The Lipton Challenge: a potted history

by Richard Crockett

For most people who follow the sport of sailing in our country, the Lipton Challenge is the one competition that stands head and shoulders above all others, and which commands much interest, comment and a large and diverse following. The word ‘challenge’ is a very important one as the contest is a challenge between yacht clubs. In fact, it is the only national interclub sailing event in the country and is not a contest individuals can enter. It is their club that enters. For clarity, it is important to note that the physical cup is known as the ‘Lipton Challenge Cup’, while the contest is known as the ‘Lipton Challenge’. In this feature, cobbled together from a ton of material I have in my sailing archives, I attempt to highlight the reasons why the Lipton Challenge Cup has this aura about it and what it means to the South African sailing community. I’ve interspersed this with some additional information, of which Lipton Challenge followers may not be aware. The best way to begin is to reveal more about the man who started it all.

How the Lipton Challenge Cup came to South Africa

Thanks to an approach in London by Captain Sir Peter Bam, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Cape, Sir Thomas Lipton bestowed on the Table Bay Yacht Club, in only the third year of its existence, a costly trophy valued at £200 to be held in their custody for a competition between South African yacht clubs. In 1909, Sir Thomas Lipton presented the magnifi cent silver gilt Lipton Challenge Cup to the Table Bay Yacht Club (which later became the Royal Cape Yacht Club).

No challenge was received by the Table Bay Yacht Club in the year the Cup was donated. 1910 passed and there were still no challengers. This was because no South African club owned a yacht that complied with the conditions and measurements of the Deed of Gift. The conditions were: ‘Any recognised yacht club that had headquarters between Walvis Bay and Beira could compete for the Cup with one representative yacht which was to be not more than eight metres and not less than six according to international measurement.’

Who was Sir Thomas Lipton? Sportsmanship

Thomas Lipton was born to an immigrant Irish blue-collar family. He left school at the age of 10 and on his 21st birthday (10 May 1871) opened a modest general dealer shop in Glasgow. The store was an immediate success due to Lipton’s industry and imaginative promotional ability. After announcing that he was going on vacation to Australia, Lipton stopped off in Ceylon and became intrigued by the possibilities of the tea market. His ship sailed on without him, as he threw himself, with customary vigour, into the intricacies of tea growing, shipping and marketing. When Lipton arrived in Ceylon – already a millionaire at the age of 40 – huge estates and plantations were being sold for a song. Needless to say, he very rapidly put together a giant tea-producing operation and hot-footed it back to England. On his return, Lipton Tea was launched. As usual, Lipton employed highly original if not provocative advertising techniques, but because his tea was sold in sealed, weighted and price-marked packets, he soon outstripped his competitors who sold from open tea chests that caused a deterioration in the tea and led to dishonest dealing by underweighing and adulteration. Although Thomas Lipton had a passion for the sea and genuinely loved the tall ships that plied the world’s trade routes, his quest for the America’s Cup was rooted in part in his thirst for publicity. However, he was a true sportsman and, even though all his fi ve America’s Cup challenges in a series of yachts called Shamrock ended in failure, his gracious behaviour so endeared him to the Americans that, after his fi fth defeat, a public fund was set up that resulted in a gold loving cup (worth 8 000 guineas) being presented to Sir Thomas as a consolation gift from the American people. From the prestigious Lipton Tea business, to the helm of his yacht Shamrock, Sir Thomas J Lipton epitomised the spirit and sportsmanship that has made the Lipton Challenge South Africa’s most prestigious sailing contest.

