“Our oceans are under attack” – Wendy Schmidt The Volvo Ocean Race has used the first of seven Ocean Summits it is hosting around the world in 2017-18 to launch a unique programme that will gather data from parts of the oceans that are otherwise inaccessible to scientists – while the Spanish government pledged its backing for UN Environment’s Clean Seas campaign. Wednesday’s Ocean Summit in Alicante – held four days before the start of the 2017-18 edition of sailing’s 45-year-old race … [Read more...] about Our oceans are under attack
Sport
New Additions to Southern Kings Pro14 Squad
With the rigours of the first six rounds of GUINNESSPRO14 championship rugby action now behind them, the Southern Kings enjoyed a welcome break from the competition last week before their next assignment against high-flying Glasgow Warriors on Saturday, 28 October. Invaluable to the players, as it afforded them a few extra days to recover from the inevitable bumps and bruises and niggles that they picked up during the course of the game, the break also presented the coaching staff with an … [Read more...] about New Additions to Southern Kings Pro14 Squad
St. Marks RFC
Father H W F Burvill, who was the parish priest of St Phillips and St Marks churches in Port Elizabeth, in 1917 established St Marks Rugby Football Club. During 1929-1932, the club came into disfavour with the St Marks Congregation and a move was launched to take away the name St Marks from the club because the club members never attended services. It was fortunate that the club Secretary was the church organist and he could intercede on behalf of the club. A compromise was reached in … [Read more...] about St. Marks RFC
Southern Kings return after Northern Hemisphere action
A number of Southern Kings players returned from their latest "mini-tour" of Europe suffering from the sniffles and minor upper-respiratory tract infections according to team doctor Clement Plaatjies, who also reported that most members of the squad were feeling a little stiff and nursing a bruise or two following a fortnight of GUINNESS PRO14 action in the Northern Hemisphere. "I am monitoring everyone closely but none of these issues should result in any player being unavailable for … [Read more...] about Southern Kings return after Northern Hemisphere action
MAPFRE Have That Winning Feeling
The local heroes on Xabi Fernández's MAPFRE were a popular winner in the first point scoring race of the Volvo Ocean Race. Fernández and his team made a bold call at the start to duck behind the entire fleet in order to sail up what turned out to be the favoured right hand side of the course, coming from behind to earn a narrow lead at the first gate. “It was pretty clear from Joan (Vila) and Rob (Greenhalgh) that we wanted to hit the right side of the course in the first upwind looking … [Read more...] about MAPFRE Have That Winning Feeling
VOR Official Points Racing Begins Today
The first official racing of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race will take place on Saturday afternoon with the MAPFRE In-Port Race Alicante, marking the first point-scoring competition of the event. The starting gun will fire at 14:00 local time (12:00 UTC) with seven of the best sailing teams in the world pushing hard to lay down a marker in the first competitive confrontation with points on the table. “You always go out and want to win,” said Bouwe Bekking, skipper of Team Brunel, who will … [Read more...] about VOR Official Points Racing Begins Today
Southern Kings Saved by Statistics
There is no denying that it has been somewhat of a baptism of fire for the Southern Kings so far in their debut season of GUINNESSPRO14 rugby. Those not following closely might be inclined to assume it has all been doom and gloom for the men from Port Elizabeth. Not so! Statistics do not lie, and they offer some interesting insight into the individual contributions made by players – not only during last weekend’s round of GUINESSPRO14 action but also over the course of the season so far. … [Read more...] about Southern Kings Saved by Statistics
Glen Roses Rugby Football Club – A bit of History
Martin Frost established Glen Roses Rugby Football Club in 1961 in Port Elizabeth. He named the club Glen Roses, which at that stage was also the name of a judo club. The club colours were emerald green with a gold collar. The story goes that Frost, who worked for BP Oil Company at that stage, decided to use the company colours for his club. Glen Roses started with a team in the Third League of the Eastern Province Rugby Union (Coloured) and in 1964 and got promotion to the Super … [Read more...] about Glen Roses Rugby Football Club – A bit of History
MAPFRE win VOR Prologue
The Spanish MAPFRE team won the Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg on Wednesday, holding off a late charge from Team Brunel after Race Management shortened the course, converting the compulsory gate at Cabo de Gata into the finishing line. For skipper Xabi Fernández and his team, it’s a continuation of the success MAPFRE found on Leg 0, where the team was the overall winner of the four-stage leg. “It’s all good on board,” Fernández said shortly after crossing the ‘virtual’ finishing … [Read more...] about MAPFRE win VOR Prologue
Prologue Leg course shortened
The Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg has been shortened, with the compulsory gate off Cabo de Gata now becoming the finish line. Race Director Phil Lawrence informed the teams at 0800 UTC on Wednesday morning when the leading boats were approximately two hours from the gate. The teams are currently sailing in winds near 10 knots. But the forecast is for the wind to ease significantly on the other side of the cape. With the shortened course, the fleet is expected to begin arriving in … [Read more...] about Prologue Leg course shortened
MAPFRE leading the charge
The Spanish team made a jump on the rest of the fleet by heading further inshore in search of favourable sea breezes following Sunday's start, with Team Brunel benefiting from following a similar track. Forty-eight hours later, their tactics have paid huge dividends. At the 1300 UTC position update on Tuesday, MAPFRE enjoyed a seven nautical mile lead on Team Brunel, who were themselves almost 40 miles ahead of third-placed Turn the Tide on Plastic. Dee Caffari’s team went from zeroes to … [Read more...] about MAPFRE leading the charge
I would be MORE excited if this was coming to Port Elizabeth!
Can't remember when last I was so excited about covering an event - just received confirmation of media accreditation to the Cape Town stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race. First yacht's are expected to arrive on 27 November with departure for Melbourne on 10 December 2017. Read all about it here: http://mype.co.za/new/2017-18-volvo-ocean-race/94246/2017/10 The Volvo Ocean Race will start from Alicante, Spain on 22 October. The Alicante Race Village is scheduled to open at 1800 local time on … [Read more...] about I would be MORE excited if this was coming to Port Elizabeth!
VOR Prologue Leg Delayed for Better Conditions
The Prologue Leg of the Volvo Ocean Race began on Sunday afternoon, after the start was delayed by just over 2 hours and moved nearly 20 miles south in order to find better racing conditions. The Prologue is a non-scoring race to deliver the seven-boat fleet from The Boatyard in Lisbon, Portugal to the home start port of the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante, Spain ahead of the race start on 22 October. At the scheduled start time of 1400 local time in Lisbon on Sunday afternoon (1300 UTC), the … [Read more...] about VOR Prologue Leg Delayed for Better Conditions
Injury Hit Kings
There was some bad news for the Southern Kings on the medical front in the wake of their 31-3 GUINNESSPRO14 Championship defeat against Benetton Rugby in Treviso. Team doctor Clement Plaatjies reported that he had two major concerns involving wing Sibusiso Sithole and fullback Masixole Banda but that the full extent of their injuries would only be known after further examination and X-rays which would be done once the team arrived back in South Africa. “Sithole appears to have ruptured a … [Read more...] about Injury Hit Kings
Kings go Down to Benetton
The first-ever fixture between the Southern Kings and Benetton Rugby ended in victory for the Italian side when they triumphed 31-3 in a GUINNESSPRO14 championship played at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo in Treviso on Saturday, 7 October. The match was a scrappy affair punctuated by shrill blasts from the whistle of referee Sean Gallagher who penalized the Kings heavily at the breakdown. This led to the hosts establishing a 9-0 lead and stout Kings defence was only breached late in the first … [Read more...] about Kings go Down to Benetton
