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6 days ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettThere is always a ton of work to ready a yacht for a race or long passage as the “to do list” is usually long and endless. Do they ever get completed? That was certainly the case with ‘Voortrekker’ after she sailed into the UK from Cape Town. One of the items on the list was to take her designer sailing so the he could check the boat sailed to his expectations or better. Dalling and his crew sailed around the Eddystone lighthouse.
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1 week ago | 
medicalxpress.com | Richard L. Crockett
From the day we're born, we know how to breathe correctly. That means letting the diaphragm—the large, thin muscle just below the rib cage—do the work of drawing air into the lungs and letting it out. It's known as diaphragmatic or belly breathing, and it's the most efficient and effective way to breathe. But over time, almost everyone needs to remember how. Rather than belly breathing, people begin chest breathing.
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1 week ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettMany may have forgotten the days when John Martin raced ‘Tuna Marine Voortrekker II’ with distinction in single-handed ocean races. Well today, some 38 years ago now, Martin took his trusty steed to victory in the final leg of the BOC solo round-the-world race.
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1 week ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettTake yourself back 30 years to the America’s Cup and compare it to today’s offering. Which format do you prefer? So going back all that time makes me ask the question as to what “Big Bad Dennis Conner” would think of today’s Cup format?
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1 week ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettToday’s newspaper cutting is the direct result of an invitation I gave to a newspaper journalist to join ‘Meditech Computers’ on the 1995 Vasco da Gama Race from Durban to East London. Being the “yachting scribe” for the local rag he though he had better have a taste of life at sea, so accepted with delight.
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1 week ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettTo my knowledge there are just a handful of South African sailing vessels which have circumnavigated Africa. One crew man to achieve this is Gugulethu man Theo Madayi. This is how the Argus newspaper report from 21 years ago, introduced Theo: “From Gugulethu·comes a young man who has turned dreams into a reality. Theo Madayi stepped off an ocean-going yacht on Saturday after circumnavigating the African continent. “The yacht was ‘Inspia! Yacht 2041′, sponsored by Coca-Cola.
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1 week ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettToday’s newspaper from 1990 is literally a blast from the past!The information was front page news in the Mercury, and was widely used by many different media around the country. This is what was reported: “The yacht ‘Walon’, skippered by South African Dave Abromowitz, leader in the Portnet Dias Race from Cape Town to Lisbon, was nearly blown up by a mine yesterday. “Captain Abromowitz said ‘Walon’ had missed the mine by about three metres.
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2 weeks ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettThe above headline is a typical response one may get from a landlubber about going to sea in a small boat, but to come from a hardened and successful yachtie is hard to stomach. Yet Christophe Auguin, a previous winner of the BOC Challenge said this: “Just the prospect of spending eight months alone at sea keeps all but the most foolhardy sailors out of the 43 200 kilometres BOC Challenge.
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2 weeks ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettIt’s always with some trepidation at this time of the year I have to make the decision whether or not to share details of the fateful Vasco da Gama Race in 1984 when ‘Rubicon’ and her crew were lost at sea, never to be seen again. It’s a tough race is the Vasco, as are many other ocean races around the world.
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2 weeks ago | 
sailing.co.za | Richard L. Crockett
By Richard CrockettThe Vasco da Gama Race has always been one of my very favourite races, and is in fact the race which really got me hooked on ocean racing. In 1977 I did my first race from Durban to East London, and still, today, follow it very closely. Such is my interest in the race that I have sufficient information, some 16 000 files, which is enough to write a book on the race. Plus I have an Excel database of every race, every trophy winner and more.
