History

OPTIMIST SAILING SA (Previously OCRA) was started at Midmar in 1968. The Optimist Class was introduced here by Nigel Ringrose, who worked for the United Nations. He had earlier introduced Optimists to (then) Rhodesia and that is the reason that the associations in both countries are (still) called 'OCRA" (then (Rhodesia) and (South Africa), now of course (Zim)). Nigel Ringrose later became president of IODA (before Peter Barclay, Rene Kluin, Helen-Mary Wilkes and AI Chandler).

The very first worlds that SA was to send a team to was to be held in Zimbabwe - then Rhodesia - at Kariba in 1973. This event was cancelled for political reasons and so the first selected team went nowhere.

The worlds next year (1974) were held in Switzerland on lake Silvaplana near St. Moritz. The team were lucky enough to be accommodated in the staff annex of the Palace Hotel. The team was Chris King, Richard Wedderburn-Clarke, Simon Bongers, Gary Holiday and Garth Barrett. The fleet was around 90 boats in all and best placed from our team was Chris King in the 40s.

The next year (1975) the team went to Aarhus in Denmark, accommodation this time was tents with portable showers and toilets. The team was Gary Holiday, Simon Bongers, Richard Wedderburn-Clarke, Garth Barrett and Graeme Robertson. The fleet by now was over 110 boats. The results were much better, Garth placed 15th in the individual and Gary Holiday was 18th. We were the highest placed English speakers in the fleet, beating out the super confident and organised Americans and Brits.

The 1976 Worlds were held in Yarimca, Turkey. The Turks had built an entire resort for the event with chalets and communal eating area. The fleet was 120 + boats. The team was the 3 usual suspects of Gary, Simon and Garth with Graeme Robertson and the first girl, Herda Silverman. Gary and Garth were both doing really well, both lying around 10th. A lonely Romanian sailor arrived late, rigged sailed a little then packed up and left in protest against the participation of the racist South Africans and Rhodesians. The organising committee then asked that we please leave the event. That ended what was promising to be an excellent regatta for the country.

After this, the 'sporting ban' became more and more of a problem. Although South Africa was never officially banned by the IYRU (now ISAF), we were effectively banned from the World Championship. This was either because the host countries would not give us sporting Visas or because the host organisation would not take the risk of international incidents (as the one mentioned above in 1976) or other teams being withdrawn by their countries .. At the time, we tried to argue that this was a children's event and that it would be good for the South African children to see how a normal society functioned, but that was never successful. At the time, it was very frustrating, now the logic ('sacrificing' one team in order to protect many others) of course makes sense.

Having said that, there were still two years in which team were allowed to sail in the Worlds:
In 1980 a team went to the Portugal worlds and sailed the full regatta.
In 1982 a team sailed in Italy without problems. I had just moved to Cape Town and assisted with the preparation (Gary Holiday was the coach and Dave Stuart the team leader, the team were Stephen Loxton, Brian James, Nico van Wieringen, Michael Cheesman and Jonathan Swain)
I joined OCRA in 1983, and was appointed coach. We did not get visa for Brazil where the Worlds were and I took the initiative to organise an 'alternative' tour for the team, (Nico van Wieringen, Stephen Loxton, Greg Hall, Graham Bryant, Nicky Hooyberg). OCRA was happy with this, but
could not give financial support, so in the end the team members' parents paid, supported by their provincial Oppie associations (Transvaal for Nicky Hooyberg, Western Province for Nico van Wieringen, Stephen Loxton, Greg Halll and Graham Bryant). It was the year of the first European Championship and in the end (after hundreds of Rands of 'phone calls - a lot of money then and no email!) they agreed to let us sail, but not include us in the official results but in the results of the 'open fleet' which consisted of the 5 of us plus five extra Spaniards (the championship was
in Barcelona). But we sailed with everyone else and they provided 'unofficial finish lists' so we could see how we did. Nico won a race and finished 'unofficial' fifth overall so we were quite chuffed. It was the first time we saw (and hired!) Winner boats, at home it was still all wood! Before that regatta, we went to an International event in Carentec (Brittany). First there was no problem, but there was a Frenchman (with an African wife) who objected to our presence. He contacted the French federation (FFV) with whom I compromised that we would cover up the 'SA' letters in our sails. Of course, you could still clearly see the 'SA' from the back! The Frenchmen next to us in the boat park were so embarrassed and upset that they covered the 'F" in their sail as well! Tours were very different then. It was just one coach / team leader and the team. No email, no fax. We drove in a rented Mercedes (I had ordered a big station wagon, but that was not available when we arrived at the airport in Paris) with the smallest two boys on the front seat and the other three in the back. All the sails (and spars, we had brought those but they did not fit the rented boats anyway!) were strapped on a roof rack. We drove from Paris to Carantec and then to Nice and from there we flew to Barcelona. On the way we stopped for the night a few times. Once we tried to 'phone home, you still had to book a call in those days and we could not get through so we sent postcards. One of the mothers later told me that she thought I had abducted the lot because there was no news.

