SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - In preparation of the upcoming sailing season sailors of George Lakes Yacht Club (GLYC) turned up at the club's Island Lake venue, which had been spared from the devastating fire the previous week.
Twenty-five boats rigged to get the new sailing season underway, sailing the first races of the Frostbite series. A good westerly wind was blowing in the morning, however, by the scheduled starting time, it had begun to die down. Island Lake became a mirror and all races had to be abandoned.
A few of the club's sailors competed in overseas events during the winter. Robyn Hellstrom sailed in the Tera World Championships in Santona, Spain, along with JP Kriel of Knysna and others from Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Hellstrom finished third in the Tera Pro fleet.
Diane and Anthony Parker competed in the 2016 Fireball European Championships on Lake Garda, Italy. In a large fleet of 55 Fireballs, they finished in 28th place.
One of the reasons for competing in this event was to promote the upcoming Fireball World Championships being held at Mossel Bay in December. Several containers of Fireballs will be shipped to SA from Europe, Australia and the US, with their crews flying in to experience racing on Mossel Bay's waters.
The other GLYC sailor travelling to an overseas event was young Eurios Horne (14). He was selected as part of a Western Cape Optimist team to travel to Qingdao, Shandong Province in China. This enterprise was as a result of a cooperation agreement between the Western Cape Government and the Shandong Province, coordinated by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport.
Travelling via Dubai and Shanghai, they arrived in Qingdao, the site of the Olympic sailing events in the 2012 Olympic Games.
The first part of the event, attended by 100 sailors from many countries, was sailing training followed by a regatta in the second part. The youngsters were also treated to several sightseeing trips around the city.
For more information about GLYC see their website at www.glyc.org.za or their Facebook group, GLYC.
ARTICLE: MALCOLM OSBORNE