The Deed of Gift for the Cup could not have been more clear in that the races The Lipton Challenge Cup holds were to be sailed each year in ‘friendly 11.5 bottles of champagne! contests in sailing and seamanship’. The Deed opened as follows: ‘I, Sir Thomas Lipton, of London, England, for the 1961 Lipton Cup. Left to right: Lieutenant Commander purpose of encouraging yachting in South D Tomlinson and Noel Horsfi eld Africa, and especially in the way of friendly contests in sailing and seamanship in deep sea yacht racing, do hereby give to the Table Bay Yacht Club of Cape Town, Cape Colony, the silver Cup delivered herewith.’ ‘Unwritten Rule 1’ Over the years these contests have produced a highly competitive brand of sailing, but at the same time have developed a trademark that may be described as ‘Unwritten Rule 1’ of the rules governing yacht racing. The essence of this rule is to ‘keep in view the ordinary customs of the sea, and discourage all attempts to win a race by other means than fair sailing and superior speed and skill’. The sailing courses Sir Thomas endorsed the courses to be sailed in the Deed of Gift, as well as how many races were required to be sailed in the initial contests. The ‘compulsory’ courses are always the same: an equilateral triangle, a quadrangular course and a windward-leeward. The legs of each individual course totalling 12 nautical miles. Until these three courses have been completed, there cannot be a result. In terms of an amendment Sir Thomas signed in 1925, additional ‘optional’ courses may be included. The Cup The Lipton Challenge Cup was manufactured by British Silversmiths Elkington and Company in Birmingham in 1908 and was made of solid sterling silver, and hand gilded with gold plate, which is confi rmed by the four hallmarks embossed on the main body of the Cup.

1995 Lipton Challenge 1992 Lipton Challenge

1970 Lipton Challenge. Of the Durban yachts, Sunrose had the best of the series. Here she crosses the line to take fourth place in her final race

Above: 1983 Lipton Cup winners, the Royal Cape Yacht Club. Below: 2002 Lipton Cup Winners, Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club

The cost then was in the region of £300 sterling. An intriguing piece of history is captured in the enamelled plates around the Cup: the coats of arms of the five colonies being South West Africa (now Namibia), the Cape, Natal, Mozambique and, strangely, given that the cup was deeded to promote deep-sea sailing, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

The racing

Dating back to 1909, and being a contest with 113 years of history (in 2022), it’s important to understand that the Lipton Challenge has survived two world wars, seven class changes and many different political changes in South Africa, yet it has never really lost its allure.

1911-1923 The founding era It was not until 7 June 1911 that the Honourable Secretary GW Pilkington advised that the first races were fixed for 25, 26 and 28 August. At the beginning, while the Table Bay Yacht Club was deciding on a craft suitable to defend the Cup, a challenge came from the Point Yacht Club (PYC) in Durban. The challenger was the Natal-built 8m Tess. The Cape men rapidly altered an existing yacht, Patricia, to conform with the Deed of Gift and accepted the challenge. An interesting contest followed with Tess winning, and the Cup moved to the shores of Natal for a long, long stay. Table Bay was represented by the best of its heavy boats, built especially for local conditions. Tess was a racer by comparison and Patricia did well to perform as she did, the second race being lost by a second. The Capetonians were attached to this Cup and formed a syndicate, raised money and commissioned the Scottish designer, William Fife to design and build their challenger Erica. Work was well in hand when Fife received an enquiry from the Point Yacht Club for a defender! Fife could hardly design both, but the Table Bay Yacht Club consented to having the Natal yacht Skabenga built on the same moulds. A unique position: the defender and challenger were sister ships, aside from small rigging details. Moreover, Sir Thomas responded to a request by the Woodstock Boys’ Club for a design and sent plans from Fife as well. In 1908 the Boys’ Club had inaugurated the Woodstock Yacht Club in order to enter the contest. There were three boats in the 1912 races. Consummate sportsmanship by the RCYC skipper in reporting an unobserved touch of the flag on the buoy, when the sea threw him in that direction, gave PYC the series of three races. The 1913 contest was also won by PYC and by the time the 1914 contest was due, war had broken out and the PYC held onto the cup for the next eight years, before winning it again in 1923.

1952-1973 The magnificent and graceful 30 square metre era

At the end of the 1923 series, competition for the Cup wallowed in the doldrums of the Great Depression, unsuitable craft and the war years. In 1952 interest again soared, with the competing boats now the Swedish-bred 30 square metre class. These boats are characterised by their easily driven hulls, long overhangs, rakish tall masts and short booms. Durban was again the venue, and once more the ‘Banana Boys’ retained the Cup with Avocet flying the burgee of the Point Yacht Club, skippered by F Meadows. The following year, after a determined entry by the Royal Cape men, and with the Reimer-designed Tarpon, they won all the races.

