R.I.P. Georgie and Crew - Tragic loss of SV Tara

Certainly not forgotten at HBYC

George's beautiful yacht "Tara"
Photo credit to Roy McBride

With huge regret and sadness we must report that George Mills' beautiful old wooden yacht was wrecked on Sunday night or Monday morning on the Cape West Coast not far from Yzerfontein. Details not clear yet - see the initial NSRI report here.

Georgie - as we was fondly known - was truly a remarkable and cheerful member at the club. A proud Scot and a long time sailor, he had a real passion for classical wooden yachts. And did I mention traditional Scottish songs and music!  See this link for a very impromptu recording taken by cellphone over the Monday Table one evening about two weeks ago (all credit to Robin Parker). What a beautiful way to be remembered! 

R.I.P Georgie, you are very sadly missed!

The two crew members (well friends in fact) were Rachel Daly, and her husband PJ (who.survived). Most sincere condolences to all involved, especially PJ -  from all at the club. In fact they were regular visitors and often joined George with the festivities.  

Some detail on Tara on Roy McBride's Blog.

A very sad day, glad we have these memories....

Memorials

Memorial Service for Keith Gemmell, previous Commodore, will be held at the Hout Bay Yacht Club on Sunday 17 January at 2 p.m. The plan to take his ashes to sea that day has been postponed due to the prevailing weather.

Memorial Service for Alistair Peden, well known in Cape sailing community and a past member, will be held in the Hout Bay Yacht Club on Wednesday 20 January at 2 p.m.

Wednesday night racing results

1. Megafreight
2. Faraway
3. Skebenga

They drifted around the course in very light but very pleasant conditions, producing some great scenery in the bay!

Detailed results here.

LTC Phoenix takes it again!

Wednesday Sailing Results, 25 November 2015

1. LTC Phoenix 
2. Megafreight No 3 
3. Faraway No 3 
4. Skebenga 
5. JML 2 

Detailed results here.

HBYC 2015 Club Champs Results!

No surprises, Theo Yon and team made the most of the light conditions on the Saturday to comfortably win the event! 

Although the forecasts showed gale-force winds for the weekend, Saturday was extremely light and we worked hard to get the minimum of three races completed! Nevertheless it was pleasant out on the water and the racing was very tight amongst the front of the fleet. Crews were back in good time to watch the RWC final in the clubhouse. 

Sunday was completely blown out with a gale-force black South Easter, and most of us were happy to stay at home until the prize-giving dinner that evening. More on that event will follow later today!

Results

1 LTC 
2 Megafreight
3 Faraway
4 JML2
5 Skebenga
6 JML3

Detailed results here.

Wednesday Summer Series Opens!

Results of Race 1:

LTC Phoenix 
Megafreight 
Faraway 
JML 2 
Skebenga 

Detailed results here

Summer Opening Cruise, and Club Champs coming soon!

Dear Members,

Our commodore is pleased to announce the Opening Cruise will be on Sunday 25 October! This is always a fun day out, please note the times below. 

Schedule of Events:

12h00    Guests to meet in bar area

13h00    Boats to be on the water

14h00    Sail past and salute to Commodore

15h00    Return to Harbour and the Club. Fires will be lit, braai packs will be on sale.

15h30    Presentation by Theo Yon on his trip to China (30 mins)

17h00    Rugby World Cup semi-final  

-----------------------------------------

Club Champs will be on Saturday and Sunday 31 Oct and 1 Nov 2015.

The Keelboat Prizegiving Dinner will be on the Sunday evening (1 Nov).

Club Champs NoR

Club Champs Prizegiving, Notice and Booking Form

N.B. Booking is essential for the Prizegiving Dinner - see the links above for details.

Sunday Racing Results

Last Sunday afternoon race of the season! Wednesday night racing resumes again in early October.

Close racing in a 10 Kt Westerly, saw 1,2,3 all finish within two minutes of each other!

1. Megafreight
2. Faraway
3. Skebenga
4. JML2

Detailed results here!

Sunday Racing Results

A small fleet in cold and variable conditions!

Well done to JML, Skebenga and Faraway, in that order!

See full results here.

Theo and Team finish 3rd overall in Quingdao!

The original brief Press Release:

"Local Sailor goes to China

Hout Bay Yacht Club’s Youth Development Trainer, Theo Yon, has been selected to represent the Western Cape to sail in the Qingdao International Regatta from 12-16 August.

Over 60 applications were received but only one team of 5 were chosen so this is a great honour for Theo who has risen up from our junior ranks to now being our youth Sail Trainer and represents our Club at all major regattas.

Due to the generosity of the Club’s Members, Theo departs with R3500 pocket money for extra expenses, plus a new underwater video camera to captures events at the Regatta. On his return, Theo will give a talk at the Club and share his experiences with his colleagues and Members. The camera will then be used for sail training."

More than this, Hout Bay Yacht Club can be extremely proud of this as a pinnacle achievement of its Development Sailing Programme, which continues to thrive. So many members have played a part in this over the years it would be foolish to name any. The spirit and generosity of the members has been fantastic, and I might add Theo has been a well deserved champion in the midst of it. To my mind this is such a good news story at a time when we all need a bit of cheering up!