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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - There have been two good days of sailing - Friday and Saturday - in the Western Cape Sailing Championships being held in Mossel Bay this long weekend.
The many sails of about 130 boats taking part, have been a spectacular sight in the bay.
The championships started at about 13:00 on Friday.
On Friday, four races in each class of boat were completed.
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The wind was seven to 10 knots. The wind increased as the day went on.
There were swells in the bay, which meant the sailing was quite tactical.
Local organiser
Mossel Bay Sailing Club commodore Elfie Holden, who is the local organiser of the championships, said: "We had good wind on Saturday."
She it was expected "to blow" today. Indeed, a southerly came up today and this delayed the start of the day's sailing. It was decided to wait for a while to assess the wind to see if it would be possible to sail.
By 11.30 the larger boats had set out and the organisers were waiting to see if the wind would drop and whether to send out the smaller boats. The committee boat was out at sea. The postponement flag was up.
Four races
On Saturday it was possible to sail four races in each class, after Friday's four races.
"The sailors are loving Mossel Bay," Holden noted. Mossel Bay has been hailed as the one of the best sailing venues in the world.
"Quite big swells made it very tricky on Saturday," she said.
One of the sailors who was performing well in the championships was Renier Delie (21) of Mossel Bay, she noted. Results are not yet available.
A sailor had to be taken off the water yesterday. "Someone turned a point and rode into him," Holden said.
Pulled muscle
The sailor suffered a pulled muscle. Although there is a doctor on site at the championships who was on hand, the sailor was sent for observation, just to ensure he was alright, Holden said.
Taking place in the bay at the same time as the Western Cape Championships are the Finn and Mirror national championships.
Mirrors can be sailed by adults and young teens. Finns are usually sailed by adults - sailors weighing more than 90kg. Sailing Finns is physically demanding.
Different types
There are a number of different types of boats being sailed in the Western Cape Champs including the Olympic class Ilca, of which there are four different types.
Other boats are Toppers, 29ers, Topazes, 505s and more.
If there are more than five boats of one type, they sail in their class, not on a handicap.
But if there are fewer than five boats, the race consists of a mix of different boats and the sailors compete on a handicap.
There are sailors aged from 10 years to the late 70s competing.
Inclusive
The championships are highly inclusive and sailors from all parts of the country are welcome. The champs have attracted sailors from Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, Natal and the Western Cape. There is even a sailor from Denmark competing.
Except for Friday, sailing is supposed to take place from about 10:00 to 17:00 each day.
Anroux Marais
On Friday, the opening ceremony was held and Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) minister Anroux Marais was present and gave a short speech. She encouraged the young sailors taking part to "dream big" and said that if their dreams did not scare them, they were not dreaming big enough.
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Marais chatted to the local Mossel Bay sailors on Friday evening and asked them about their sport and how long they had been sailing.
China
There is a group of children from China participating in the championships. This is part of the DCAS exchange programme with a province in China.
The children and their guardian on the trip were welcomed warmly at the opening ceremony on Friday and given gifts.
At the opening ceremony on Friday night, a volunteer for Western Cape Sailing, Bev le Sueur, commended Holden, her husband Rob and their son Oliver for the sterling work they were doing in the huge task of organising and co-ordinating the championships in Mossel Bay. Le Sueur has been involved in organising the trip here for the Chinese sailors.
World Sailing
Rob Holden worked for the International Sailing Federation (World Sailing) as a development coach for a number of years and, having sailed in many parts of the world, hails Mossel Bay as one of the best sailing venues in the world. He currently works for SA Sailing.
Also attending the opening ceremony on Friday night were Thabo Tutu, director for sport promotion, based at DCAS in Cape Town and Dirk van der Westhuizen, a DCAS sport promotion officer based in the regional office in Oudtshoorn.
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