The fi rst event the Cape 31s sailed in was in Table Bay. Nitro, representing Witbank Yacht Club, sealed the deal A ladies team sailed Tiletoria in the last event on L26s

Imagine the joy of the Cape Club when after 42 years, the Cup returned to home waters. The man to achieve this was the remarkable helmsman Sonny Thomas. The Royal Cape Yacht Club and the Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club alternated in the victories for the next three years, with Yvette and Tarpon taking turns to keep the Cup in the shadow of Table Mountain. The 1958 series in Algoa Bay will be remembered for two things: Sunmaid’s grand slam of fi ve wins in fi ve starts, and the third race. Light conditions prevailed for the fi rst two races with Sunmaid, under the hand of Wilfred Hancock, getting the gun. The start of the third race was slow with light shifting airs, and then it came ... a howling westerly gale, peaking at 50 knots. It slammed down on the fl eet; two boats retired, others reefed or slogged on under headsails only.

Sunmaid fought on under full sail to win. Hancock crossed the line fi rst in the last two races, and the Cup returned to Durban, but this time to the Royal Natal Yacht Club. Hancock had the business-like Mariquita built as his 1959 defender. By retaining his excellent crew and magic touch, he staved off opposition and held the Cup once more. Back to Natal for the 1960 series which fulfi lled all the expectations of interesting racing. There were favourites as always, but even the outsiders were showing form that could not be ignored. Noel Horsfi eld bought Rapid – the longest 30 square metre in the country – did some tinkering as he put it, and proved to be the dark horse that beat the favourite. But the duels between Rapid and Mariquita were classics of their kind. The fi nishing times between the leaders and the rest of the fl eet in 1960 helped to demonstrate the very keen competition.

Rapid, the 1961 defender, fl ew the burgee of the Clube Naval (Lourenco Marques); by general agreement, however, the series was sailed in Algoa Bay. In 1963, Noel Horsfi eld sailing Rapid for the Henley Sailing Club, became the fi rst skipper to win the Cup for an inland club. Competition fl agged as the fl eet deteriorated due to age and 1973 saw the 30-square sailed for the last time.

1982-1983 The quarter-tonners The competition was revived when Harold Sender, commodore of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, raised a challenge that was taken up by the commodore of the Royal Natal Yacht Club, Guy Reynolds, in November 1981. The challenge and its acceptance not only resulted in the revival of the Lipton Challenge, but also led to two new quarter-tonners being built for the contest. Nine years had passed since the last challenge for this magnifi cent trophy, which stands more than one metre high. Traditionally the Lipton Challenge had been held between yacht clubs based at coastal ports and for the fi rst time, in 1982, the contest included representative yachts registered at clubs in the then Transvaal and Orange Free State. The Point Yacht Club won in Fuel Free, jointly skippered by Harry Ellens and Tony Hurter, in 1982, while the Royal Cape Yacht Club won in 1983 with Geoff Meek on Royal Flush.

1964 Lipton Cup. The SA 18, Sunmaid, skippered by Wilfred Hancock and SA 9, Tintomara, with Ivor Jamison at the helm

1984-2018 The L26 era Angelo Lavranos, arguably South Africa’s leading naval architect at the time, had designed a boat that, due to its success as a One Design Class, was available in suffi cient enough numbers to allow all eligible clubs to enter a boat in the 1984 Lipton Challenge. The L26, as the craft is known, was a state-of-the-art strict one design. This means that the boats are identical in size, have the same sails, equipment and crew complement and are governed by stringent regulations covering all aspects of the boat and its appendages. Theoretically this results in a ‘singer-not-the-song’ situation, whereby the best sailor wins and not the most expensive or radical boat. This era, which spanned 35 years, was dominated by the names of King, Nankin, Davis, Hudson, Sadler, Blanckenberg and Rae, all prevailing at different times. Greg Davis won the contest 13 times as skipper or co-skipper during this era, with Chris King and Rick Nankin both earning seven wins each. The youngest team to win was the University of Natal Yacht Club team, skippered by Bruce Savage, that took the coveted Cup in 1985. The only team representing an inland yacht club to win in the L26 era was the Transvaal Yacht Club and they won the fi rst contest sailed on L26s. It was Ewald Sternagel who earned this honour in Table Bay waters, making the TYC the second inland club in history to win the Cup.