After 1983, it became more difficult and the European Championship was also no longer possible. Even in Barcelona, the Yugoslavians had protested. (They did not want to but were told to by their association. So they asked the committee to only give a result after the regatta.) It was now a matter of keeping and growing relationships with Optimist Associations in countries where a (Iow key) presence of our team was allowed and where the standard of sailing was high enough to justify spending the money. The funding scheme at that time was that OCRA paid 50% and the competitors (including the coach / team manager) the other 50%. The 50% OCRA contribution was paid by the regions, using a formula which included both the size of the fleet and the number of team members in a region.


In 1984, a team (Graham Bryant, Gary Farrow, Simon James, lan Statham, John Leighton) went to the US nationals and the North Americans. I had hired a camper for us to stay in, that was quite fun. Dave Orton was OCRA president at the time and he had been to the Worlds in Canada as Country rep (that was always allowed). In Canada he had bought 5 boats (from the regatta) and organised to have them moved to Annapolis where the first regatta was. That was also a headache, because he trailer was not licensed for the USA and the boats did not have Coast Guard approval (which all US boats must have). So we ignored the trailer issue and talked a local boat builder into giving us the CG stickers for on the boats. I then sold the boats to the Americans for one of their clubs as had been arranged by Dave Orton. Never a dull moment! After that we still went to the UK and sailed the Nationals there. Graham got a third overall, so our standard was good in those days!


In 1985 the team (Ian Statham, Shaun Carkeek, Clive Walker, Crhistiaan Orton, Malcolm Hall, Andrew Ward) went to the South Americans in Algorobbo, Chile. Chile had had an earthquake a week earlier, so a lot of he surroundings were in ruins, but fortunately the yacht club and the accommodation was OK. This was the first year that we had the 'under-13' scheme: apart from the top 5 from the Nationals, we took the first sailor who at the nationals was under 13 (provided it was organizationally possible) with us as well. The under 13 was Andrew Ward. At the opening ceremony, the National Anthems of the competing countries were played by a band. But the band did not have the music for the South African one (still "Die Stem" in those days), so we were asked to sing it. To say that I was not traveling with the Drakensberg Boys Choir is a severe understatement: it sounded so bad that a dog started to cry! The waves out at sea were humongous, at times I could not see the Optimists sailing from my rubber duck and then a few moments later you could see the entire fleet from high above. Malcolm was our best skipper with a very credible 6th.

1986: US Nationals. Michael Giles, Steve Bryant, Stefan Aspeling, Shaun Carkeek, Clive Walker, Jos Hooyberg ("U 13")

1987: US Nationals, North Americans. Shaun Carkeek, Malcolm Hall, Steve Bryant, Stefan Aspeling, Michael Magner, Nicholas Cloete ("U13")

1988: US Nationals, North Americans, International Optimist festival (Lake Garda, Italy) Michael Giles, Michael Magner, Nicholas Cloete, Charles Ainslie, Jos Hooyberg, Greg Barker ("U13"). This was our longest tour ever; we were away for over 4 weeks. During the US Nationals, Jos got chicken pox, he was confined to the hotel room and only got better towards the end of the US part (but he sailed again in Italy). But he had given it to both Michaels, who got it in Italy. I called the doctor, as one of them had a sore throat and I was a bit worried. The doctor wanted to put them in isolation in hospital, but we wanted to leave 2 days later. So I convinced her that I would keep them locked up in the hotel. She was going to come back in three days' time but by then I had smuggled them out of the country, with beanies etc (in the heat!) to hide the spots. I still wonder how many people on the train and plane got chickenpox later!

1989: International Optimist festival (Lake Garda, Italy) Donovan Tait, Christoff Aspeling, Nicholas Cloete , Brendan Lee, Robin Paterson, Dale Hudson ("U13").

1990: South American Championsip (Equador) Greg Barker, Christoff Aspeling, Charles Nankin, Davy James, Matthew Mentz, Alon Finkelstein ( "U 13").

1991: US Nationals. Greg Barker, Charles Nankin, Stephen Cloete, Roger Hudson, Grant Hagedorn-Hansen, Bruce Keen ("U13"). During 1991, the SA sporting ban was universally lifted. This was just too late to enter the Worlds that year, but we soon received an invitation to sail in the European Championship in Denmark in 1992. The Worlds was at Christmas time in Argentina. So we decided to do this as an 'extra' and also to see where we stood. We invited each region to send its best skipper. As Eastern Province and OFS (still a region then) declined, we took 2 from Tvl and WP. The team thus chosen consisted of Alon Finkelstein, Charles Nankin, Roger Hudson, David Hooper and Andre van Aurich. It was really interesting; the wind was light and switchy just like the Transvaal. Alon won not only a race, but the whole regatta, which was a huge shock and surprise to anyone! But it was fantastic! The others did not disgrace themselves either. Of course that made Alon one of the favourites to win the worlds as well, but that was another story with big waves etc on the sea! Number 2 at the Europeans (an Argentinean) won the Worlds, so the competition was not easy either. One of the Portuguese (Gustavo Lima) came to our Nationals Uust before the worlds, at Midmar), to practice against Alon. Gustavo won the Nationals, I think Sieraj and Alon were second and third (but I am not sure about that). In general, people seemed to like the idea of a second overseas team and after 1992 this became an institution, where a team was selected consisting of the best skippers after those chosen for the 'Worlds Team'. Different team leaders took care of these teams, such as Mascha Aislie, Danny Blanckenberg and Christine Barker in the earlier years up to 1996.

