KZN Championships – Midmar Dam

16 to 18 June 2023

By early evening on Thursday 15th, the camp site at Henley Midmar Yacht Club was a buzz with J22 sailors. The free beers were available and braai fires lit. The J22’s had arrived.   What a great experience we all had. As promised the wind on Midmar never lets you down, sometimes light but always there. Beautiful setting for sailing and plenty close by for the “support” folk to do. As one support folk said, “sitting on the grass in the sun, refreshments close by and being able to see all the fleet and what is happening on the water is great” Camping and comfortable chalets within walking distance, what more can you ask for. Most definitely a venue to visit regularly and to be scheduled in the calendar for Nationals. So what did those who didn’t make it miss?

Friday 16th

An early morning chill in the air but the promise of breeze by 11.00. The last of the boats were launched, the RO Derek Wilkes had an on shore briefing and soon after the committee boat left with the mark layers close behind, to drop the course buoys.

Race 1 saw very light breeze with close racing, the challenge was there from the first start with only 7sec between the first 2 boats.

Race 2 With the wind increasing the race was started in 6.5K with little room to manoeuvre on the start line. On round 2 Phantom, DaJ and Joint J had a small lead on the fleet that had spread out.  By the last windward mark G’Day J had joined the leaders but there were still more position challenges as they went into the last round. Phantom, on a port tack took 1st with DaJ close behind, followed by Joint J and Hot Salsa. Jaywalker retired, despite no protest, having done a 360 and not 720.

Race 3 saw the wind increasing to 9K but at 15.00 the sun was dropping to the skyline and the chill set in. Jaywalker took the lead from the start and held their position. The 2nd windward mark saw Joint J, Merlion and Us n’ J fighting for 2nd. Penalties by Da J and Nitro Monkey didn’t impact on their focus and determination to chase the leaders. The last windward rounding decided the result with Jaywalker 1st, Joint J 2nd and Hot Salsa 3rd.   3 good races, all just within the 45min race lap time scheduled

Saturday 17th

The wind was up, 10K, the boats were ready.

10.30 saw the start of Race 4   Da J, Joint J, Hot Salsa and Nitro Monkey all had a great start.  Jaywalker “lost her main sail” but made an amazing recovery from the back of the fleet to finish 5th. Merlion retired with technical problems in the 36 minute race.

Race 5 the wind held at 9k, and the fleet were in the “groove”! But just a tad too enthusiastic resulting in a general recall and a U flag for the next race. The RO was having none of it! G’ Day J “forgot” the 1 minute rule and was a DSQ despite a good race. Merlion joined the race, 2 minutes after the start, having done quick repairs. Nitro Monkey were back on top with Da J, Joint J and Jaywalker. The gate option on the course, with half the fleet opting port the other half starboard, made little difference to the result. What did make the difference was Merlion steadily making her way through the fleet and finishing 2nd with only Jaywalker ahead.

Race 6 No chances given, the U flag was hoisted, resulting in no casualties on this start. There was always the possibility of opportunity, with a close competitive fleet, but never easy to find. The wind dropped from 7k to 4k but the Committee and mark layers boats with the “media” crew on a rubber duck enjoyed the warmth and sunshine. There were seconds between the finishing boats, Phantom just ahead of Jaywalker, but every second counts. Hot Salsa 3rd and Da J 4th in a 37minute race

Race 7 The RO must have decided the fleet had learnt their lesson, no U flag. The windward mark saw DaJ round first followed by Hot Salsa, Us ‘n J, Joint J, Merlion and Nitro Monkey. The wind was dropping and changing direction with a few tense moments bobbing on the water deciding the next tack to gain the advantage when the wind picked up. DaJ, Hot Salsa and Nitro Monkey made the most of the opportunity with DaJ increasing their lead. A slight break in transmission from the media boat as one of the team needed to go ashore as he had a rugby ticket, and it was time to leave for Hollywoodbets Kings Park stadium. The media crew arrived back on the course to see Hot Salsa take 2nd but Da J held the 1st position.

Race 8 The bodies were weary but the competition still fierce. Joint J started first over the line, with Merlion 4th around the first mark. No boat was out of the competition with positions changing during and between each round. Phantom read the wind and fleet perfectly to get 1st place, Jaywalker 2nd. Da J after an amazing day of racing with 2 firsts came in 5th.

Race 9 The fleet were now considering home as a good option, but the RO had other ideas. Da J was back in the race, first around the first mark but sadly slipping to a 5th finish.  Joint J had her best result of the regatta, a 1st adding to her 3 2nd places. Hot Salsa securing a 2nd place and Jaywalker a 4th made for exciting racing on the last day. The ice-cold beer went down well!

Sunday 18th

A slightly later start at 11.30 in 6K of breeze.

Race 10 Da J and Jaywalker both knew they could not afford any mistakes. Nitro Monkey was not going to make it easy for them. Da J had a 3 second lead on Jaywalker around the last windward mark but increased their lead to a comfortable 1st position in a 42 minute race.

Race 11 Nitro Monkey had a great start with 3 boats to windward, all of which tacked soon after crossing the line.  The second weather mark rounding saw Da J, Jaywalker and Phantom in the lead. With the fleet close behind Nitro Monkey incurred a 720 penalty (not sure of the cause) with Jaywalker doing a 360 which put the pressure on as Da J increased their lead. Making the spinnaker work to its ultimate and choosing the right wind shifts were all Jaywalker could do to not lose their final position. They sailed brilliantly moving up to 2nd place, unfortunately just not quite enough. Racing finished at 13.15.

All the boats were quickly and efficiently back on the trailers, masts down and ready to head home and prize giving started at 14.30.                                                                                                       

Winner of the first KZN Championships – Da J Skipper Dirk Manten, Crew JJ Van Niekerk and Nic Kroucamp.

2nd Place – Jaywalker Skipper Luke Wagner, Crew Craig Millar, and Andrew Wittstock.

A great, successful event enjoyed by all. 

PS.  The AWOL media team member backed the wrong team I’m afraid, the Cell C Sharks lost.

Final results


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