Six nations compete in world champs in Sedgefield
The RS Tera Sailing Dinghy World Championships was officially opened at Pine Lake Marina, Sedgefield, on Sunday, July 27.
In attendance at the opening function were officials from the International RS Tera Association, the Western Cape minister of Sport and Recreation, Nomafrench Mbombo, the commodore of Knysna Yacht Club, Jim Parkes, the municipal councillor for Sedgefield, Louise Hart, Peter Hall of Western Cape SA Sailing, Andrew Finn of Eastern Cape SA Sailing, five international judges and Greg Vogt, the CEO of Knysna Tourism.
The function was run extremely well with a lively, amusing master of ceremonies directing the event. Also present were competitors from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain and the Netherlands. The president of the International RS Tera Class Association, Frans Boer, declared the world championship open, and the Sedgefield Junior Brass Band from Smutsville provided musical accompaniment.
The commencement of racing was preceded by a very charming ceremony common to most international sailing contests, the ‘mixing of the waters’. A representative of each nation competing brings with him or her a flask of water form their own sailing water back home, which they, in turn, are pour into a silver vessel. Before racing begins the accumulated waters are poured into the water of the venue and thus all competitors are sailing ‘on home waters’.