
Children who have taken to sailing have had the opportunity to compete overseas through fundraising by Elfie and donations from various national and international bodies including the Andrew Simpson Foundation.
Elfie is principal of the Learn to Sail School. Children who go on to be competitive sailors and who can afford to, pay for their sailing lessons, also helping to support the programme.
Now that there is a new tenant, the Mossel Bay Waterfront Company Pty Ltd, at what has been the yacht club premises for the past 60 years, and the yacht club members must vacate the premises, land has been provided by the Dias Museum for use by the Skipper Foundation. In 2016 Elfie started the Skipper Foundation, an NPO with the aim of equipping and finding work in the leisure and commercial maritime industry for sailors. The land provided for the Skipper Foundation’s use is behind the Santos Train accommodation establishment. Sport, Arts and Culture MEC Anroux Marais facilitated the use of this land.
Head of training, development
Rob, who has the prestigious role of international head of training and development at World Sailing, said the loss of the yacht club venue was a major setback for his vision of an African Sailing Development Centre for all African sailors including People with Disabilities.
Already six specially modified boats for disabled sailing have arrived in Mossel Bay and are being stored in a shipping container on the land behind the Santos Train. World Sailing paid £5 500 to have the boats transported to Mossel Bay and the Andrew Simpson Foundation donated the boats and the container.
Because of these donations, Rob feels an urgency and obligation to get these boats on to the water, with people with disabilities able to use them as soon as possible.
Elfie told the Mossel Bay Advertiser: “It’s only by God’s grace that the Learn to Sail School has been successful and that it will celebrate 13 years of existence in February next year. And by God’s grace it will continue.”
No salary
As principal of the school all Elfie’s work is voluntary and she is not paid a salary. In fact, she and Rob put about R5 000 into the Learn to Sail School every month.
Transporting the children to and from the waterfront every week is the greatest cost R6 000 per month. Soon Elfie will be taking children to the Vaal Dam for the national sailing championships. “It’s costing R4 000 in petrol per vehicle,” she says, her shoulders sagging, but she adds: “I promised the children, so we must go.” Elfie receives R30 000 annually from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture which must be used for projects only.
The MBYBC has 60 black members and 200 women members currently, so it is fully BEE compliant. The members pay fees to belong to the club, which is an NPO.
Volunteers
All the committee members including Von Schutz and Rob do all their work for the club for free, as volunteers.
Early next year, when the MBYBC vacates the current premises, boats will launch from Munro Beach, which is between the yacht club premises and Santos Beach. “We need to build a boat access to Munro Beach,” Elfie said, adding that any donations of materials and manpower would be appreciated.
Also needed is a 20-foot container with toilets and showers for the sailing school, Skipper Foundation sailors and sailors with disabilities. Von Schutz said the yacht club would also use this access.
Despite having to leave the yacht club premises after the club has not missed a single month of paying rent in its 60 years of existence, Rob is determined to try to engage the yacht club premises landlord, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), to keep development sailing alive in Mossel Bay.
“We have already had one meeting with TNPA regarding the possibility of using a building in the harbour. “TNPA is committed to uplifting schoolchildren, which is also the aim of the Learn to Sail School and the Skipper Foundation, so we hope to work together with TNPA on this.
You can help
“If you can assist in securing the future of sailing in Mossel Bay through donations of materials, manpower or funds, contact Elfie (082 826 3825) or Rob (083 320 636).
Von Schutz said: “Over a period of 60 years club members have developed the land on which the MBYBC is currently situated and introduced infrastructure that supports all the activities of the club.
“The premises were transformed and routine maintenance has ensured that an asset of real value has been made available to a wide spectrum of Mossel Bay inhabitants.
“The interests of boat owners were fully accommodated in 1995 when fifty walk-on moorings were built inside the harbour walls. Again, this work was undertaken by club members and the entire project was financed by the mooring’s right owners.
“This facility is frequently used by cruise liners for the offloading of their passengers wishing to visit our town & surrounding areas. Sadly, all the assets that were developed and maintained by Club members will now be expropriated by Transnet without compensation. “Since its inception, the club has hosted many significant events which have contributed towards Mossel Bay becoming a destination of choice for sailors, anglers and a host of other sporting disciplines over the years.
“The Club is also widely recognised as a leader with its development programme for school children especially those from previously disadvantaged communities in Mossel Bay and the Eden district,” Von Schutz concluded.