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2026 DF95 Eastern Cape Regionals

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Race Officer Report by Alan Straton, (SAS 2019-0034NRO).

Date Submitted: 26/01/2026
Regatta: 2026 DF95 Eastern Cape Regionals
Venue: North End Lake Powerboat Club
Organised by: PERBC.
Start Date: 23/01/2026
End Date: 25/01/2026
Total Races Sailed: 24 over 3 Days.

Day 1:

27 boats entered – 9 from PERBC and 18 from the rest of South Africa.

Racing started just after 12:00 pm and continued to 17:30 pm.

Wind was from the South West and Course 3 was sailed.

The fleet was split into two heats per race.

A total of 7 races were sailed.

Day 2: Saturday started at just after 9:30 am and was sailed in an east south east ranging from 4 to 12 knots over the course of the day.

The fleet continued in their split fleets up until the end of the day at 17:30.

Course 1 was the course sailed.

A total of 12 races were sailed.

Day 3: Sunday presented with glassy water and no wind.

The fleets were split into Gold and Silver after a grueling session of 19 Qualifying races each consisting of two heats to make 38 starts up to this point.

The wind teased from the North East – not ideal conditions.

Then the wind settled from the east and Course 1 was laid again.

The Gold and Silver fleets sailed Five final races each up until 12:55 pm.

The final Top 3 results:

Gold:

1. Roy Gardener (CRYC)
2. Des Fairbank (MRYC)
3. Bruce Schnel (DRBC)

Silver:

1. Justin Dent (PERBC)
2. Denny Mofatt (DRBC)
3. Norrie Taylor (DRBC)

Images: https://straton.org.za/index.php?/category/180

Results:

Signed by: Alan Straton on 26/01/2026

SAS Reg. No.: SAS 2019-0034NRO

2025 East Cape Provincials

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Race Officer Report by Alan Straton, (SAS 2019-0034NRO).

Date Submitted: 17/12/2025
Regatta: East Cape Provincials
Venue: Wriggleswade Dam
Organised by: ELYC.
Start Date: 18/10/2025
End Date: 19/10/2025
Total Races Sailed: 7 over 2 Days.

Day 1:

Two fleets sailed on Saturday.

Fleet 1 – 9 entrants
Fleet 2 – 3 entrants

Saturday was sailed in a South West wind of around 15 knots with gusts reaching 26 knots. Sea state was lumpy.

Fleet 2 did not sail at all.

Fleet 1 saw 5 finishers in Race 1, 4 finishers in Race 2 and 3 finishers in Race 3.

There were a number of breakages across the fleet.

Day 2: Two fleets sailed on Sunday.

Fleet 1 completed 4 races.

Fleet 2 completed 4 races.

Sunday was sailed in a West wind ranging from 5 to 7 knots. Sea state was calm and flat.

Fleet 1 saw 7 finishers in Race 4, 8 finishers in Race 5, 7 finishers in Race 6 and 6 finishers in Race 7.

Fleet 2 saw 3 finishers in Race 4, 2 finishers in Race 5, 1 finishers in Race 6 and 0 finishers in Race 7.

Results:

Monohul | Sailwave results for at 2025

Signed by: Alan Straton on 17/12/2025

SAS Reg. No.: SAS 2019-0034NRO

DF95 East Cape Provincials

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Race Officer Report by Alan Straton, (SAS 2019-0034NRO).

Date Submitted: 11/02/2025
Regatta: DF95 East Cape Provincials
Venue: Eastern Province Power Boat Club, North End Lake, Gqeberha
Organised by: PERBC.
Start Date: 24/01/2025
End Date: 26/01/2025
Total Races Sailed: 37 over 3 Days.

Day 1:

The DF95 Eastern Cape Provincials hosted 20 entrants – 19 male and 1 female.

In 5 of the 37 races, all 20 boats successfully completed the races.

On Day 1 we had wind speeds averaging 5 knots from the south east for the duration of the afternoon.

Course sailed was number 2 (tight reach start)

The first race started at 12:05 pm

The last race started at 16:34 pm

A total of 13 races sailed.

The finish times for the first finisher ranged from 6 minutes 3 seconds to 9 minutes 50 seconds

Day 2: Saturday was a good day for sailing with wind speeds ranging from 5 to 12 knots.

Sunny with the wind from the South East the fleet managed to complete 20 races.

The first race started at 09:49 am

The last race started at 16:33 pm

The fleet sailed 5 races, broke for 15 minutes (30 for lunch) and then continued.

Day 3: Sunday dawned breezy – touching 28 knots in the south east gusts.

4 Races were sailed with the first starting at 11:22 am

After a break for the wind to settle the next three races were sailed on smaller rigs,

The last race started at 12:51 pm

The times for the first finisher ranged from 7 minutes 42 seconds to 9 minutes 53 seconds.

Over the three days sailing the wind speed ranged from 4 to 28 knots and from South East, to East.

For the majority of the second day sailors competed on Course 2 which included a tight reach start.

Racing was close and the introduction to the reaching start saw a number of general recalls as sailors adjusted to the conditions.

The bulk of the races were sailed on the second day with racing finishing after 5:00 pm.

