Nico Kroucamp, a senior information technology technician at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus, along with his two teammates, Dirk Manten and JJ van Niekerk, finished fifth out of 28 teams during the J22 class sailing competition, an annual event that took place from 28 to 30 April 2023.
The J22 class is the designated type of vessel for use in regattas. It is a 22 foot strict one design keel boat sailed by either three or four crew members with a total crew weight not exceeding 275kg. This class of racing boat is represented at many keelboat clubs across South Africa. In order to participate in the competition, all boats must be registered with the J22 Class Association and must meet the relevant criteria.
In support of the team's efforts to encourage participation in the sport, especially among the surrounding disadvantaged communities, the office of Prof Linda du Plessis, the deputy vice-chancellor for planning and Vanderbijlpark Campus operations, sponsored the team’s gear.
“Our team was able to don special clothing for the tournament, thanks to Prof Du Plessis, Dr Sean Mccallaghan, director for student life, and Ronel Ward. We're proud to say that we stood out from the other teams with our dazzling threads, as we were known as the brightest and most stylishly dressed competitors at the event,” says Nico.
“Taking on Olympic and professional sailors is no easy feat, but our sailors did exceptionally well by finishing in the top five at a national competition,” he says, adding that they only started learning to sail last year.
Nico says the J22 sailing class saw 28 teams from all over the country competing in a high-level event. This was an opportunity to showcase some of the top talent in this specialised class of boat, and regional representation included Cape Town, KwaZulu Natal and two teams from the University of Pretoria.
“Our three-member crew included Dirk as the skipper, myself on midship and JJ on the foredeck.”
He says it was a suboptimal wind day on day one of the competition. “All 28 competitors lined up at the starting line, eager to finally get underway after three false starts. Finally, a good start was achieved, and the race began. When the first Turn About Course (TAC) arrived, we needed to remember that when adjusting the sails, the particular side of the boat we were facing would determine whether we were right or left.
“The team managed to pull away from the group and eventually found a good rhythm. We managed to finish in fifth place by the end of day one but further races for the day were cancelled due to the lack of wind,” adds Nico.
The next day's conditions were something similar, along with several restarts prior to getting underway with some racing. They ended up finishing regionally in eighth place in both races, but had an unfortunate 16th place result due to a penalty incurred by touching another boat near the starting line.
The third day of sailing kicked off to a rather late start due to misty conditions. Luckily, the wind was favourable, and it was even more powerful than on the previous two days.
“We got off to an amazing start and easily passed the rest of the fleet. We maintained composure throughout our time on the water, ultimately leading us to receive second and third place finishes respectively in that race session,” says Nico.
“The race directors decided to abandon racing for the remainder of the day due to lack of wind. One of the races could be thrown out since there were six in total, but just five were considered valid for the prize giving. As a result, the team finished fifth out of 28 teams after three days of sailing.”
Nico adds that he would like to see young junior and senior sailors join the NWU team in the near future.
The team’s next competition is at Midmar Dam in KwaZulu Natal at the end of June.
From left are the NWU’s Nico Kroucamp in midship position, Dirk Manten, the skipper, and JJ van Niekerk in foredeck position. The boat in the background is an example of a J22 model.
