Why South Africa makes the best sailors
With its proximity to the ocean and its internationally beloved urban landscape, Cape Town is the perfect place to find the best sailors. However, it’s not just Cape Town but the country as a whole that seems to produce the best sailors. Consider what happened at a recent competition.
Kiel Week, Germany & South African trials
As SuperSport reports:
“Asenathi Jim and Roger Hudson have claimed another top result in their quest to qualify for the Rio Olympics. “Competing in the 470 class, the Cape Town duo powered to fourth overall at Kiel Week in Germany “Fellow South Africans Graeme Willcox and Andrew Tarboton finished 23rd out of 34 teams in the 49er class.”
Kiel Week, also known as Kieler Woche in German, takes place in Schleswig-Holstein every year. It brings together about 5000 sailors with 2000 boats – the participants take part in competitions across an wide array of classes. There is usually a music festival and other celebrations taking place around the sailing.
But we do well at races because we have some of the toughest and most challenging spaces for sailing in the world. There’s a reason South Africa features on all the major round-the-world races – this means the South Atlantic Yacht Race (formerly known as Cape to Rio). Our racing events start from Cape Town and go all the way to places like Rio, as seen in the Heineken Cape to Rio (the City of Cape Town won in 2011).
All women crews and other differences
South Africans are also renowned for their all-women crews, since it is still primarily a male-dominated sport. This goes as far back as the 1970s, with vessels like Sprinter that had an all-women crew competing in the South Atlantic Yacht Race.
Again, we have these advantages because we live in spaces where access to the ocean is possible; further, sailing is increasingly being extended beyond the bounds of those wealthy enough to own a boat – and trying to include as many people as possible
Considering the general South Africa’s extension to try include as many people from different backgrounds and identities as possible, it’s no wonder we create talented and diverse crews. Heidi Burger and her all-female crew are continuing this diverse inclusion by being an all-women team debuting in 2015 Lipton Cup Challenge.
More people can start being included in this wonderful activity by looking into sailing courses in Cape Town and other coastal cities.