SA sailors return riding crest of the wave after winning world champs in China
CAPE TOWN – The South African sailing team, who are Cape Town-based, has returned home triumphant after taking the honours at the recent Fareast 28R World Championship in China.
Some 26 teams from 14 countries competed in the event.
South Africa's winning boat RSA Magic was skippered by two-time Olympian Roger Hudson, along with Malcolm Hall.
“It was a fantastic opportunity,” said Hudson. "The championship was in a beautiful place in Lake Fuxian in south-west China – a very tricky sailing venue and we certainly managed to get the hang of the place during the four/five days we had to prepare before the event.”
Heading into the fourth and final day of racing, the team were already on top, having claimed four race wins and earning themselves a six-point advantage.
They took second place in the first race of the day and then wrapped up a memorable overall win with victory in the final race of the event.
“It went really well for us. We didn’t go there expecting to win,” admitted Hudson.
"Our team comprised of Malcolm Hall and myself, [fellow Olympian] Asenathi Jim, Alex Burger, Alex Ham and Calvin Gibbs, so it was a very strong team and we had a great time."
“We really enjoyed it and it was a great chance to get to know the Fareast 28 and obviously to come away with the win was a little bit beyond our expectations, but we were really pleased.
“It’s very exciting for our team who are basically a bunch of dinghy sailors, coming from that side of sailing, and we’re trying to learn and hopefully master the small keelboat sailing in the Cape 31 and some other classes.
So for us it was a fantastic step in the right direction.”
African News Agency (ANA)