2019-2021 The modern era With interest in L26 racing declining, the Lipton Challenge charged into the modern era when, in 2018, the Cape 31 was voted in as the Class for the next two challenges after a 35-year dominance by the L26.

The 2022 regatta reverted back to handicap racing Cape 31s compete in Langebaan. RNYC went on to narrowly win the event – it was down to the last leg

Owing to the new class of boat, many a former Lipton Challenge winner returned to the contest relishing the action after growing bored with the L26 Class. Interestingly, the fi rst club to win in this era was an inland club, the Witbank Yacht & Aquatic Club (WYAC) led by Mike Hayton and David Rae. Hayton and his team were up against the cream of South African yachtsmen, and a closely fought series of eight races ensued. The Witbank Yacht & Aquatic Club became only the third inland club to win the Cup. In 2021 in Saldanha Bay, racing went right down to the wire in the fi nal race as the overall winner was only decided in the last 100m. Going into the fi nal (10th) race, the RCYC team had led at the end of each day’s racing with just a single point separating the top three boats – RCYC, WYAC and RNYC. The best way to describe that fi nal race of the series – a 12 nautical mile windward/leeward course – is to look at the sixth leg, where positions suddenly began changing. Aeolians Club took the lead at the end of the sixth leg. They had spotted what appeared to be some breeze on the left side of the downwind leg, went chasing it and rounded at the end of the leg in the lead, a step up from their third spot until then. That was a disastrous leg for both the RNYC and WYAC which rounded last and second last respectively and looked as if they had handed the Cup to RCYC. The RCYC lost her lead to Aeolians, but held onto second, an overall contest-winning position at that time. With the fi nal two legs of the race left, the wind shifted, requiring the race offi cer to move the weather mark. Aeolians and RCYC kept their fi rst and second spots, but WYAC had sailed back into third, with RNYC still languishing in fi fth – or last – place! The fi nal downwind to the fi nish was on and there was everything to play for, with the RNYC team doing exactly what Aeolians did at the previous weather mark – they went left while the rest went right. In last spot, it looked like a desperate gamble. Halfway down the leg, not much had changed and the RCYC supporters were all cock-a-hoop as their team looked like it would lift the Cup in victory. And then things suddenly changed. A small shift gave the RNYC an advantage and they began looking good. In the last 100 metres of the fi nal leg after 12 miles of racing, it was still anyone’s game. Aeolians crossed the line fi rst, with two boats approaching from the starboard side, and two from the port side. RCYC had lucked out and blown its chances in the shift, and RNYC took full advantage of the situation and crossed second, a few boat lengths behind Aeolians. WYAC was next in third, a boat length or little more behind, followed by ZVYC and RCYC. It was all over bar the shouting. The RNYC had won the Lipton Challenge Cup. Having come from last spot in the fi nal race to second, they had won by a single point. It could not have been a closer fi nish, and what a glorious advert for sailing in South Africa. The Cape 31s showed not only how quick they are, but also how, when properly sailed, positions can change throughout a race with just seconds between fi rst and last place. That fi nal race was likened to the medal race of the Olympic Games.

2022 A revert to handicap racing Since the demise of the L26 Class as the Lipton Challenge-recognised yacht, there has been increased unhappiness that the contest may have become too exclusive with the C31s, thereby reducing numbers and stifl ing entries. As a result, the Lipton Trustees agreed to some far-reaching changes when David Hudson, Chair of the Lipton Trustees, announced the following: ‘It is the intention of the Lipton Trustees that this year’s Challenge be open to all boats with a valid ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) International Certifi cate and a CDL (Class Division Length) within the range 8.000 to 9.780, the latter being the upper limit for Class C in the 2022 ORC World and Continental Championships. This proposal is subject to the approval of a majority of the yacht clubs recognized by the Lipton Trustees.’ Twenty-three clubs from around the country voted in favour of this change, with just one voting against it. Racing took place from 17 to 21 August 2022 in False Bay with the Royal Natal Yacht club defending the four clubs that challenged them. Sailing for the Royal Natal Yacht Club aboard the internationally acclaimed Cape 31, Davey James and his crew, which included Mark Sadler, appeared to be the fastest on the water in almost every race. They converted that speed into four consecutive wins after a shaky start on the fi rst day. In the Lipton Challenge, consistency is what wins the Cup, and RNYC showed that unequivocally. The fi rst of a two-year trial using the international ORC handicapping system had a mixed response. The jury is still out as to whether this worked as well as expected. The handicapping did bring with it challenges as Rick Nankin, the tactician aboard the RCYC entry, said that by almost sailing against themselves, he personally believes that those were the most perfect races he had ever sailed in his long Lipton Challenge career. This year’s event may not go down in the annuls of history as the best contest ever, but what made history was the closeness of the racing especially among the top three.