The third day saw winds over 20 knots and a delay to the start before completing three races to close off a successful regatta with the Top Three places as follows:

  1. Des Fairbank
  2. George Winter
  3. Gerhard Ras

Results:

Results: 2025 Dragonflite 95 Eastern Cape Provincial Championship

Signed by: Alan Straton on 11/02/2025

SAS Reg. No.: SAS 2019-0034NRO

2024 Youth Nationals

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Race Officer Report by Alan Straton, (SAS 2019-0034NRO) for the Optimist, Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleets

Date Submitted: 07/01/2025
Regatta: 2024 Youth Nationals Optimist Fleet
Venue: Wriggleswade Dam
Organised by: East London Yacht Club under the Auspices of South African Sailing.
Start Date: 16/12/2024
End Date: 19/12/2024
Total Races Sailed: 13 over 4 Days.

Day 1:

There were 6 entrants in the Mirror Fleet and 6 entrants in the Topper 5.3 fleet. These fleets started together before the Optimist Fleet.

There were 30 entrants in the Optimist A Fleet and 4 entrants in the Optimist B Fleet. Both fleets started together.

The Optimist Fleet completed 12 races and the Mirror/Topper 5.3 Fleet completed 13 races over the course of the regatta.

Two races were sailed on the first day in light race start winds ranging from 2 to 6 knots from the east clocking to east south east for the 2nd race.

Course 4 was the first course sailed for the first race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 11:44 in 4 knots of wind and first finisher time of 12:03. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 11:49 in 4 knots of wind and first finisher time of 12:05. Sea State: Flat. 2 DNS’s

Course 5 was sailed for the second race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 12:48 in 6 knots of wind and first finisher time of 13:21. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 12:43 in 4 knots of wind and first finisher time of 13:21. Sea State: Flat. 2 DNS’s

Day 2: 3 Races were sailed on Day 2. Race start wind speeds ranged from 3.5 to 7 knots whilst the wind clocked from south west to south east.

Course 5 was the first course sailed for the 3rd race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 11:35 in 3.5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 12:10. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 11:40 in 5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 12:08. Sea State: Flat. 2 DNS’s

Course 5 was sailed for the 4th race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 13:58 in 7 knots of wind and first finisher time of 15:12. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 14:14 in 4.5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 15:40. Sea State: Flat. 2 DNS’s and 7 NSC’s

This was the longest race of the regatta.

Course 4 was sailed for the 5th Race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 16:00 in 5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 16:26. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 16:13 in 5.5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 16:38. Sea State: Flat.

This was the first race which all Optimist A Fleet entrants completed.

Day 3: Day 3 was a very productive day with the Mirror/Topper Fleet sailing 6 races and the Optimist Fleet sailing 5 races.

Race start wind speeds ranged from 5 to 10 knots clocking from west south west to south south west.

Course 4 was sailed for the 6th Race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 11:33 in 6 knots of wind and first finisher time of 11:49. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 11:38 in 6 knots of wind and first finisher time of 12:04. Sea State: Flat.

Course 4 was sailed for the 7th Race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 12:14 in 8 knots of wind and first finisher time of 12:34. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 12:32 in 10 knots of wind and first finisher time of 12:55. Sea State: Flat.

Course 4 was sailed for the 8th Race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 12:51 in 9.5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 13:18. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 15:37 in 5.5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 16:00. Sea State: Flat.

Course 4 was sailed for the 9th Race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 15:42 in 5.5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 16:03. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 16:29 in 8 knots of wind and first finisher time of 16:52. Sea State: Flat.

Course 4 was sailed for the 10th Race.

Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 16:18 in 7.5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 16:38. Sea State: Flat.

Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 17:19 in 8 knots of wind after two restarts and then a black flag start with the first finisher time of 17:49. Sea State: Flat.

The Mirror/Topper 5.3 Fleet managed to sail their Race number 11 – Course 4 with a starting Signal at 17:04 in 8 knots of wind and first finisher time of 17:28. Sea State: Flat.

Day 4: Two races were sailed by each fleet on the last day with wind speeds ranging from 4 to 7 knots and wind mainly steady from the south clocking south south east for the last beat to finish.

Course 4 was sailed for the 11th and 12th Races.

Race 12 – Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 09:16 in 4 knots of wind and first finisher time of 09:41. Sea State: Flat.

Race 11 – Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 09:40 in 5 knots of wind after two restarts and then a black flag start with the first finisher time of 09:58. Sea State: Flat.

Course 5 was sailed for the 12th and 13th Races.

Race 13 – Mirror and Topper 5.3 Fleet: Starting Signal at 09:52 in 6.5 knots of wind and first finisher time of 10:08. Sea State: Flat.

Race 12 – Optimist Fleet: Starting signal at 10:15 in 7 knots of wind with the first finisher time of10:56. Sea State: Flat.

Results:

Topper 5.3 2024 Youth Nationals Results | Optimist B Fleet 2024 Youth Nationals Results | Optimist A Fleet 2024 Youth Nationals Results  | Mirror 2024 Youth Nationals Results

Signed by: Alan Straton on 07/01/2025

SAS Reg. No.: SAS 2019-0034NRO

Joshua Keytel from Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club (Sail no. RSA 1480) crosses the line first in the last race of the regatta.
Click HERE to see many more images from the 2024 Youth Nationals.

