By Nangamso Mabindla
27 March 2008

THE East London Yacht Club hosted a very successful National Dart Sailing Championship over the long Easter weekend, according to the club commodore, Alan Lister.

About 26 boats, skippered by some of the country's top sailors, sailed between Orient and Eastern beaches. Participants came from inland - from Johannesburg - and from other coastal cities, like Durban and Cape Town.

A dart is a two-man, multihull, high performance 18-foot catamaran, based on one design concept worldwide.

Nine East London boats competed, with up-and-coming young sailor Shaun Gradwell scooping second place behind four-times defending champion Ben Menie. "There were five previous champs competing at the nationals and we are also proud that another local sailor, one of our senior members who has represented the country many times, came third," said the secretary of the South African International Dart Association, Laetitia Mienie.

Looking to the future, Lister said that the club would not be able to host the nationals again until after 2011.

"We won't get the same event back for two years as it is usually run one year off-shore and the next inland. Next year is Pretoria's turn and the after that it's Mossel Bay. However, we plan to host at least two events a year; we have the infrastructure, the facilities, and the best sailing venue in the country."

However, he was worried about the future of the sport in East London as the club's lease would not be renewed. "We have been given a notice that our lease with Portnet will not be renewed as from August this year. If this is allowed to go through, there will be no yacht club in East London, which has been in existence for 61 years."

He thanked all the people involved in ensuring that the championships were successful.

"Many thanks and appreciation must go to all the ladies of the club who ran the kitchen everyday and ensured that the visitors were well fed; to the rescue guys who kept a sharp lookout for capsized boats; the police water wing; the life guards and Buffalo City for their support and facilities."

Lister said the championships were very well organised and visitors were happy and in a positive mood.

"The whole impression of the event was that it was smooth-run, well organised with no problems. And the turn out was satisfactory, but we would have liked more competitors. However, any more than the 26 boats would have meant we that we would have needed more space, maybe up the Orient complex," he said, adding that the yacht club's compound was packed to capacity.

The South African International Dart Association was also happy with the organization, and Mienie thanked the East London club for the preparing such a successful national event.

"On behalf of the South African International Dart Association and all the Dart Nationals 2008 competitors, I would like to thank you all [East London Yacht Club] for the wonderful job you did in putting together a superb National Championship.

"All who competed, and those friends and family members who supported them, are in agreement that it was an event worth remembering," she said.