Two members of the Gordon's Bay Yacht Club, Ettienne Laubscher from Paarl, and Pieter Hamersma from Stellenbosch, are planning to sail in the Wilde False Bay Challenge. The team will be using the same petite 5.8 m yacht that the late, Bertie Reed, used five years ago in the inauguration of this challenge. They will sail from Gordon's Bay across False Bay to Simon's Town and back. The idea for this challenge came about when Bertie Reed felt the need to enhance small boat competition amongst sailors. The team is hoping to better the time of 10 hours and 36 minutes.
The team mascot, a teddy bear named Bertie Bear, will be joining Laubscher and Hamersma onboard. The bear was named by Bertie Reed's widow, Pat. She gave the bear one look, and named him immediately. She also revealed that Bertie used to have his own cuddly companion onboard, a teddy named Gonga.
