Bertie Reed

Who was Bertie Reed?

Bertie Reed, aka Stanley John Reed, was a South African sailor and ocean racer. He completed three solo circumnavigations and demonstrated extreme bravery when rescuing fellow South-African and competitor John Martin whose yacht was sunk by a growler in the Southern Seas, during the '1990-1991 BOC Challenge'. Overall, he sailed 170,000 nautical miles competitively more than half of which singlehandedly; his toughness in adverse conditions at sea earned him the nickname 'Biltong' (i.e. a South African cured meat akin to, although different-tasting, American beef jerky).

Reed was introduced to sailing as he joined the South African Navy in 1961. Although well known locally, he achieved World fame when he placed second in the 1982-1983 BOC Challenge. A modest man, he was generous with his knowledge of seamanship and also amused land bound people by systematically having his wristwatch set on GMT wherever he happened to be, including on land.

Bertie died of cancer in 2006.