There’s a changing of the guard at the Ocean Sailing Association of Southern Africa, where Mike Jacobs has taken over day-to-day management.
“Jakes” takes over from long-time manager John Franklin, who after many years’ service says he has earned the right to take a back seat. “Jakes has been an OSASA Director for a couple of years but was very active with OSASA long before that, especially through promoting Knysna as a “must visit” port and increasing the number of foreign visitor calls there exponentially,” Franklin said of the new appointment. “Having served as Commodore of Knysna Yacht Club for two terms, and with a 30 year service record with the Knysna station of NSRI, Jakes is a seaman of note and has an enviable maritime contacts network. In his spare time Jakes personally guides visiting yachts in and out through the Knysna Heads.”
I wish Jakes every success in his new appointment and will be happy to add support whenever needed.
Jakes, who arrived in Knysna in 1986, served ten years as Knysna NSRI deputy station commander. He is a recipient of the numerous awards, notably a Distinguished Service award presented by the then State President PW Botha.
He is an active sportsman with multiple interests, among them cycling, paddling and running. He has also mentored post matric students as part of a post-graduate mentorship programme.
Commenting on his MD appointment, Jacobs said he was thrilled to continue his OSASA journey in the service of the cruising community. “My new journey with OSASA has been awesome! To date I have assisted 58 Foreign Yachts across the Bar and another 28 local Yachts. I feel that because of my training at NSRI I am able to assist, safely the ingress and egress of yachts, having crossed the (Knysna) ‘Bar’ some 3000 times and acted as pilot on the Navy Ships 19 times.”
“The foreign yachties out there are just awesome people, and if I can get them in to visit, they are astounded by the beauty of the estuary and the friendliness of our people. I feel that, just like my time at NSRI, I have to make sure that they are safe.”