by Richard Crockett
Saving The Best for Last
Racing on the final day was intense and full-on as every single team was wanting to finish the contest on a high.
Despite a very long wait for the wind to make an appearance, the Race Officer got things going smartly once it arrived and sent the fleet off from the start on a downwind leg rather that the normal upwind leg.
This played into the hands of those who were alert and prepared for the change, with the smallest yacht in the fleet from Milnerton Aquatic Club (MAC) being first across at the committee boat end, followed very closely by the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) yacht. King Shaka Yacht Club (KSYC) was a whisker behind these two. A disastrous broach saw the spinnaker of the MAC boat go into the water, inflicting some damage which forced them retire from the race just metres after the start. They were identified as an early starter – the penalty for that infringement is to sail back to the start line and restart correctly – a massive disadvantage, and irrelevant as they had retired.
As was the case throughout this contest, the RCYC yacht rounded the first mark with a healthy lead which they built on every leg, and were followed by KSYC.
As the race progressed positions changed as some skippers were more in tune with the vagaries of the wind than others. The Defence Yacht Club (DYC) team from Saldanha Bay was one of those in tune and surprised the fleet by rounding the windward mark in second spot at the end of round two.
It was at this stage of the race that the bulk of the fleet overstood the windward mark, yet this is where the Theewaters Sports Club (TSC) yacht pulled up and began a serious assault on being the second yacht home as her key rival, the RCYC simply had superior speed and skill and had built an unassailable lead.
There was many a tussle in the race, which was won by RCYC with a remarkable 10 minutes to spare on handicap. Second was TSC and third was KSYC.
The RCYC crew won this regatta with victory in every single one of the six races, making her the fourth RCYC yacht in the history of the Lipton Challenge Cup to score a “Grand Slam”, and the eighth ever in the 70 contests sailed to date.
This was a magnificent victory from a team who put in a massive effort, and was the slickest by far all week. One pundit was convinced they did not make a mistake all week. That’s how the Lipton Cup is won – and lost!
Results – Race 6
1 Royal Cape Yacht Club
2 Theewaters Sports Club
3 Seal Point Yacht Club
4 King Shaka Yacht Club
5 George Lakes Yacht Club
6 Saldanha Bay Yacht Club
7= Defence Yacht Club
7= False Bay Yacht Club
9 Milnerton Aquatic Club
Results after 6 Races
1 Royal Cape Yacht Club
2 Theewaters Sports Club
3 King Shaka Yacht Club3
4 False Bay Yacht Club
5 George Lakes Yacht Club
6 Seal Point Yacht Club
7 Milnerton Aquatic Club
8 Saldanha Bay Yacht Club
9 Defence Yacht Club
