After a day’s delay in finalising results, Nico van Wieringen’s modified L26 Blue Tango II emerged victorious at a hotly contested Shane’s GBYC Gaul Regatta, held between Friday 28 and Sunday 30 July at Gordon’s BayYacht Club. Blue Tango II was pushed all the way by Denis Cochrane’s Royal Flush, who were initially declared winners after an error of scoring for a single race.
Blue Tango II has succeeded in beating Cochrane’s custom Lavranos-designed Royal Flush, which has dominated local racing since her return to competition this year. Despite a difficult opening day that included a retirement, Cochrane and his youthful crew (Henning Kock, Stephen Cochrane, Edmund Tough, and Josh Young) steered Royal Flush to within a point of overall victory. The two yachts shared all line honours and all victories for the entire seven-race event.
Day 1 brought a strong blustery north-wester and choppy water, with conditions deteriorating throughout the day. Blue Tango II drew first blood, winning the first three races, while Royal Flush had to settle for two second places and a retirement, struggling without enough weight on the rail.
With Day 2 being cancelled due to poor weather it was all to play for on Day 3. Four more races were held, with Royal Flush winning three and scoring one second place, while Blue Tango II scored one win, two seconds and a did-not-start. The did-not-start was inconsequential: Van Wieringen and his crew, Christo-Louis Rust and Goretti van Wieringen, had done enough to scoop up the overall victory.
Third place in Division 1 was taken by Pure Magic, a “Magic Bus” quarter-tonner skippered by Tony Strutt and Alan Dawson. Fourth was taken by the False Bay Yacht Club entry Salamander, a Norlin 34, while fifth went to the Sailing Academy GB L26, Wild Goose. Tim Beardmore’s catamaran Synergy powered its way to sixth.
It was a difficult weekend for the 2022 Gaul Regatta winner Philippe Pringiers on his L20, Time Out. The 30-knot gusts on Day 1 did not favour the little racer, and she registered two retirements, effectively putting an end to Pringiers’ title defence. Eighth in Division 1 was taken by Sean Greer’s Sadler 32 Alice, while ninth was claimed by Anneline Sweetnam’s Miura, Gecko Moon.
Division 2 was comprehensively won by Ki, a DiDi 26 skippered by Paul Tanner. Ki’s performance was so strong that she finished third in the overall fleet rankings on handicap. The remainder of Division 2 featured some strong performances from the Endurance 37 Libre, skippered by Ken Newton and Wynand van Rooyen to second place, and especially the Flamenca 25 Shifta, which claimed the final Division 2 podium spot under the skippership of Tony Reynolds. Overall, conditions proved too strong for the Holiday 23 entries Zia (Barry Ross) and Civis Mundi (Dirk and Mariette Nolte), and they struggled to match the boats ahead.
Throughout the weekend, starts were hotly contested, and several boats found themselves “on course side” and subject to penalty. One race featured a general recall due to too many boats jumping the start. Water at the marks was also hard fought over. There were no fewer than three instances of contact between boats throughout the weekend. Several boats also experienced minor damage as the combination of gusts, steep chop, and close racing took their toll on the fleet.
Back at the clubhouse, transgressions and on-course arguments were soon forgotten. Jaco Oosthuizen provided music for Friday night, while Saturday featured local band Die Kaalkop Waarheid, a braai dinner, and live rugby on the big screen.
Gordon’s Bay Yacht Club (GBYC) would like to thank all its sponsors, particularly title sponsors Shane’s @ 99 on Beach.
“The five-year sponsorship commitment from Shane’s is really great for local sailing,” said GBYC commodore Jana Loubser. “We had so many businesses come forward and want to be involved, in addition to generous support from SA Sailing. It was also fantastic to see so many youth sailors involved in this year’s regatta.” She also thanked GBYC Sailing Officer Ken Newton and his team for putting this event together as well as the club staff and the adjudication and mark laying teams.
For more information on sailing at GBYC, contact the club at gbyc@gbyc.co.za.
