It all began

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Early memories are of my father packing his sailing bag for race days on the weekend.  He had begun his own sailing career when, bored with shooting practice on the other side of Cinderella dam in Boksburg, he could see sails on the dam racing back and forth around the buoys clearly trying to outdo each other to be the fastest dingy across the line.

Without wasting any time, he found himself a skipper in need of a trapeze “artist” so to speak – a guy who would fling himself out on the trapeze in order to keep the hull planing at just the right angle to maximise speed.   Dad was just the guy for the job !!  The Skipper would shout – “move the weight starboard” – nothing personal Dad, you were a heavy-boned guy.

It wasn’t long before I was right there anxious to be part of the sailing scene.  I didn’t do much sailing back then being a little young still,  but  because I felt totally at home in the water, I swam and enjoyed long lazy days at the dam with my family each weekend whilst Dad raced his padded pants off !

I remember he used to wear a blanket that was sewn into a waistcoat which he wet before races to make himself heavier for the trapeze, till one day they capsized and he struggled to swim to the surface with the blanket weighing him down, the blanket waistcoat was discarded and his good old big bones had to do.

It wasn’t long before he and his skipper had won all that there was to win in the 505 class.  Dad even went to the world championships in Adelaide, Australia back in the day. In 1966 you can imagine that it was nothing short of a miracle that they were able to compete as South Africa was being boycotted out of most international sporting events so they were not allowed to receive Springbok colours even though they represented South Africa officially. Not to worry; they finished every race and did South Africa proud.

Dad went on to race bigger and better yachts, he and skipper Don quickly outgrew 505’s and then sailed Flying Dutchmen after which they progressed to the smaller keel boat called a Soling.  Along with the upgrade, they had to change venues too as Cinderella Dam was just not big enough.   So began our weekends away in our little caravan at Vaal Dam.

This is when I started sailing my little Sunfish.   Any opportunity I got I was scudding around the Dam with the wind in my hair rejoicing like a dog with its head out of the window.  Dad would be out there racing and I would try to follow on being sure to keep out of the way.   So many memories and stories were a part of our dam experience, braai’s, prize giving, enjoying the grown ups’ conversation at the club house or outside their shacks for evening drinks and water, water, water the best feeling in the world, flopping into the water off the little sail boat and then back on for another round.   I remember my face being so sunburned that my nose peeled countless times, those were the days  !!!