Left: sadly an early sporting casualty of Chinese Bat Flu (we prefer to be honest) was the TP52 Worlds, scheduled to follow the opening round of the TP52 Super Series in Cape Town. A glorious venue for a major regatta – any regatta, in fact – and a venue that was about to get some much needed international exposure. Trivial in the grand scheme, or rather the grand and avoidable tragedy, but another kick for a struggling economy. Above: the mighty Flying Wilma, ex-Flyer, ex-Alaska (B)eagle, passing the Equator with a wide-eyed young Rob Weiland onboard at the start of an extraordinary career, carefully guiding yacht owners while successfully nurturing classes and events
course over Iran, Iraq and so on till we were over Greece. A very quiet plane for a few hours.
I made quite a few trips to New Zealand after that to help put together the 66-footer as well as five years later two TP52s. The 66ft (Sotto Voce) by the way was sold in September 2005 to Hap Fauth to be renamedBella Mente and since then Hap’s racing maxis have had a livery inspired by the one we once decided for Sotto Voce. This and that later Hap became the president of the Maxi72 class, for which I work, shows if anything that ours is a very small world. Not counting my many boatbuilding trips following the first one to New Zealand my third time crossing the Equator for a new adven- ture was the recent one to Cape Town, 40 years after we collected the J&B whisky in 1980, to have two 52 Super Series events there. Due to coronavirus it was to be just the one event; the world is still struggling to overcome the virus and will struggle for quite a bit longer to overcome the negative economic effects of this battle. Did not see much of South Africa but, as with everywhere I travel, in Cape Town the vast majority of people I met were most kind. Scenery and nature were fascinating, the wildlife in the waters of Cape Town is just spectacular. Seals, orcas, whales, sharks and large numbers of seabirds, the sheer quantity was a bit of a surprise – was it ever the same in my home waters or in the Med? The scary virus makes one worry about the effects of human presence and activity just a bit more. We like to understand and see logic, but we are also great at ignoring the obvious if it does not suit us. Anticipate the shift or pray for one…
I got the idea for the above when reading of Japan’s deputy prime minister saying that the Olympics are cursed in a 40-year cycle, referring to the arguments about the hosting rights and later the cancellation of the 1940 Olympics due to WW2 and the 1980 boycott of the Moscow Olympics in protest at the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
The only thing that can now relax me and prove my own 20-year cycle is baloney is to cross the Equator in 2040 for a new adventure, without it coinciding with mayhem, personal or universal. Could that be to see Holland win the America’s Cup from the Kiwis after that brave nation’s 23 years of successfully defending the old mug? I would sign on the dotted line now, mainly because it would mean I live to be 88 fit enough to still travel that far. I guess for my Kiwi friends right now owning the Cup for 23 years also does not sound too bad?
Betting on Holland to be the one holding the Cup high in 2040 might be a bit audacious… Oh well, a long time to practise and I gladly settle for any other option.
Rob Weiland, class manager TP52 and Maxi72 class SEAHORSE 31
Operating flying sails safely and without effort. For sails up to 250m²
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