By Thathe Msimango
Durban-based sailor Vuyisile Jaca will be among the sailors taking part in this year’s Maiden Factor race.
The race is set to start on 3 December from Dakar, Senegal, heading for Cape Town, and is expected to last 30 days.
The Maiden Factor’s all-women crew are sailing around the world to raise funds for girls’ education.
They are raising awareness of the 130 million girls worldwide who are currently not able to access education, by fundraising and supporting community programmes around the world.
While in South Africa they will be raising funds for Marine Inspirations to send a young girl to the prestigious Lawhill Maritime Centre to complete secondary school while gaining a specialised maritime education.
Marine Inspirations is an organisation that has taken young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of them from South Africa, to Spain and introduced them not only to sailing but to the super yacht industry and the potential therein.
“I was chosen by the Maiden Factor. This is my first time doing this race,” said the 24-year-old resident of KwaMashu, outside Durban.
“I’ve only done one ocean race, from Durban to East London (Vasco Da Gama). It was an all-black team for the first time since the race started 50 years ago. But I haven’t raced outside of South Africa.”
Jaca is a swimming instructor and sailing assistant at Sail Africa Youth Development, an organisation that grows sailors – and specifically young female sailors – from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
“I was introduced to sailing through a school programme by our nautical science teacher through Sail Africa back in 2015… I couldn’t swim or be on the boats before so it was all a dream,” she told Scrolla.Africa.
“Through Sail Africa I’ve learned a lot. I have learned how to swim and today I’m a swimming instructor and a sailing assistant instructor.
“I make sure all the kids that come to sail are competent in the water. I hold a day skipper’s licence, [am] a safety boat operator, have a VHF licence, and have had first aid and STCW training. I am also a recreational diver. I sail on a daily basis on an all-girls boat called iThemba.”
Pictured above: Jaca on her sail boat
Image source: Supplied
