Hobie 14 on the Vaal Dam

Durban sailors dominated the recent Hobie 14 Northern Region Provincials Regatta up at the Vaal Dam on the weekend with Westville's Peter Hall claiming top spot.

More than half of the fleet were from Durban's Point Yacht Club, with an impressive 32 boats competing, of which 18 were flying the PYC burgee. Top honours belonged to the Durban lads, earning the top three spots and flying the coastal flag hegh. Hall was followed by Durban North's Greg de Beyer and then Mount Edgecombe's Garth Loudon.

Hall had a consistent regatta, notching up 4 first places and two thirds out of the ten races sailed. Second placed de Beyer also took line honours in the ninth race, with a handful of second places. His consistent ride saw him finish with a total of 36 points after the two race discards, 15 points off Hall's final 21 points.

Third placed Loudon looked to be the favourite on the last day, but disaster struck in the ninth race where he was black flagged for jumping the start gun. Loudon tallied up five first places in the ten races and was having a good tussle with Hall for the honours overall but his enthusiasm and pushing the line to get a decent start cost him dearly, finishing 17 points behind first placed Hall.

Second placed de Beyer raved, "We flew the PYC flag high in the Vaal this weekend. It was a great effort by the boys. Every single race over the two days was won by a Durban lad, we claimed them all! I think we went up to the Vaal to sail hard but also to enjoy ourselves and we successfully proved that Durban certainly has one of the strongest fleets in South Africa, if not the world!"

Hobie stalwart, Sean Fennessy performed well over the two days, ending his efforts with an impressive sixth place. Next in line out of the Durban contingent was uMhloti's Wayne Smith who finished in tenth place.

The three youngsters that travelled up to the Vaal to get in some experience had a splendid time on the water. Durban North's Dylan Albert ended his regatta in 11 while Jethro Brophy-Tintinger took 15 and the youngest Matthew Hall got a 31.

The Hobie sailors have a bit of a quiet patch ahead of their next regatta, the Hobie GP that takes place offshore of Durban on 8 November.

For more info visit https://www.pyc.co.za or https://www.hobiecatkzn.co.za