TANZACAT – the Beginning
Tanzacat started after both Arjan van der Roest and I joined the Dar es Salaam Yacht Club’s (DYC) existing and vibrant cat racing fleet. In early 1998 I saw an article in a Dutch newspaper which told the story of Dutch sailors looking for adventure after the closing of the European sailing season. This coincided with the failure of a sailing trip to Sri Lanka due to custom and logistical problems. As I had just completed a Strength Weakness Opportunities and Threats analysis for the DYC, I suggested to Arjan that we should invite them to sail in Tanzania – an ideal opportunity for the club to attract international sailors to Msasani Bay – some of the best sailing conditions in the world.
The name was chosen by thinking of the Tanzanian blue gemstone - Tanzanite. As Msasani Bay is of the same blue colour, we linked this with CAT sailing hence: TANZACAT.
Arjan offered to visit the sailors in Holland during his holidays who seemed very eager and so we started the organisation and searched for sponsors. We arranged for all the customs import/export guarantees, found Salama condoms, an airline, Winston cigarettes and many other local sponsors. All the Dutch sailors were put up in the Sea Cliff Hotel who kindly offered reduced rates, a helicopter company donated some flying hours for filming, undertaken by Price Productions.
We did some races in the bay and planned a visit to Lazy Lagoon. To be socially responsible we also did a race for a good cause by linking boats to schools. The winning boat presented school books to that school, again provided by a kind sponsor. We tried to get the whole DYC club involved with a dinner etc etc.
It was all a big success also because the participants had few days to do a bush safari in between or after their sailing experience - the event was organised over a two week period.
For the second year 1999 we also contacted and invited South African sailors. Again Salama Condoms provided the huge yellow inflatable markers. Winston cigarettes become the main sponsor and designed the 1999 and 2000 logos. We sailed the bay races and did an overnight stay at the Ras Kutani resort. In 2000 the races were organized on a similar format with the same success.
We as founders are very proud that TANZACAT, an event to promote sailing in Tanzania, has continued and has grown into an important event on the international sailing calendar.
Only a few all the supporters and sponsors over the years are mentioned in this article. It is important though to acknowledge ALL sponsors, ALL volunteers, the TANZACAT Organizing Committees, the DYC Committees who have given so much support and last but not least ALL the DYC members who have over the years embraced this event.
Good Luck TANZACAT – may the winds blow favourably as you grow from strength to strength …
Henk Nouwens
Barcelona 2011
co-initiator and organiser TANZACAT 1998 - 2000
DYC Commodore 2000
Past Tanzacats
2009
2008
2006
2005
2004
2000
1999
