49er Olympic class. Oliver Holden, learner from Point High School in Mossel bay, is the crew on a 29er dinghy the high-performance youth pathway boat to the 49er Olympic class.
The 29er is a boat with three sails sailed by two people one helming and the other crewing. The crew on the boat trapezes to keep the boat balanced. He also works the main and spinnaker sail and calls upwind tactics. Khanya Mafuta is the helm on the boat and steers the boat, controls the jib and calls downwind tactics.
Teamwork is essential on this boat with both team members having to move and trim the sails in perfect unison. If they are even a few seconds out of sync the boat will not stay upright or at best will go very slowly. The team has been selected for the second year in a row to represent their country in the World Sailing youth world championships, earning them their National Protea Colours.
Youth world Championships
The Youth world Championships is the premier youth event in the sailing calendar and the official pathway event leading to the Olympic Games. Every top team in the world will be competing in this event in five different classes. Thirty nations are entered in the 29er men’s class where Oliver and Khanya will be competing. The event is in in The Hague, Netherlands over the July holidays. Due to covid restriction the team could not take part in the World Championship in Oman last year December. Even though Oliver Holden has been sailing from a very young age, he was never really interested in competitive sailing. He used to take his boat out in the bay and then roll up the sail and fish.
However, when he climbed on the fast-racing 29er he completely changed his mind. The fact that he can harness nature and travel the speed he does on the water has given him a new passion for sailing that he wants to take all the way to the Olympics.
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