1992: Worlds (Mar del Plata, Argentina). Tony Alison was team leader, with Alan Keen as the coach. The team included Alon Finkelstein, Bruce Keen, Roger Hudson, Charles Nankin and David Hooper. They sailed out in the sea off Mar del Plata and there were huge breaking waves in the harbour mouth. They were big enough to roll a 30' keelboat one day (as well as a number of coach boats and also Roger Hudson). They brought a Lange Optimist hull back with them as 'luggage', which caused some consternation at the airport. Lange was an upcoming Optimist builder in those days.

1993: Worlds - Menorca, Spain (with Malcolm Hall as coach) Sieraj Jacobs, Alex Runciman, Ryan Collins, Bruce Keen, David Hooper.

1994: Worlds - Porto Rotondo, Italy (with Malcolm Hall as coach) Sieraj Jacobs, Gareth Blankenberg, Ryan Collins, Luc , Warren Harvey. This was a really memorable regatta: we arrived early and the boats were not available. The Argentinians were there as well and also had nothing to do. So the kids played soccer, swam and enjoyed themselves with the Argies and realised that these guys were not supermen (AGR had won the Worlds several ties by then). In the first race,it blew like stink but our guys had this 'we are invincible, just like our mates, the Argies' attitude. So we got a 1 st (Ryan), a third, two 6's and an 8. Then sailing was cancelled as it was blowing over 30 knots. So after day 1 (at the IODA party!) we were first team and the talk of the town! Later in the week, the wind dropped and we fell back. Sieraj still won a race as well and we qualified 9th for the team racing. In the end, Gareth was in the 30's as our best skipper. At the end of this regatta, I had a feedback session with the team and the coach and it was at that time that the plan for a new selection system was hatched. Sometime in the late 1980's, we had changed from selecting the top 5 at the nationals to a system where the provincials and nationals were used. With a lot of brainstorming, we agreed that the final selection should be on 'open water' as this was where the worlds would always be held (Switzerland being the only exception to that rule in some 40 years!). With the system up till this time, one could be selected to a sail in a World Championship out on the sea, only having sailed on Swartvlei, Midmar and Vaal Dam! A subcommittee of ex team leaders was set up to come up with a new system, which worked very well.

1995: Worlds - Mariehamn, Finland (with Michael Giles as coach) Richard Booth, Jamie Waters, Finn de Haan, Sarah Nankin and Kirsty Rickard were the team. The only team ever with 2 girls, which was very nice but at times a bit stressful: The two girls drew quite a bit of attention from the
other male competitors. They shared a room in the hotel in Mariehamn to which they retired (very late) after the prizegiving. This was not to the liking of some of the Portugese and Dutch boys, who promptly emptied a fire extinguisher underneath the room door. The mess was so severe
that the girls had to sleep on the floor in the boys' room. The coach and I (in the third room) were fast asleep and oblivious to it all (but had to sort out the problems of 'who pays for the damage' in the morning). In spite of this, I think that this was possibly the nicest team I ever had: the team
spirit was fantastic (unfortunately not translated into top 20 positions in the regatta).

1996: In Menorca, in 1993, we had indicated that South Africa might be interested to organise the 1996 Worlds and in 1994 we won the right to hold it (against Hungary). The venue was Club Mykonos in Langebaan and Nesquick the sponsor (Nesquick international was also the International Optimist sponsor at that time). Mykonos and Nesquick were fantastic partners to work with. The only problem was the charterboat issue. The strict one-design'IOD95' had been adopted in 1994 and we had found a South African builder to make the 170 boats we needed. Unfortunately, the finances of that deal did not work out for the builder: he would have to sell the vast majority of the boats outside the country after the regatta and he simply did not have the market to do so. Whilst there are several big Optimist builders now in 2010, that was different in 1995/6 when the IOD-95 was still a new concept: There were 3 or 4 small builders and 2 big ones. In the end (and I mean the end: it was now February 1996), Winner Optimist from Denmark came to the rescue and offered us a workable deal. We had to pay for the shipping, but we found a shipping company to sponsor this. The rest, as they say, is history: the regatta was very successful and we managed to make a profit which is still used in OCRA today.The RSA team consisted of John Eloff, Finn de Haan, Paul Willcox, Adam Swales and Jamie Waters. Rick Nankin was team leader and Michael Giles coach.