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AT THE PORT OF DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA |
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BLUFF YACHT CLUB |
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B.Y.C HISTORY |
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FOUNDING OF BLUFF YACHT CLUB—EXTRACTS FROM THE RECOLLECTIONS OF MRS JANE ROWNTREE WRITTEN IN 1974 AND OTHER SOURCES The history of the Bluff Yacht Club, and the men and women who started it, Hub Rowntree and members of his family, Joe Ash, Joe Lewis and Rene, Grace Caswell,Arthur Oldfield, ‘Smithie’, Ivor Flower, the Biggs family, Rob Way & Fay, Fred Love and many others who joined as members at the time of its inception. Four of the original members are still with the Club today, Jane Rowntree, Joe Ash and Eric and Trevor Molver, albeit the last two were junior members at the time. (in fact, Trevor’s membership was a 14th birthday present from his parents. Junior membership cost 10 shillings per annum at the time!!!). All four are now Honorary Life Members of Bluff Yacht Club. In 1956, having been a member of the Fynnland Angling Club for some time, Hub Rowntree felt the great need for a safe place to keep his boat and boats belonging to other members so after much thought he decided to call a meeting at the Mdumbi Shell Hole in August 1956 for any people interested in forming a yacht club. Over a hundred people came to that first meeting and dozens signed up that night and became foundation members of The Bluff Yacht Club. At that stage, women were not permitted to join but it wasn’t long before Hub and the rest of the Committee saw the error of theirs ways and realized that no organization can function efficiently or happily without women, and so it was that Jane Rowntree became one of the first women members, at the same time as Ada Oldfield, Rena Herd and scores of others. Hub was at that time District Manager of the Old Mutual on the Bluff and he made it his business to approach the Port Captain, Captain John Cox, and ask for his help in obtaining some land on Salisbury Island. He also appealed to our Bluff Member of Parliament and the two City Councillors, and things began to move. The S.A. Navy, was at that time in the process of evacuating the Durban base altogether and so the land, about 5 acres, where the flying boat hangar and the slipway were, was leased to The Bluff Yacht Club by the S.A.R. & H., who took over from the Navy for 2 pounds a year! The small pre-fab on the property was converted in a few hours from an official office building into a Clubhouse by Hub Rowntree, Bill Trompeter and some others, with the wives lending a hand and giving free advice. The Club grew in an amazingly short time from its small beginnings to a thriving organization with over 700 members—with the sailing, motor-boating and fishing sections, each in its own right extremely active, participating in the local and national events. It was the pride of our Members to build their own boats, and never was a boat launched, no matter how small, without the proper ceremony taking place with a crowd of well-wishers standing by. We were represented in the Lipton Cup on many occasions and had the honour of holding a Lipton Cup party in our own club when all the ‘greats’ of the sailing world foregathered. Each section ran its own fund-raising efforts, with the whole Club taking part, of course, and it was wonderful how much money was raised by having even a small braai regularly once a month. Godfrey, our African right-hand man (who had been on the S.A. Navy strength for years and who we inherited gratefully from them, was one of the finest of the Club’s servants—with Godfrey on the gate we had no worries about non-members coming in. In that rather unusual Clubhouse we had two magnificent gas stoves installed, and what marvellous meals we served. Although the Club had a paid caterer, the lady members took turns on a strict roster to serve the meals. This went on Sunday after Sunday and the consensus of opinion around the Bay was that ‘it was the best lunch and the cheapest in town’. We had regular visitors who sailed or motored across from The Royal Natal and The Point Yacht Clubs. Our Club was ‘somewhere for them to go’. Instead of just going for a ‘burn around the Bay’ or just sailing ‘there and back’, these people made a habit of dropping in for lunch regularly as well as coming over to join in our social evenings—and a social evening was something