For the past two months your Club has at times been a veritable hive of activity – we’ve had the
Quantum 9 Hour, the 2012 Inter Schools regatta, and lastly the 2012 Hunter Nationals.
The Quantum 9 Hour was a great success!! We had 70 boats of all shapes and sizes entered, and
there was a DJ who played music all day at the Club on Saturday, as well as into the night, ensuring
that those on the shore also had a good time. We also had visits by the Land Rover Experience
contestants – one of their tasks for the day was to complete a lap on a keelboat and thanks must go
to the keelboat skippers who hosted them on their boats. I wonder how the contestants enjoyed the
sailing, as opposed to driving?
This year we had a tracking system fitted to most of the boats, and this enabled the crews to see
where their boat was lying when they came ashore for the change-over as the position of each
tracked boat was shown on a screen in the hall.
We also had some games organized on the lawn for the younger members, but as it was a hot day
they weren’t made to do too much exercise!!! In order to give the DJ a break, and also for something
different, there was a live band which played on the club verandah while we were waiting for the
results to be worked out, as well as a ‘cook your own’ supper which allowed people to mingle and
socialize while they were cooking their food. In all it was a great event, and once again our heartfelt
thanks go to Quantum for their generous sponsorship which made it all possible. Thanks must also
go to the people who sponsored prizes for the event, as well as all the ‘back room’ boys who harried
these people for prizes, and helped with the preparations for the event. And, of course, the recorders
who had the unenviable task of trying to make out a sail number of one boat which was hidden
behind another!!! We were fortunate with the weather – the wind stayed light to moderate which
meant that there weren’t large groups of boats coming simultaneously over the ‘line’, and the fastest
boat did a total of 15 laps.
On the 10th and 11th March, your Club hosted the KwaZulu-Natal Inter-Schools regatta. This regatta is where scholars compete in any type of dinghy and sail for their school, and there was a small entry
comprising Lasers, Optimists, Teras, and a couple of Mirrors. There were some new faces in the fleet,
and hopefully they will continue sailing now that they’ve completed their first regatta!!
Then, from the 17th to the 21st of March, HMYC hosted the Hunter Nationals regatta. There was an
entry of 18 boats for this regatta, with some sailors making the trip from Gauteng for the event.
Racing was hotly contested over three days, with Luke and Stephen Wagner taking the victor’s spoils.
The showers in the men’s change room have been re-tiled, and are looking quite smart in their Sharks
colours!!! Thanks to Hes Hamilton for arranging this and doing the work.
If you have any of the Club’s trophies at home, please can you return them to the Club as soon as
possible, but definitely before the end of April, as the AGM and prize-giving is coming up soon, and
they will need to be engraved for the new winners. The AGM and prized-giving will once again be a
combined event, to be held on Sunday 24th June, up at the Club. The exact time of this will be
announced closer to the date, but it will be at lunchtime. If you are prepared to help with the running
of your Club and can stand on the Club Committee next season, in any portfolio, please can you give
your name to one of the Committee members and your help will be gratefully accepted.
The Closing Cruise will be held at the Club on Sunday 22nd April – and the race will be for the
Commodore’s Hamper. Thereafter there will be the von Klemperer and Brass Monkey series which will be sailed during May and June.
Note from the Commodore:Professor Winton ‘Wog’ Hawksworth
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Professor Winton Hawksworth, or Wog
Hawksworth as everyone fondly new him. Wog was commodore of the Henley-Midmar Yacht Club for a longer period of time than any other person and the club grew from strength to strength under his guidance. A simple glance at the honours boards at the club serves as a reminder of the huge
commitment he gave to the club that he loved so much. He served Henley-Midmar Yacht Club as Vice Commodore Sailing for 2 years, Commodore for a total of 9 years and President for a total of 5 years.
In terms of sport administration, his career is legendary at club, provincial, national and international
levels. Just a few of the numerous items follow:
· Chairman of the then Natal Yachting Association for many years
· Race Officer for the Windsurfer World Championships in Plettenberg Bay
· Race officer for numerous National Championships all around the country.
· KZN Councillor to South African Sailing
· Chairman of the National Olympic Committee of SA Doping Commission
· Recipient of the 1991 Stan Jeffrey Trophy Award for his work on the Olympic bodies and for
working towards unity between CASA and SAYRA
· South African Sailing’s Medical Officer
Wog was active in sailing at Midmar for many years. His two sons Douglas and Mark grew up sailing
at Midmar and his wife Pauline always provided the support needed for his numerous endeavours. We wish to offer our sincere condolences to his family in this difficult time, but we also need to give
thanks for his life and all that he did for our great sport of sailing.
