On 25 – 26 January 2025 the Western Cape sailing community gathered on the banks of the Berg River for the 2025 edition of the Port Owen River Race. And what a great race it was!
18 sailing dinghies took to the water in three different races spread over two days.
This year, we were honoured to be joined by 6 entrants from the Saldanha Sailing Academy, which POYC has been supporting over the past few years.
The sailors proved once again why this is such a popular event. With the wind just right, things moved along at a fast pace with the marshalls struggling to keep up with the sailing dinghies in their motorised craft.
The first two races on Saturday took sailors upriver towards the Carinus Bridge, whilst the third race on Sunday morning was a race out Laaiplek harbour mouth to a mark between fishing trawlers at anchor waiting for their chance to return to the harbour to offload, followed by a beat to the weather mark West of the harbour entrance and a mad dash back up the river to the finish line at Rooibaai.
The forerunner out the harbour mouth made for a good race as he was miles ahead of the rest of the fleet, but one by one they quietly caught him on the beat and in the end it was a close race for line honours.
Competitors were treated to a lovely Snoek Braai on Saturday evening and the prize giving on Sunday was a festive affair!
We are particularly proud of the Sailing Academy trainees who did a stellar job racing for the special Academy Challenge which was introduced this year specifically to serve as motivation and acknowledgement of the efforts of the young sailors.
Here’s to an even more exciting 2026 Port Owen River Race!
Results below:
