Fireballs and mosquitoes will be exciting additions to the 2014 Mossel Bay Sports Festival – but it is certainly not a cause for concern! They are both types of boats that will participate in the regatta to be held at the Mossel Bay Yacht and Boat Club as part of the Sports Festival in October this year.
The Club will host the national championships for both these types of boats as well as the Eastern Cape Regional Championships from 4 October 2014 to 6 October 2014. The competitions are expected to attract in the order of 140 boats.
The Mosquito is a high-performance 4,9 metre racing catamaran and some of its exciting features are the dagger boards that help with the upwind leg and a spinnaker for the downwind leg. The defending national champions in this class are Bradley and Saskia Stemmett from Cape Town and it is likely that they will defend their title in Mossel Bay. The local team of Pieter de Villiers and Daleen Naude finished fifth last year in the national championships and it is hoped that they will do well in this year’s championship.
The Fireballs are a long standing racing class in South Africa. This is a dingy, which has a spinnaker and is a very tricky boat to sail. The Mossel Bay Yacht and Boat Club will be hosting the Fireball World Championship in 2016.
The sailing championships have become a major feature of the Mossel Bay Sports Festival, especially as they attract national championship events because of the good sailing conditions in Mossel Bay. The South African Finn class national championships were held in Mossel Bay as part of the 2013 Festival.
The Sports Festival is held annually and co-ordinated by the Mossel Bay Municipality as a project to promote a healthy lifestyle and market the town.
Although the Municipality co-ordinates and markets the festival, individual sports clubs and institutions each organise their own events. The 2013 Sports Festival attracted more than 30 sporting codes. A street party with live music in Marsh Street as well as a fun walk, the Moss Walk, helps to ensure a festive atmosphere.•