that, at the drop of a hat, materialized for almost no reason at all! It was in 1957 that the tradition, if one can call it that, of an organized firework display and bonfire began. As a matter of fact, the first bonfire we made was so gargantuan in proportion that the City Fire Brigade appeared—some civic-minded bloke had reported it. There were no repercussions! The fishing section, under the enthusiastic leadership of Joe Lewis, flourished and some really handsome cups were donated over the years, which should still be around. On the motor-boat side, Dennis Brink, Arthur Oldfield, Cyril Crickmore and Joe Ash were all responsible at various times for making it one of the strongest sections of our Club. The sailing section was small but enthusiastic and we were fortunate in having a band of stalwarts who ran the Bridge in all weathers—all complicated by a system of handicapping which baffled the uninitiated, for we had no two boats of the same class! “Goblin”, Hub’s boat, was famous for her sturdy seaworthiness and she was one of the most lovely boats on the Bay. Then, early in 1959, Hub decided to go back to sea and join Smith’s Coasters and, as a man cannot run a Club and go to sea, he said he must resign the Commodoreship. However, the Club had other ideas and said firmly that he would remain their Commodore until the following A.G.M. in August. So the Vice Commodore, Sonny Olsen, took over and ran the Club’s affairs extremely well for the remaining few months. At the next A.G.M. Joe Ash, who had been Rear Commodore, was voted in as Commodore. Arthur Oldfield was our Vice Commodore and Charlie Caswell was Rear Commodore. Almost entirely due to Joe’s efforts, a huge rondavel with a thatched roof was built—the biggest thatched roof in Southern Africa. Unhappily for the Club, authority with a capital ’A’ was planning harbour works which were to spell the end of those truly wonderful times which out Club had enjoyed. T jetties were to be built exactly where our Club was, and it wasn’t long before we were given notice to leave and the bulldozers moved in. Those excellent boat garages, the enormous hangar, our Clubhouse, everything was reduced to rubble and many of us wondered sadly if anything would ever be the same again. It was not of course! The Bluff Yacht Club is now Pier 1. The Club was moved further up the Bay towards the Bayhead to a site which left a great deal to be desired. Lack of deep water in which to launch our boats was one of the most serious problems people had to contend with. Joe Lewis was by this time Commodore and, though the affairs of the Club began to slow down considerably due to the very grave disadvantages of this second site, Joe and his wife, Rene, worked to keep the Club from becoming defunct. Joe was Commodore for eight years, many of them not very productive years for a yacht club, for it must be realized that Site No. 2 had by this time fallen a victim to ’progress’ and the Club had no real home. Pier No. 2 stands where the Clubhouse was. Because of the representations made to the S.A.R. & H. by Charlie Caswell, one time Vice Commodore, and Joe Lewis, our Club was granted a site on the Silt Canal—our present site—in approximately 1961/62 and the lease was drawn up. The ground included that area going back over the two roads behind the parking lot. Charlie Bates and his wife, Dinah, and family were active members and, along with the rest of us, got stuck in and put up the present garages, which were initiated into service by a hilarious party—a bring and braai when all and sundry danced in the cindery-dust. A little later came our present pre-fab, which was acquired from the Island Sailing Club. In approximately 1964, the first part of our present Clubhouse was built. This section now houses the Galley, dining area and the Administration Office. In 1966 Hub Rowntree was transferred to East London on promotion and the family were away for 3 and a half years, returning on Old Year’s Night of 1969. It wasn’t long before we were back ’in the scene’. At the A.G.M. of 1971 Joe Lewis gladly relinquished the reins to Charlie Bates, with Charlie Caswell as Vice Commodore and Hub Rowntree as Rear Commodore. All this time the membership was growing fast; among these people were those willing to give concrete help in every sense of the word! In 1972 Hub was elected Commodore once more, with Charlie Bates taking over the Secretaryship. In 1974 the foundations were laid for the extension to the Clubhouse and our present lounge was built by Claude Larter, father of the then Commodore, John Larter. This section was named the Claude Larter Hall’ and Claude was given Honorary Life Membership for all the work he had put in so willingly to make our Clubhouse what it is today.’ At this time we were given a generous grant of R20 000 by the Department of Sport and Recreation and a plaque expressing the Club’s gratitude hangs on the wall of the ‘Claude Larter Hall’. SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR HISTORY One of our proudest boasts was the crowning of one of our members, Penny Coelen, as “Miss World 1958” and congratulations were received on having as a member “the loveliest girl in the world”. On 18th January 1974 the Bluff Yacht Club Training School was formally inaugurated by the Cruising Association of South Africa as a recognized CASA sail-training establishment, with Hub Rowntree as Principal of the school. In August 1976, “a woman breached the traditionally male-dominated bastions of the Durban yachting community with the appointment of Mrs Audrey Evans as Commodore of Bluff Yacht Club and Durban’s first woman Commodore” (The Daily News, Friday, August 27, 1976). Her term of office ended in 1979 but she was re-appointed as Commodore from 1981-1982. Audrey Evans also left her mark by landing a 204 kgs Blue Marlin at Black River, Mauritius. The length of the Marlin was 4,724 metres and the landing time was 2 hours. The head and tail are mounted in the lounge. Our second and, so far, last woman Commodore was Kathy Poulter who served in this position from 1984-1988. We are also honoured to have as our Honorary Life President, Captain Peter Cox, former Port Captain of Durban Harbour, and Captain Mike Cooper, a former Durban Port Captain, as our Honorary Life Vice President. On the 25th February 1996, in the Club’s 40th year, a short memorial service for Captain Hub Rowntree was held on the front lawn, followed by the unveiling of a plaque bearing his name, which was placed at the base of our flagpole. The speaker was Captain Peter Cox, a Scripture reading and prayer were given by Geoffrey & Peter Rowntree, and the plaque was unveiled by Mrs Jane Rowntree. In 1997, after a lot of hard work by Vossie Vorster, Neil Slogrove, Trevor Molver, Gordon Miller (to name but a few) and with donations of wood, bar stools, memorabilia, etc. from some of our members, The Wheelhouse (our pub) was officially opened by the then Port Captain, Captain Derrick Cooke. The ribbon was cut by Gaynor Vorster, after which all those present were treated to some fabulous snacks in the bar. There were a lot of happy faces that evening! From small beginnings, Bluff Yacht Club grew by leaps and bounds and, although still relatively small compared with other older yacht clubs in South Africa, our Club holds its head up high. It is a family-orientated Club, with shrubs and trees and small thatched shelters on the lawn that goes down to the water’s edge, a Galley, Pub, swimming pool, braai area, beer garden, hard parking facilities for refurbishing and completion of yachts, power boat parking, scrubbing pad and moorings (although sadly the Silt Canal is living up to its name). Our junior sailing section is keeping the Club’s burgee flying, with some of our juniors doing extremely well in S.A. Nationals and other prestigious events. Over the years, we have had some marvellous functions, sail pasts and lots of fun. We do have a few bugbears but, with co-operation and effective help from dedicated members to help us solve on-going problems, we hope to keep the Club going for another 50 GLORIOUS YEARS ! ! One of the Club’s earliest boats was a wooden boat called “Gauntlet” which was owned by Pat Webb and Tom Ashton. Many a person learned to sail in her and in fact Avril Webb (now Thompson) still lives on the Bluff and is now a music teacher and the organist at the Bluff Methodist Church, which coincidentally also celebrated its 50th anniversary this year (2006). “Gauntlet” which was apparently built in about 1913, sadly developed dry rot and began to disintegrate and, when our first site was bulldozed, was buried beneath the new development Pier 1. Pat Webb gave her two winches to Trevor Molver, who donated them to the Wheelhouse in 1997 as part of the memorabilia but these, sadly, seem to have now disappeared.
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THE BLUFF YACHT CLUB 50TH ANNIVERSARY |
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1956—2006 |
PHOTO GALLERY |