Conclusion

A strongly worded Deed of Gift and Trustees who have the best interest of the contest as the ‘pinnacle of top-class competition in South Africa’ at heart, stand the Lipton Challenge in good stead for the future.

Lipton Challenge - historical roll of honour

No. Year Venue Class Club 1 1911 Table Bay 8m Class Point Yacht Club 2 1912 Durban 8m Class Point Yacht Club 3 1913 Durban 8m Class Point Yacht Club 4 1914 Durban 8m Class Point Yacht Club 5 1922 Durban 8m Class Point Yacht Club 6 1923 Durban 8m Class Point Yacht Club 7 1952 Durban 30m2 Point Yacht Club Skipper/s Nick Chiazzari Nick Chiazzari Herb Spradbrow Herb Spradbrow Herb Spradbrow Herb Spradbrow Fredmeadows Yacht Name Tess Skabenga Skabenga Skabenga Skabenga Skabenga Avocet Sail No.

SA 4

8 1953 Durban 30m2 Royal Cape Yacht Club Sonny Thomas / A Austin 9 1954 Table Bay 30m2 Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club GI Bartholemew 10 1955 Table Bay 30m2 Royal Cape Yacht Club Sonny Thomas 11 1956 Table Bay 30m2 Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Martin Gronn 12 1957 Table Bay 30m2 Redhouse Yacht Club Harold Kohler 13 1958 Algoa Bay 30m2 Royal Natal Yacht Club Wilfred Hancock 14 1959 Durban 30m2 Royal Natal Yacht Club Wilfred Hancock 15 1960 Durban 30m2 Clube Naval Lourencomarques Noel Horsfield Tarpon Yvette Tarpon Yvette Trickson II Sunmaid Mariquita Rapid

16 1961 Algoa Bay 30m2 Clube Naval Lourencomarques Noel Horsfield 17 1962 Durban 30m2 Royal Natal Yacht Club Wilfred Hancock 18 1963 Durban 30m2 Henley Sailing Club Noel Horsfield 19 1964 Table Bay 30m2 Royal Natal Yacht Club Wilfred Hancock 20 1965 Durban 30m2 Royal Natal Yacht Club Wilfred Hancock 21 1966 Durban 30m2 Royal Natal Yacht Club Wilfred Hancock 22 1967 Table Bay 30m2 Royal Cape Yacht Club Ronnie Chedburn 23 1968 Table Bay 30m2 Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Hoogie van Hoogstraten 24 1969 Table Bay 30m2 Hermanus Yacht Club Colin Bowley

Rapid Mariquita Rapid Mariquita Mariquita Mariquita Yvette Trickson II Sunmaid 25 1970 Table Bay 30m2 Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Bobby Bongers / Hoogie Van Hoogstraten Trickson II 26 1971 Durban 30m2 Royal Natal Yacht Club Jimmy Whittle Sunrose

27 1972 Durban 30m2 Point Yacht Club Dave Cox Tintomara SA 9 SA 6 SA 9 SA 6 SA 182 SA 18 SA 1 SA 179 SA 179 SA 1 SA 179 SA 1 SA 1 SA 1 SA 6 SA 182 SA 18 SA 182 SA 191 SA 192