Dart Single Handed Nationals

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Race Officer Report by Alan Straton, (SAS 2019-0034NRO).

Date Submitted: 27/06/2024
Regatta: Dart Single Handed Nationals
Venue: ELYC
Organised by: Dart.
Start Date: 15/06/2024
End Date: 17/06/2024
Total Races Sailed: 8 over 3 Days.

Day 1:

A total of 3 races were sailed on the first day.

A steady westerly wind of around 10 knots saw three races of 50 minutes each on a flat sea.

15 entrants sailed with 11 competitors completing the first two races.

14 entrants were male with 1 female entrant.

Day 2: A complete wind switch to east saw a mirror image course laid with the committee boat just inside the Port Entrance channel, bottom gate off of the ELYC Harbour wall and top marks towards Gonubie.

14 entrants sailed the five races giving the fleet a discard.

Races were all in the region of 35 minutes in length with some close racing in the choppy seas with wind strength again holding steady between 8 and 12 knots.

Racing started at 11:00 am and ended at 5:00 pm.

Day 3: A scheduled 9:00 am start was delayed to just before 11:00 am with boats starting in 5 knots of easterly breeze.

The wind faded to 2 knots and the leading boat had failed to reach the top mark in less than 20 minutes.

With little immediate prospect of more wind racing was abandoned and the fleet headed home.

Results:

Sailwave results for Dart 18 Single Handed Nationals at 2024

Signed by: Alan Straton on 27/06/2024

SAS Reg. No.: SAS 2019-0034NRO

Eastern Cape Dinghy Regional Championship

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Race Officer Report by Alan Straton, (SAS 2019-0034NRO).

Date Submitted: 02/05/2024
Regatta: Eastern Cape Dinghy Regional Championship
Venue: Redhouse Yacht Club
Organised by: SASEC.
Start Date: 21/04/2024
End Date: 22/04/2024
Total Races Sailed: 5 over 2 Days.

Day 1:

35 entrants in 6 Fleets contested the Eastern Cape Dinghy Regional Championship:

  • ILCA: Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Rating system: PY, Entries: 11
  • Sprog: Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Rating system: PY, Entries: 6
  • Finn: Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Rating system: PY, Entries: 6
  • Open A: Sailed: 1, Discards: 0, To count: 1, Rating system: PY, Entries: 1
  • Open B: Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Rating system: PY, Entries: 7
  • Junior Fleet: Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Rating system: PY, Entries: 4

Sailing Clubs represented: RYC (20), ELYC (5), GQYC (2), GLYC (2), KYC (6)

Two races were sailed on 21 April 2024 with the fleets starting off of two starts.

Conditions were South East of around 15 knots.

ILCA and Finn class started in the first start and the rest of the fleets in the second class.

Fleets sailed a tradition RYC River Course taking around 50 minutes to complete the races.

In the ILCA Fleet 3 female helmed boats sailed Radial, 1 male helmed boat sailed radial and the remaining male helms all sailed full rig.

In the Sprog Fleet 5 male helmed boats, 1 female helmed boat and 4 female crew participated.

In the Finn fleet 6 male helms participated.

The Open A Fleet failed to finish any races.

The Open B Fleet consisted of: 1 x Mirror, 2 x Pico, 1 x Topaz, 3 x Gypsey Dinghies with 7 male helmsmen and 2 female crew.

The Junior Fleet consisted of 3 x Optimists and 1 x Tera with 3 male helmsmen and one female helm.

Day 2: On Sunday a delayed start to 12:00 pm whilst we waited for the tide to fill in.

The wind was South South East of around 18 knots.

The first race saw two starts as per the first Day.

The last start saw only the Finn class start first with the ILCA Class moving to the second start.

The rising wind strength – reaching 25 knots saw only two Finns start the last race.

The last race was started at 1:45 pm with no more races possible as no racing was allowed to start after 2:00 pm.

The capable Redhouse Yacht Club bridge crew under the watchful eye of scorer Pam Miller did duty.

First three in each class:

  • ILCA: 1. Warren Harvey, 2. Sigi Bailes, 3. Patrick McCarthy
  • Finn: 1. David Shilton, 2. Yogi Divaris, 3. Dudley Isaacs
  • Sprog: 1. Drew Scott, 2. Malcolm Osborne, 3. William Pierce-Jones
  • Open B: Morgan Rusch, 2. Troy Du Plooy, 3. Wayne De Klerk
  • Junior Fleet: 1. Ruan Labuschagne, 2. Dillon Wreathman, 3. Sheldrene Fick

Results:

https://ro.straton.org.za/index.php?gf-download=2024%2F05%2FSailwave-results-for-Eastern-Cape-Dinghy-Regional-Championship-22-21-April-2024-at-Redhouse-Yach.pdf

Signed by: Alan Straton on 02/05/2024
SAS Reg. No.: SAS 2019-0034NRO

Images: https://straton.org.za/index.php?/category/137