Beating out stiff competition from three other sailing clubs – Redhouse, Rhodes and East London (ELYC) – Team Full of Sheet, from the Algoa Bay Yacht Club sailed and won the final round of the inaugural Eastern Cape Team Sailing League (TSL) on the Swartkops River today.
The event was hosted by Redhouse Yacht Club and sponsored by Coca Cola SABCO.
The TSL is a team-racing league where two teams of up to three boats compete against each other in equally matched two person sailing boats. The boats are a customised version of the well-known 420 dinghy (named the TSL14) with allowances made to better accommodate team sailing, ease of use and low maintenance.
The format today was two teams of 6 sailors and 3 boats on the water from each club competing head to head against another club with 6 sailors and 3 boats.
The TSL14 combines elements of match and team racing encouraging sailors from each club to work together against their opposing team to ensure that they get the lowest score – points are awarded per finish. A first, second and third place for one team would equate to 6 points – the lowest score possible and a win for that team.
All teams sailed against each other in a round robin until the two teams with the lowest points overall went through to a sudden death final.
Races are short (around 15 minutes each around 4 marks in the water with a common start and finish line) with on water judges to ensure quick decisions on protests and no delays in results as a result of the ore traditional on-land protest meetings.
The sailing area in front of Redhouse also served up unique challenges with the laying of the course and the tide contributing to a steadily decreasing body of water to sail on – testing, but ideal testing for sailors.
The first race was started in a light east resulting in a shortened course. The rest of the races were sailed in a wind not reaching 10 knots but steady enough to see some great racing and one or two bumper bashings. Early on in the series Andrew Ward, with Claudia Ward as crew, stamped his dominance on the format after being over at the start, having to return and start way behind the fleet. Ward hunted ABYC’s opponents down, passed them all at the second mark and then proceeded to thwart their progress on the downwind run to ensure that ABYC ended that race with a perfect One, Two, Three. Excellent sailing from this experienced sailor.
Into the final it was a head to head between ABYC’s Full of Sheet and ELYC’s Slumdogs. ABYC Team members, Andrew Ward and Bevan Galloway have both sailed for South Africa and are very experienced sailors so one could say that ELYC were in a heap of trouble. It certainly was not plain sailing all the way for ABYC though as they fended off some great challenges from ELYC to ensure that they could finish the final victorious. Young Nathan Muller from ELYC put up a glorious fight. But, of course, hindsight is 20-20 and his team and supporters were saying; “if only” after one ‘maneuver’ on the start line. Anyway, young Nathan received a special prize – a Stoney Ginger Beer – for landing on the sand (stony ground).
In the final race it was Bevan Galloway and crew Riann Du Toit first over the line, followed by Andrew Ward and crew Claudia Ward second and Mark Dawson with crew Sikhokele Blom in fifth place over the line – giving ABYC 8 points. Close racing with ELYC ending on 13 points.
Images from the tournament:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/ABYCpe/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2044369809155906
The TSL14 will move to the North End Lake in September and promises more spectacular close quarter sailing action.
The TSL will cover the following four areas:
- Youth Team Sailing League – Sailors continue to display their frustration that sailing is not a school/ varsity/ college sport and the TSL14 is a major opportunity for growth of sailing. The program will focus most of its time on growing this area by operating a bi-weekly sailing league targeting sailors in age from 14 to 24 involved in schools, colleges and varsities across the demographics of South Africa.
- Inter Club League – The growth of sailing is done through clubs and classes. The interclub tournament will run on a regional basis and will provide the opportunity for the club to promote sailing.
- Corporate events – A key area in growing sailing is by creating interest through the corporate sector, which can introduce new sailors to our sport. The team sailing format has been successfully applied in other countries to this end. The Corporate sailing opportunity will have two types of events; Corporate Sailing Days (sailing day organised for a company using youth sailors to introduce members of the public to our sport), and an Inter Company TSL.
- Women’s Team Sailing League – A key initiative in the transformation of sport is equalising the gender participation and this form of sailing is ideally suited to this.
Alan Straton
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