Izivungu students had had a good run with all the dinghy sailing events, now it was time to introduce them to the big keelboats. The excitement was brewing as this is all new to them, not having been able to sail the past few years. Our L26, Donna Mia, which is owned by Cpt Salvatore Sarno of MSC, is going to compete in the False Bay Spring Regatta (our home waters).
Tuesday 13.09.22
Eldred and I have a mammoth task in getting the boat ready in time and things were looking positive. I have been discussing plans and ideas with the (Oldies) graduates of Izivungu. They have been super keen on giving back and helping when they can. Asanathi Jim, Andile Zenzile, Marcello Burrics and Shane White amongst them. To complete the task at hand, blocks, fittings and halyards needed to be replaced. The Navy Sailing Centre gave us yacht fittings and blocks to start the job off.
Wednesday 14.09.22
The Oldie Team arrived at 9am and we got stuck in, first was to replace the big stickers, Izivungu MSC Foundation for Youth, as they were removed when Eldred and I resprayed the boat in January 2022. After students arrived we discussed the final team, this would be 7 persons as there is a weight limit of 420 kg. Marlon Jones (skipper), Andile Zenzile (trimmer), Daphne Jacobs (halyards lady), Athienkosi Mahlumba (mast), Jordan Daniels (trimmer back up), Shane White (bow), Simamkele Mtshofeni (tweeker manjie) (he’s the youngest helmsman of Izivungu) will be the team competing.
Thursday 15.09.22
Most of the cleats and fittings were now on and the MSC branding was done and looking good. A huge thanks to Marcello for organising the new mast rigging, all the stays and backstay were donated by Sparcraft. He also helped with few other ropes and sheets and did splicing work after hours. We really appreciate all the work done by these Oldies, some even helped me till well after 21h00 at night.
Friday 16.09.22
A big shout out to False Bay Yacht Club manager, Paul Dennet, in helping with the administration side of the regatta entry for us, and not forgetting Billy Liesegang who did all the measurements of the sails and boat and even collected sail numbers for MSC Donna Mia 👏. We received our Certificate of Fitness (CoF) with Paul’s help and ORC Measurement Certificate with Billy’s help. Billy also made a spot available on his boat for Fatier Yon to participate in the race. We are really thankful for all the assistance. The final stage was getting the boat in the water and we now waited for high tide at 19h00 that evening. All guys were in wetsuits and nothing could dampen these youngsters spirit. Marcello and I slowly backing the 2 ton vessel down the slip way, Asanathi on the dinghy ready to tow and the rest of the team on the boat. After a few stressful moments and words, she was afloat, making her way to the moorings ready for next day racing.
Saturday 17.09.22
The students were super excited as I collected them at 7am and made our way to Simonstown. The rest of the team arrived at the boat dead on time. The weather forecast was for medium to light winds, this would be beneficial to the team as the 4 younger team members never been on a keel boat. The team made their way out, setting the sails, tacking, gybing, putting up the spinnaker and all sorts manoeuvres. They started well, kept the pace and won the first race. In the second race they got a second, so were tie 1st with Co-Ordination. It’s amazing to see that hard work pays off.
Sunday 18.09.22
We had to do a very early pick up at 6am as the team experienced some minor issues with the No 1 sail and some cleats that were not working as they should. The foresail tack ripped right out in the middle of the second race, this caused them to fall behind. We needed to repair this before the start of the days racing. I suggested we bring the boat into the Fingers the area where the Navel yachts are lifted out the water, this worked well as it's closer to our workshop. After about 2 hours work we managed to complete everything on our worklist, well ahead of time, so a quick coffee and on their way to the start of the race. The weather forecast was for stronger wind and this would be hard work on the racecourse. The start signal came and the team didn't have a very good start, but worked hard hiking like beasts as we call it, and with some good tactics, they managed a second place. For the second race it was gusting 25 knots, now it’s time to separate the men from the boys, but our guys showed what determination is and got another second. They are now lying second overall, 2 points behind 1st place, but 10 points ahead of 3rd. Well done guys!! The regatta will continue next weekend so we will be out practice racing and working out better systems for the stronger conditions. Now that Donna Mia is back, we will compete in more keel boat events and Wednesday night races at False Bay Yacht Club.