Hunter 19 Club Racing
Racing Information
In Summer:
Club racing is on Tuesday and Thursday evenings – Start Time 6.00pm and Saturday Afternoons – Start Time 2.30pm
In Winter:
Club racing is only on Saturday Afternoons – Start Time 2.30pm
How to get involved:
Whether you are new to sailing, a new boat owner or a seasoned racer, HBYC is a great place to get involved in club racing. Some of our skippers take things quite seriously (you know who you are!), however the majority just love the fun of friendly competition and time out in the bay!
The start line is generally set just outside of the outer breakwater of the harbour, so you only need to leave your mooring 30 minutes ahead of the start, to be in plenty of time to to settle in to having a great sail.
If you are looking for a crewing position, either ask someone to add you to our ‘Crew Connector’ WhatsApp group, or simply come down to the marina an hour or so before the race starts and ask people on the yachts to point you in the direction of a boat that needs crew. More often than not you’ll find a berth.
If you have little or no sailing experience, some of the boats are usually prepared to take you along (depending on the weather conditions). Be aware that you might find yourself being used as human ballast, however this is how most of us started!
Contact the club to be put in touch with one of the committee members, to discuss getting involved.
Regatta's
Admiral’s Regatta in South Africa is Hout Bay Yacht Club’s annual premier regatta. The regatta is the only regatta in the Western Cape sailing calendar open to offshore keelboats, smaller inshore keelboats senior dinghy classes and small multihulls, and it is one of the only offshore dinghy regattas in the annual Cape Town sailing calendar.
Admiral’s Regatta promises a weekend of fantastic sailing in the picturesque bay of Hout Bay and offshore with Noordhoek and Slangkop as a backdrop. Acclaimed South African Race Officer Doug Alison runs the racing for the ORC Offshore Fleet and Mary-Ann Sharwood for the Dinghy and Inshore Keelboat Fleet.
The Regatta is open to:
- Keelboats offshore (ORC)
- Cruising keelboats
- Small Keelboats Inshore/Hunters – PHRF/One Design
- Senior dinghy classes (single or double handed)
- Senior small catamaran/multihull classes (single or double handed)
The regatta promised top-class sailing, catering, and entertainment.
Out on the water …
Tune your VHF radio to channel 71 to hear the bridge announce the course for the event (generally 10-15 minutes ahead of the start time). The countdown to the start sequence is also given on Channel 71. The signals are 5 min / 4 min / 1 min / Start
Courses are generally set using the standard club racing marks, however occasionally temporary marks / start lines, might be laid to cope with unusual wind directions. Instructions will be given by radio, and as long as the start sequence has not commenced by all means call ‘Hout Bay Bridge’ and ask for clarity, if needed. In the Handicap keel boat class make sure you record your finish time and announce your finish on your radio.
Special events
From time to time the club organise special events like ‘medium distance racing’, ‘Women’s Day’ races, ‘Old Salts in Little Boats’ (where larger keel boat sailors take the helm of our Hunter 19 fleet) and a number of other events. You’ll find many of these and other activities listed in the Club Calendar below.
HBYC HUNTER 19 FLEET … One Design Racing
In December 2016, the first three Hunter 19s arrived at HBYC. This class is one of the largest one-design fleets in South Africa, with over 300 boats built. The Hunter 19 have proved to be ideal for Hout Bay waters, the fleet has grown to over 35 boats, with crews ranging in age for 10 to over 70s! As each season progresses, we see novices going from back of the fleet to winning races, with boats finishing many races with literally seconds between them.
The Hunter 19 is also used for adult sailing instruction.
If you’d like to get involved in sailing Hunter 19s, email office@hbyc.co.za.
CRUISING CLASS
HBYC has a number of Cruising Keelboats and Cruiser/Racers that compete in friendly races in the bay and longer distance events
Whilst several of the skippers fight hard for a podium position in each race, the spirit of HBYC racing is to have fun on the water.
DINGHIES
Through generous funding from the National Lottery, the club have a range of dinghies that include:
- 09’er
- Dabchick
- Laser Pico
- Laser Vega
- Vintage Lello “Loch Fyne“
Hunter 19 Gatherers
If you take regular walks on Hout Bay beach and you happen to be there on a Tuesday evening or Saturday afternoons, you may have noticed the appearance of more and more yachts from HBYC, sailing from the start line just off the beach and heading around a set course in the bay.
For non sailers it’s a delightful theatre of movement, however for seasoned sailors this is a battle of skill and tactics, with all the thrill and excitement of a Formula One race … albeit a little slower!
Back in 2016, yacht racing at clubs around the world had dwindled and for many continued to do so. The opposite has happened in Hout Bay, thanks to the introduction of a Hunter 19 fleet. Starting with just 3 boats arriving in 2016, over the past 9 years, the fleet has grown to over 30 boats. Paul Tomes (a former HBYC commodore) was acutely aware of the rising costs of maintaining and sailing larger yachts, plus the problem of
finding regular crew capable of handling a larger boat, especially with the spirited sailing conditions Hout Bay offers. In July 2016, Paul advertised a public presentation at HBYC to pitch the idea of starting a fleet of small affordable, easy to sail robust 2-person yachts. To succeed Hout Bay needed the sailing equivalent of a Volkswagen Beetle!
28 people attended and by the end of the evening, Paul Maguire and Brent Barnett agreed to join Paul in purchasing three Hunter 19s advertised on Gumtree and located at a Witbank dam. Quite a leap of faith as none of them had actually seen the boats and being built in the late 70s and early 80s, they fully expected they would need a bit of work! What happened over the ensuing months was nothing short of extraordinary. Word got out and people wanted to join the fleet.
By the late 80s almost 300 Hunter 19s had been built in South Africa but only 60 appeared to be still sailing and the new Hunter tribe at HBYC started hunting for Hunters … and Hunters were gathered! Boats were found in gardens, garages and the forgotten parts of boat yards throughout the country. Even semi-submerged on Hartebeesport Dam. The luckiest find was a Hunter right on our doorstep in Plumstead! Armed with a power washer, sandpaper and a few pots of paint, these 40-50 year old boats were been give a new lease of life and in the process has given Hout Bay Yacht Club an injection of new members.
Being a small one-design yacht, levels the playing field for everyone. There are no arguments about handicaps (like golf!) and cheque books don’t win races either. The Hunter 19 requires skill and tactics without the usual heavyweight muscle power needed for large racing yachts. The youngest Hunter sailor is just 14 … the oldest getting close to 80! Newcomers purchasing a boat and learning to sail, will find that Hunter owners pitch in and help with maintenance, launching and sail training.
The typical purchase price of a Hunter today is around R50 000 and mooring fees R1 200 per month. Maintenance is minimal. There is a club owned Hunter 19 for developing youth sailing.
A recent Italian guest at HBYC who turned out to be a professional sailor on multi-million euro racing yachts based in the Mediterranean, jumped at the opportunity to helm a Hunter and eventually won the race after a tough battle with the lead changing several times. His comment in the HBYC bar afterwards ‘that’s the most fun I have had sailing in years!’ Of course he did … who wouldn’t love racing the equivalent of a Volkswagen Beetle around our beautiful bay!
If you’d like to get involved in sailing Hunter 19s, email office@hbyc.co.za.