| A SCHOOLGIRL'S passion
for sailing culminated in a dream come true when 16-year-old Saskia Kemp crossed the
starting line in the Cape to Rio race at 3pm yesterday.
Saskia, one of the youngest females taking part in the
race, is a crew member aboard Ruach, a 9.6m Mount Gay 30 International Class coastal
racing yacht owned by her father, Peter Kemp.
The Ruach, Hebrew for "Wind of God", is the
second smallest yacht undertaking the arduous trip.
Saskia, a standard nine pupil at Wynberg Girls High, will
miss a little schooling but believes the sailing experience will compensate for this loss.
Sailing came to her "by accident". Three years
ago her mother Shelley and twin sisters, Aimee and Nicola, pupils at the Vista Nova School
in Rondebosch, were involved in an accident. Saskia was unable to do much at home on her
own and went sailing with her father. This was the beginning of a passion that has led to
an epic voyage across the South Atlantic in one of the most strenuous races on the sailing
calendar.
She sails regularly in local races with her father,
together with skipper Brent Gray - who was commissioned by Kemp two-and-a-half years ago
to oversee the building of the Ruach - navigator Alex Scott and trimmer Robert Patterson.
Saskia is also a member of an all-girls crew which started
sailing last July. Under the guidance of manager Marion Cole and sailing with crew members
such as 24-year-old skipper Dominique Proveyeur, she has gained the enthusiasm and
experience to tackle her most exciting adventure yet.
This long-distance race is a first for the crew of sponsors
Africa Group, with the exception of Gray, who sailed to Uruguay in 1988. Previous
performances by Gray include winning the Rothmans Week, the treacherous Agulhas race, the
Double Cape, the Dias Race (Portugal to Cape Town) and numerous national championships.
The crew was elected to represent False Bay Yacht Bay in
the Lipton Cup last year but due to work commitments and the impending Cape to Rio race
could not accept.
Gray has been awarded WP colours on three occasions.
Kemp and his crew have their sights set on completing the
race within 22 days. The leading yachts are expected to cross the line in 16 to 18 days,
but a 19-day finish could put them in line for handicap honours.
To achieve this aim, the yacht was recently upgraded and
modified from coastal to ocean sailing. They will be sailing trim and slim and their
larder is filled with food that is cooked, irradiated and then sealed.
There is no fridge or stove and there are only three
sleeping bags, restricting the number of crew members able to sleep at any one time.
Saskia's duties include being in charge of the galley,
maintaining administrative operations throughout the trip and being the
"backup". Her services will be needed in emergencies and she must be prepared to
be called upon at any stage for assistance.
Saskia said she was "nervous but excited".
She sees her future in the boating world in some form. She
would like to crew in the Caribbean after leaving school, serve on a mercy ship and make
sailmaking her ultimate career.
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