Written by Rick Nankin and Di Meek
RCYC has been one of the prime motivators and promotor of Offshore Ocean Racing in South Africa and was already organising races such as the Agulhas Race and races up the West Coast during the late 50’s and 60’s.
The West Coast races usually finished in Saldanha Bay having sailed to a turning point somewhere further North and then South again to Saldanha. Turning points tried, I understand, included Port Nolloth, Luderitz and Lamberts Bay.
Around 1980 the very popular Sea Harvest Race began and took the fleet from Table Bay around a fishing boat sitting off Cape Columbine, to Lamberts Bay and back to Saldanha Bay to finish at the jetty at SBYC.
This race became a real favourite with the sailing fraternity and attracted sailors racing at thevery top level and others who just wanted to get to Sea and enjoy the Offshore sailing.
The race was special for people not just for the amazing racing up and down this brilliant stretch of beautiful Coastline of our West coast but also for the legendary Fish braai and the party put on by Sea Harvest fisheries on the Sunday lunchtime which was followed by the infamous bus trip back to RCYC which was more or less a continuation of the braai party but set on wheels.
This race became a feature on the sailing calendar until Club Mykonos opened its doors in 1988 and shortly after that for the 1989 Sea Harvest race it was decided to finish and accommodate the sailors at Club Mykonos and have the fleet berth in the new harbour.
Ending the race at Mykonos was attractive to more than just the regular Racing sailors and now we saw many cruisers wanting to be part of this Mykonos experience. Inevitably the sailors spoke with their feet and wanted a shorter race finishing at Mykonos with lots of social activities over the Weekend.
So pretty soon, maybe 2 races later, the Sea Harvest Race became the Club Mykonos Weekend and the typical Sea Harvest course with 1 or 2 nights of sailing was dropped for a shorter overnight race from Table Bay to Mykonos, with the race starting on a Thursday.
The race started early evening in Table Bay and the following afternoon the fleet raced an around the buoys race off Mykonos in the Bay, followed the next day by more racing before lunch, then a massive braai for all the sailors over at Sea Harvest factory near what is now Yacht Port, and then the Pursuit race was started from the Tug Harbour at Saldanha and ultimately finished at Mykonos as it does today.
The fantastic Sea Harvest West Coast Race disappeared overnight and with it went one of the very best experiences for racing overnight off the Cape. The Mykonos Weekend however, has been brilliant for sailing and continues to be enormously popular every year. It is a shin9ng light as far as Sailing Events go locally.
With the overnight race up the West Coast lost to the sailors there were often mutterings about bringing the longer, overnight race back onto the program, however nothing had happened until around 2009 when a few parties started working behind the scenes to make this happen. Gary Sindler was working away looking for a sponsor and others such as Ted Kuttel and Dale Kushner were keen to see the Race back on the Calendar and were looking for opportunities.
A Turning Mark was always a critical point in setting up an Offshore Race but with the advent of GPS on virtually all Yachts, Virtual marks became a possibility. They are common place today but pre GPS days this was not really an accurate option for competitors and organisers to accept. Therefore a laid turning mark was always a big factor when planning an offshore race.
Around that time, 2009 I think, Rob Meek , JJ Provoyeur and were up at Elands Bay for the Weekend and on the Saturday night while braaing and looking out to Sea in the dark, Rob asked what the light out to Sea from our cottage was and thinking he was talking about the Lamberts Bay loom. The conversation immediately swung to tales about past Sea Harvest races.
Rob quickly called us back to the present and said he was seeing another flashing light close to the Elands Bay shore. This was the Elands Bay Navigation buoy positioned off the headland a mile or so from the fish factory. We all commented how perfect it would be for a West Coast race turning mark and started plotting for a new race. We promised ourselves to get the race back up and running.
We drove back to Cape Town super motivated to find a way to reintroduce a similar race to what we loved as the old Sea Harvest.
We immediately started to motivate with RCYC for a new “Sea Harvest Race” style overnight race using this buoy we had seen as the turning mark.
Rob and I began talking to the RCYC about a new West Coast Race in the future. Gary knew of a likely sponsor and had been working on the same idea and a plan began to evolve.
Rob became the organising chairman for this project and the first “new” version of the race was born but it took while to jump the hoops and get agreement all through the RCYC fraternity but finally the race was sailed in 2012. Robs idea’s and innovations were excellent and he wanted to introduce the sailing community slowlt back into Overnight Racing so It was decided that for the first event we would not use the Elands Bay mark and Rob came with the idea of using a Virtual mark using co-ordinates that could be plotted using GPS with proof of ones position from a logged course or photo of the GPS as one rounded.
The second race also used a virtual mark and that was again a success which people enjoyed.
After Rob’s death there was period where the project stalled.
There was no definite agreed path for the Course for this Race although there was agreement that the race must continue.
RCYC set up a race that ended back in Cape Town and used this as a memorial to Rob. My group of friends and the Meek family preferred the race to be as similar as possible to the original Sea Harvest as that had been the inspiration.
There were many opinions on the form and course this race should be, and fortunately, I believe, the correct decision was made and finally, about 2 years after Robs passing, the raced was run to Elands Bay mark and on to finish this magnificent race in Saldanha.
That first race featured Nitro, Mike Haytons 49 footer, hammering through the night at terrifically high speeds taking Line Honours very early Saturday morning. This great high speed performance really set the standard for this race going into the future.
For anyone thinking about taking part it offers great sailing with a relatively simple course.
The West Coast with all its bays and beaches and headlands offers great sailing.
Scenically it’s rich and varied with fantastic coastal sights of beaches, rocky Capes and Bays, islands and historic lighthouses- and generally its sailed in flat seas with nice long swells.
The race itself is a quick sail covering good distance with four distinct and different legs.
With winds often coming out the West or South in November, the start from Table Bay to Brittania is generally about speed and choosing how best to approach the coast to round the ‘ corner’ into St Helena Bay. This is very different when sailing through the night and trying to find the best angle and sail combinations to execute an often tricky approach in a dying breeze at Elands Bay.
The second leg is the early morning sail back to Brittania in beautiful often glassy seas with a light and building breeze.
Fast trim and careful helming is essential in searching for speed to get quickly back South.
Always a few different strategies are required when sailing into the building breeze and Whale Country.
Surrounded by often 200 Hump Backs one needs to carefully plot the path back to Brittaniaand on to Cape Columbine.
Inshore and Offshore tacks require a keen focus on a good approach to sail past Columbine and Duminy, to find the shortest and fastest way in and out of the Bays skirting Jacobs Reef and the many Baai’s all the way to North Head.
This third section is very special and the navigators have to be super sharp, or opt to duck out offshore, and take the long way around the reefs.
The final section into the Saldanha approach and past Malgas and Marcus Islands happens double quick before we turn sharply to finish at the Sea Harvest Jetty – always with great emotion.
The Race done! We cross into the safe and quiet waters of the Saldanha Bay anchorage and look forward to the fantastic hospitality of Saldanha Bay Yacht Club
There isn’t another local offshore overnight race which offers so much sailing diversity, coastal interest, marine mammal and bird life together with the exciting sailing.
