Meet Vuyisile Jaca: The South African up for World Sailor of the Year

South African sailor Vuyisile Jaca bravely seized all the chances along the way, defying the odds to become a record-breaking, round-the-world sailor

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Grab a chance and you won’t be sorry for a might-have-been’ – that well-known quote from Ransome’s We Didn’t Mean to go to Sea is an excellent piece of advice as long as there’s someone providing the opportunities. Unfortunately, it’s also one of those inverted laws whereby the people who need a lucky break the most, are the least likely to be offered. You need to be in the right place at the right time and possess the confidence to say yes. Which isn’t as easy as it sounds.

When Tracy Edwards’ Maiden finally arrived alongside the Cowes Yacht Haven pontoon last April she was carrying young women from all the inhabited continents of the earth. Junella King (Antigua), Maryama Seck (France) and Vuyisile Jaca (South Africa), displayed their home nations’ flags with additional pride as the first Black women to have raced around the world.

From adversity to sailing glory

For Vuyisile, aged 25, this was the culmination of a series of chances she’d needed all her courage to take. Her childhood had been blighted by the loss of her mother when she was seven years old then the death of her father at 14. She’d had to leave the village where she’d grown up and move to live with relatives in a township outside Durban.

Maiden at the finish of the OGR 2024. Photo: The Maiden Factor

Her new school was overcrowded and run down but had recently introduced nautical science into its curriculum. Vuyie, like all the children in her village, had been brought up to fear the water, but she took the new subject anyway. The 15 students learned about chartwork, meteorology and ship stability. In the second year they were taken to the charity Sail Africa for an introduction to the water.

None of them could swim, so safety instructions had to be rigorous.

Vuyie attended Sail Africa weekly for the last year of school, loving the sailing. She hoped to study science at university but her maths grade wasn’t good enough, so she went back to the charity asking whether she could help, in return for some more sailing. Jackie de Fin, operations director, remembers Vuyie as a shy person. ‘She was sometimes overlooked but she persisted and learned to swim, did a diving course, became a swimming instructor and our water safety facilitator, sailed in races, became a cornerstone of our “Girls in Sailing” programme and got to do the Vasco.’

The charity had found sponsorship to upgrade their L34 yacht, Spirit of Anna Wardley, to qualify for the 2021 Vasco da Gama race from Durban to East London, Eastern Cape. The Sail Africa team was the first all-Black team to compete in the race.

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De Fin then put Vuyie’s name forward for the Maiden Foundation’s educational tour. After researching Tracy and her achievements Vuyie almost felt too nervous to fill out the application. When she heard she’d been selected for a place sailing from Dakar in Senegal to Capetown, she couldn’t allow herself to believe it.

Skipper Heather Thomas recognised Vuyie’s potential and kept her on as Maiden sailed home from Capetown to Hamble Point Marina where they prepared for the Ocean Globe Race. Vuyie began working with British engineer Ami Hopkins and discovered a passion for this aspect of sailing. When Ami was unable to sail legs 3 and 4 of the race, Vuyie took over responsibility for the generator, the water-maker and the electrical systems.

With her Maiden crewmates as they prepared for Cape Horn. Photo: The Maiden Factor

There was no-one from Vuyie’s family to meet her at Cowes. She thought of her parents and hoped they would have been proud of her. ‘It will remain my lifelong memory, it’s like I’ve achieved
a degree, and nobody can take that from me.’

Vuyie’s ambition is to inspire other young women to grasp opportunities and be the best that they can be.

Celebrating OGR glory with sailing legend Tracy Edwards – the woman who made it all possible. Photo: The Maiden Factor

World Sailing Awards

Vuyisile Jaca is nominated for the Rolex World Female Sailor of the Year. The World Sailing Awards consist of awards for male and female Rolex World Sailor of the Year, male and female Young World Sailor of the Year, 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award, World Sailing Technology Award and Team of the Year.

Voting for all World Sailing Awards is open now and closes at 2300 UTC on Sunday 27 October 2024.

The public vote will make up 50% of the final decisions with 50% contributed by World Sailing‘s expert panels.

Cast your vote here.

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