We are the GLYC challenger, an all youth team sailing a Pacer 27 Sport, with the eldest on our boat being 24 and the youngest being 18. However, we are anything but green. Our campaign is driven by sailors with multiple national titles and some who’ve sailed multiple ocean crossings. Although this is our first appearance at a Lipton Challenge Cup, this is by no means the first challenging event that we have competed in. In preparation for Lipton, we are fresh out of MSC week, where we have had valuable competition against 2 of the other challengers and sailed the Durban bay extensively.
Our goals for this event are:
To perform at the highest level against the best sailors in South Africa.
To bring GLYC to the forefront of offshore keelboat racing in SA.
To show the already established youth sailors of SA that to sail in the Lipton Cup Challenge is an achievable goal, even with a shoestring budget.
Notably, to prove that dinghy sailing is the concrete foundation on which to build for big boat sailing in this country. And that it is vital for keen South African youths to have some dinghy sailing experience!
Coming from a small yacht club nestled next to a lake in the Garden Route, we have been taught by the Rockstars and Legends of sailing in South Africa. And we are so proud to be representing our club at this prestigious event. Wish us luck.
