Sandy Point Yacht Club Easter Regatta

Sandy Point Yacht Club in Langebaan, South Africa, is a rather informal group of like-minded people, led by Commodore Bruce Tedder. Langebaan is a holiday community about 60 miles north of Cape Town. The Langebaaan lagoon is one of a very small number of lagoons that can provide shelter to ocean sailors around the coasts of South Africa. It also provides excellent small boat sailing on flat water, with sometimes very strong winds (and very chilly water). The "like mind" of the club members is a love for sailing classically-styled small boats.

One of my designs, the Sentinel Explorer 18, has attracted a strong following in the Langebaan area. The Explorer is a GRP Lapstrake design, full-bodied to carry a good load as a family fun boat. With a gunter rig that has fairly modest proportions by my normal standards, this boat has proven itself to be ideal for safe sailing in the sometimes robust conditions of the area.

Sandy Point Yacht Club hosts a regatta every Easter weekend. The core of the fleet has been the local Explorers but the reputation of fun casual racing has attracted an expanding range of small boats to the event. The photos that I am showing here are of some of the Explorers racing. I also see two of the smaller sisters, the Sentinel Challenger, in some of the photos.

My thanks to photographer Kerryn Arthur for making them available for my use.