Last-minute preparations are taking place at Milnerton Aquatic Club (MAC) for the 25th attempt to break a Guinness World Records sailing record.
Teams of sailors are getting ready for the annual MAC 12/24 HR Challenge – this is for the longest distance sailed in a dinghy in 24 hours.
The event starts at 12:00 on Saturday 23 March and the boats sail through the night and finish on Sunday 24 March at 12:00.
Where it all started
Started in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1967 by West Lancashire Yacht Club and in South Africa by MAC in 1998, these are the only two countries to host this event.
The UK held onto the record since its inception with the sailors trying every year to break it.
A South African team on the boat, “DIEL 2- Cell Guard”, came very close in 2000 and the sailors were just two miles short of the record.
South African sailors had to wait another 22 years before a team of sailors, sailing on the GP14 Dinghy, The Red Barron, smashed the world record in 2022.
This year sees teams from the sea scouts, youth groups, sail training groups and yacht clubs taking part. Teams consist of eight to 12 sailors who sail their boats for two hours and then swap to relay style at the “changeover beach” where fresh crew jump in and take over.
“This is a very popular spectator spot and when the wind gets up swopping crews can be very challenging with lots of action, some teams even capsizing their boats right at the shore with lots of cheering on and shouting instructions to the crews on the boats,” Mark Algra of the club says.
24-hour challenge
This year a 12-hour challenge will be incorporated into the 24-hour challenge – and sailors will sail the daylight hours.
MAC has an active youth sail training programme and two teams of youth sailors from this programme will be taking part in their very first 12-hour sailing challenge.
“This sailing programme is very popular and the young sailors are very enthusiastic about the challenge, so please come down and support these young sailors. The final hooter sounds and then there is an optional extra hour for sailors who still have a little extra energy left, a fun one-hour sprint, The Bar One Challenge for the extra hour,” Algra says.
If you are keen to enter a boat and team, to sail in this year’s event or to assist the bridge crew as a counter, contact the MAC sailing office on 021 557 7090.
