Boat racing in South Africa

[KerrySmith]

I stumbled upon this site a few days ago and have spent hours enthralled by the stories and pictures of races, boats, motors and people of year gone by. I prompted me to do some sharing of some of the photos etc. that I have of boat racing in the 60's, 70's and '80's in South Africa.

I raced in South Africa from 84 - 96 in South Africa before moving to the US for a while. I raced in the (720cc) petrol hydro class (equivalent to the US Mod-D Hydro class). Unfortunately, most of the pictures from when I raced have gone missing but my father, Ralph Smith, raced from the mid 50's till he retired from racing in 72. He raced in a number of classes and was part of the South African (Springbok) team to tour Europe in 70 and 72. He raced a Carniti in the 6-Hour Paris race that year. He raced with the likes of Reinhault Schultz, Dino Candiotis, Graham Campbell, and many more throughout the years. He also had the priviledge to spend a few days with Dieter at the Konig factory. Unfortunately, he died of heart failure, at 51, while helping my brother, Brent, and I test at the 84 Inter-provintial races at Rynfield Dam.

I have many photos (some in poor condition so please excuse the quality) and magazine articles from his racing days. I would like to share them with you here.

If there are any people out there with stories or information about the South African racing scene from those years, please share them with us.