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This Is Sailing

Posted 6 months, 15 days ago

This Is Sailing
The This is Sailing Weekend takes place at the Algoa Bay Yacht Club on the 23rd and 24th of February and is open to the General Public to experience the lore of sailing in a magnificent setting. Heard at the start of the sailing season “We interrupt this marriage for the duration of the sailing season.” Sailing is oft described as the art of going nowhere slowly at great expense and brings with it a large amount of words and terms that can be confusing to the landlubber. Naturally the sailing vocabulary, along with the perceived expense, is often seen as one of the barriers of entry to the sport of sailing. The Algoa Bay Yacht Club is going to help you break down these barriers on the 23rd and 24th of February 2008 with an open ‘This Is Sailing’ weekend. ‘This Is Sailing’ will ease you into the rich world and lore of sailing and soon you will be ‘port’, starboard’, ‘halyard’, and ‘vang’ with the best of them. Sailing consists of many disciplines and each niche can become an obsession. Dinghies and yachts are all represented at the ABYC and each offer a unique perspective on the sport. Dinghies are seen as an entry level training vessel that lays a solid foundation for the sailor. Many of the dinghy classes are sailed by sailors well over eighty years of age, such is the hold that this form of sailing takes on them. Most great sailors started out in dinghies, Michael Giles, a local Port Elizabeth dinghy champion was part of the Shosholoza team that sailed in the 2007 America’s Cup. Dinghies range from the one man Optimist or Laser to two man boats such as the Mirror and 470. On the overseas front many exciting dinghies such as the Laser SB3 and 49’er are also sailed hard and well. In Australia thousands of people turn out to bet on and watch the 49’ers battle it out. Yachts can be loosely classified as Dayboats, Sportboats, Racers and Cruisers. Dayboats are not suitable to sail at night. Sportboats are almost oversized Dinghies with massive acceleration. Racers range from 19 foot to massive 100 foot machines with 40 to 50 crew members and the latest hi-tech equipment, freeze dried food and limits of the amount of weight a crew member can be and carry onboard. Cruisers are the caravans of the sea, owners outfit their boats with all the comforts of home (even e-mail, microwave ovens and washing machines) and cruise to islands or around the world. And in between all of those classifications we have various different classes of boats. Sailing offers a massively diverse amount of choices to all whether you are eight or eighty years old. ‘This Is Sailing’ will give the public the chance to visit the Yacht Club and see many dinghies and yachts in action. Regular sailing opportunities will be offered over the duration of the weekend, either in Dinghies or Yachts. Safety demonstrations and static displays will help ease the public into the lore and vocabulary of sailing. Entry to the Yacht Club will not cost you a BOAT – Break Out Another Thousand and will be free the entire weekend. The Teak Reef will be open and serving cold frosties after a long day in the sun and snacks from the Restaurant will be available. You are welcome to ask questions in the comments section. Full Story »

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