In 2017 at the 29er World Championship in Long Beach, California, two youngsters stood on a boat holding the South African flag and grinning from ear to ear. Alex Burger and Benji Daniel had just won the World Championships, an astonishing 33 points clear of their nearest rivals. It was an extraordinary achievement and the first South African World Championship victory in the 29er class that would lead them to a Olympic 49er campaign.
Category:
Heroes
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Chris Bertish set off on the seemingly impossible task of being the first person to wing-sail across the Pacific Ocean. Setting off strong, he faced challenges just one week in. Sadly, it was impossible to recover from these obstacles.
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Shirley Robertson chats to offshore sailor, and story teller of note, Nick Moloney about his love of adventure and crazy ideas, as well as his passion for offshore racing.
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American sailor Terry Hutchinson was frequently in the headlines during the 36th America’s Cup as skipper and Executive Director of New York Yacht Club American Magic. Although that campaign may have ended without the desired result, Terry is not done yet. In this edition of Shirley Robertson’s Sailing Podcast, Hutchinson chats to her in Auckland after the culmination of the Prada Cup Challenger Series.
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Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is world renowned for being the first person to race solo, non-stop around the world – and win! In his own words, Sir Robin explains the story behind his epic achievement over 50 years ago. Hear from Ben Ainslie, Alex Thomson, Sir Chris Bonington and Dee Caffari.
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Amory Ross is a storyteller of note, and as an onboard reporter is one of the most experienced ocean racing content producers. It takes a unique person, brave enough to capture the dramatic footage to create incredible stories that will make us want to sail around the world.
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The yachting world recently mourned the loss of one of yachting’s most respected journalists, Bob Fisher. His involvement in, and love for the America’s Cup was well known. Although he understood the importance of development in the sport, he often reflected on a very different time when boats were boats, and challengers were many.
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Sam Davies is a formidable sailor and sportsman. After being forced to abandon her race on 5th December following a violent collision with a floating object south of Cape Town two days earlier, Sam sailed back into Les Sables d’Olonne this weekend.
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Skip Novak competed in four editions of the Whitbread Round the World Race before…
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South Africa is now well represented on World Sailing’s Committees. Philip Baum was elected as a Vice President of the World Sailing Board in late 2020. Now Heidi Burger, Philips Daniels and Hylton Hale have been appointed to prominent and influential committees too. From 2021 to 2024 they will be instrumental in the decision making of the international federation. Each brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise and a love of their sport to the table. We are extremely proud, and grateful for their service. We chat to them to get a sense of what skills have brought them to this point, and to see what they hope to achieve in their roles.
