Sailors make Mossel Bay proud

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Two sailors from Point High School, Christian Cilliers and Oliver Holden, have been given the chance to participate in international sailing events in Weymouth, England.

The 29er team travelled to Weymouth on 18 July and participated in their first event, the UK National and Open Championship, on Saturday 22 July.

They have a few days in which to collect their boat, set up and take it for a test sail. Each sailor has a preferred setting on the boat that compliments his/her sailing style.

Christian, a grade 8 pupil, joined Oliver Holden on the 29er at the beginning of this year and it has been a steep learning curve to get them ready for the event.

Elfie Holden, commodore of the Mossel Bay Sailing Club and founder of the Skipper Foundation NPO in Mossel Bay says the 29er is a highly technical boat built for speed, and excellent teamwork is essential to race this boat at its optimum.

"The team has gone over to England for much needed fleet practice. South Africa’s fleets are very small and is vital to have experience in racing in bigger fleets to develop starting and mark rounding techniques," she says.

The Typhoon UK 29er Class National and Open Championships has attracted a fleet of 90 boats and will be sailed at the 2012 Summer Olympic Venue.

Holden says the weather for the event looks to be rainy with strong winds, true England weather for the team. The event ended on Wednesday.

The team will go straight into the 29er World Championships to be held at the same venue, from 27 July until 4 August. This event has attracted 209 entries from 27 countries. The fleet includes previous world championship winners from Spain and Argentina.

Christian Cilliers and Oliver Holden.