28 1973 Table Bay 30m2 Royal Natal Yacht Club Jimmy Whittle 29 1982 Durban IOR 1/4 Ton Point Yacht Club Harry Ellens / Tony Hurter 30 1983 Durban IOR 1/4 Ton Royal Cape Yacht Club Geoffmeek Sunrose Fuel Free Royal Flush

31 1984 Table Bay L26 32 1985 Durban L26 33 1986 Durban L26 34 1987 Table Bay L26 35 1988 Table Bay L26 36 1989 Table Bay L26 37 1990 Table Bay L26 38 1991 Table Bay L26 39 1992 Hout Bay L26 40 1993 Saldanha Bay L26 41 1994 Saldanha Bay L26 42 1995 Saldanha Bay L26 43 1996 Table Bay L26 Transvaal Yacht Club

Ewald Sternagel University of Natal Yacht Club Bruce Savage

Galactica Element Royal Cape Yacht Club Ettienne Van Cuyck / Chris Keeping Omega Heatwave Royal Cape Yacht Club Etienne Van Cuyck / Chris Keeping Joko II Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Chris King / Rick Nankin SX Stainless

Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Chris King / Rick Nankin SX Stainless

Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Chris King / Rick Nankin SX Stainless

Hout Bay Yacht Club Greg Davis Judron

Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Chris King FGminnitt

Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Chris King FGminnitt

Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Chris King Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis / Dave Hudson Hermanus Yacht Club Martin Schultz / Geoffmeek Dalys Insurance MBS Africa Glass SA 191 SA 457 SA 668 027 016 078 078 019 019 019 058 074 074 074 058 079

44 1997 Gordons Bay L26 45 1998 Algoa Bay L26 46 1999 Gordons Bay L26 47 2000 False Bay L26 48 2001 Table Bay L26 Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis / Dave Hudson Gordons Bay Yacht Club Pete Shaw / Steve Du Toit Theewater Sports Club Chris King / Rick Nankin Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis / Mark Sadler Theewater Sports Club Rick Nankin MBS Challenger Fedsuremedway 058 019

Dalys Insurance

074 RCYC Orion Challenger 058 Dalys Insurance 074

49 2002 Table Bay L26 50 2003 Durban L26 51 2004 Table Bay L26 52 2005 Table Bay L26 53 2006 Table Bay L26 54 2007 Table Bay L26 55 2008 Table Bay L26 56 2009 Table Bay L26 57 2010 Table Bay L26 58 2011 Mossel Bay L26 59 2012 False Bay L26 60 2013 Durban L26 Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club Ian Ainslie Theewater Sports Club Rick Nankin / Mark Sadler Theewater Sports Club Rick Nankin Royal Cape Yacht Club Dave Hudson / Roger Hudson Theewater Sports Club Greg Davis / Gareth Blankenberg Theewater Sports Club Greg Davis / Gareth Blankenberg Theewater Sports Club Greg Davis / Gareth Blankenberg Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis / David Rae Knysna Yacht Club Knysna Yacht Club Greg Davis / Gareth Blankenberg Greg Davis / David Rae Royal Natal Yacht Club Ricky Robinson Point Yacht Club Richard Weddel MSC Donnamia Dalys Insurance Dalys Insurance RCYC Greenlight Dalys Insurance Dalys Insurance Dalys Insurance Dalys Insurance Colorpress Colorpress Orion B2G2

019 074 074 024 074 074 074 074 074 074 079 PYC Choose Life Coordination 074

61 2014 False Bay L26 62 2015 Table Bay L26 63 2016 Table Bay L26 64 2017 Table Bay L26 65 2018 Durban L26

Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis / David Rae Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis / David Rae Royal Cape Yacht Club Greg Davis / David Rae Royal Cape Yacht Club Roger Hudson Royal Cape Yacht Club Roger Hudson 66 2019 Table Bay C31 Witbank Yacht & Aquatic Club Mike Hayton / David Rae 2020 NO EVENT OWING TO COVID-19 67 2021 Saldanha Bay C31 Royal Natal Yacht Club Davey James 68 2022 False Bay ORC Royal Natal Yacht Club Davey James Co-Ordination Co-Ordination Co-Ordination RCYC Race Ahead RCYC Homechoice Nitro

Orion DYP Orion DYP 074 074 074 007 007 31011

31018 31018