MOSSEL BAY NEWS - “It will be a tough start.” This is according to Paul Dennett of False Bay Yacht Club (FBYC), commenting on weather conditions expected in False Bay on Thursday, 29 September, when South Africa’s oldest yacht race starts at 09:00.
At the time of writing, weather forecasters predicted a sunny 17° Celsius as the maximum temperature for Cape Town on the day.
But much more importantly, says Paul, is the 17-28 knot south-easterly winds expected for the morning of 29 September.
This will force Mossel Bay Race (MBR) crews to negotiate tricky headwinds from the word go – a situation that may well adversely affect progress until yachts start rounding to the continent’s southernmost tip at Cape Agulhas.
Of course, this state of affairs is familiar to previous contestants' in this gruelling ocean race, the Cape of Storms having earned its name over many centuries of seafaring expeditions. In fact, inclement weather around the peninsula postponed the start of last year’s MBR, when sailors departed Simon's Town a day after the planned start.
They braved particularly choppy False Bay waters in a howling southeaster, and pulled out all on-deck abilities to successfully circumnavigate Agulhas in one piece.
An exciting and novel addition to MBR 2022 is that it serves as a Cape to Rio (C2R) qualifier – a development recently announced by the organising committee of this legendary international sailing contest.
“All yachts and crew doing the Cape to Rio have to complete a qualifying trip to be accepted in the race,” explains Paul, adding that this association with C2R is a feather in the cap for everyone involved with the Mossel Bay Race.
As sailing manager at FBYC, Paul serves on the organising committee and says it welcomes back all past and new participants to this year’s MBR.
“The event is co-hosted by the False Bay Yacht Club and the Mossel Bay Sailing Club,” he says.
“It covers 200 nautical miles, which takes an average of two days to complete, and cut-off for the last finishers is Sunday, 2 October. The intention is to allow boats to be delivered back to their home port over the weekend. Therefore, our official prize giving is planned for the following Friday evening at FBYC.
“We express our appreciation to the patron of this race, Mr Ted Kuttel, whose vision it was that the event be reintroduced as a part of South Africa’s offshore-racing series, and to be run as an annual happening.
"His passion for sailing the MBR continues to be a motivating factor – not to mention his assistance in many other areas,” says Paul.
Contact the sailing office at FBYC (021 786 1703 or sailing@fbyc.co.za) for advice and additional information.
If you plan to visit the iconic town of Mossel Bay these holidays, visit www.visitmosselbay.co.za or call 044 691 2202 to reserve your stay.
Serendipity was one of the six yachts to finish the MBR last year. Photo: Amaza Images
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