SAIL Magazine Vol 3

WWW.RCYC.CO.ZA

2011/12 Racing Season

SAIL ROYAL CAPE YACHT CLUB

C A P E T O W N , S O U T H A F R I C A

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CAPE TOWN OFFICE: +2721 200 1825 | [email protected]

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S A I LR C Y CW E L C O M E

PUBLISHING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ingrid Hale MANAGING EDITOR Kim Richter

ART DIRECTOR Piers Buckle (Fresh Identity)ADVERTISING SALES Jeanne van Rooyen, Shirley Roos

(Jeanne van Rooyen PR and Special Events)

CONTRIBUTORSTrevor Wilkins (cover photopgraph), Penny Alison, James Beaumont,

William Crockett, Nick Dana, Adrian Denn, Oliver Dewar, Brenton Geach, Mike Giles, Andrea Giovannini, Hylton Hale, Patrick Holloway, Dave Hudson,

Di Hutton-Squire, Dale Kushner, Koos Louw, Toni Mainprize, John Martin, Ray Matthews, Di Meek, Rob Meek, Alexandre Monat, Charles Nankin,

Rick Nankin, Mike Peper, Alex Petersen, Jannie Reuvers, Trygve Roberts, Ian Roman, Amory Ross, Ainhoa Sanchez, Luke Scott, Tony Strutt,

Kirsten Veenstra, Vitor Medina, Charmaine Warburton.

SPECIAL THANKS Riaan Bezuidenhout, Barry Heath, Toni Mainprize, Ian Meggy, Marcus Reuter, Harriet Symons, Bridgette Walker, all the marina, bar and catering staff, and

Garmin for the use of their rubber duck (which is always available to the photographers during regattas).

CONTACT RCYC Tel: +27 21 421 1354 | Fax: +27 21 421 6028

Email: [email protected] | www.rcyc.co.za

FOR LETTERS AND ENQUIRIES, CONTACT:Ingrid Hale

Tel: +27 83 309 3895 | Email: [email protected]

PRINTING Paarl Media Paarl

©Royal Cape Yacht Club. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic or mechanical, without prior permission from the publisher.

This past year has seen many prestigious international events, sailors and regatta offi cials visiting Royal Cape and providing us with a taste of racing at the highest level.

RCYC put on a superior show when the sailing committee was asked by the Volvo Ocean Race to organise the on-the-water activities and co-ordinate marshal boats and mark-laying for the Pro-am, in-port races and the start of Leg 2 to China. VOR race director, Jack Lloyd, and VOR CEO, Knut Frostad, applauded the club for their outstand-ing service. We were also treated to lessons from top international race offi cer Peter Craig who led the racing committee of the Midsummer Fling regatta, kindly arranged by Lord Irvine Laidlaw. Ultimately these experiences add to the knowledge pool, raise the bar and remind us that we are capable of hosting events at a world-class level.

Our members have also been proudly taking their places on the world stage, fl ying our RCYC fl ag high and encouraging us all to sail better.

Sail is in its third year as the offi cial publication of RCYC. We have enjoyed support from the Commodore, committee, RCYC members, visitors to the club and of course our loyal advertisers. I feel honoured to have been able to launch this magazine with the support of John Martin, RCYC Commodore, as well as the general committee members. The objective was always to showcase RCYC as a club that matches the top international sailing clubs and to give exposure to the sailing talent of our members. Many thanks for your solid leadership John. We wish you the best for the future.

3 Letter from the Commodore

5 Welcome to Cape Town

6 News and views All the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s news

13 Local and international sailing round-up

14 Mykonos Offshore Race

17 Pacer Nationals

18 Crocs Summer Regatta

20 Midsummer Fling Regatta

22 Division 3 racing

24 Lipton Cup

26 Puma Twilight Series

28 IRC racing

32 The Cape boat-building industry

36 Volvo Ocean Race

42 Global Ocean Race

46 New York Yacht Club Invitational Regatta

50 Sail blazing Keep track of our Royal Capers abroad

52 RCYC events calendar All the fi xtures from July 2012 to June 2013

54 Seen at sea Royal Capers in action on and off the water

55 RCYC announcement Cape to Rio 2014 dates are confi rmed

Contents

SAILT H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E

ROYAL CAPE YACHT CLUB

SAIL

1W W W. R C Y C . C O . Z A

To view the digital version, go to

www.issuu.com/sailrcyc. Ingrid HalePublishing Editor-in-Chief

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a 3

After four years as

Commodore – and

a total of seven

consecutive years

on the Royal Cape Yacht

Club’s committee – this is my

final sign-off. My reason for

volunteering all those years

ago was to give something

back to the sport that had

given me so many opportuni-

ties. I wanted our youth, truly

representative of South Africa,

to have the same chances in

their lives.

During my term I have

seen the nurturing of

relations with local govern-

ment, the City of Cape Town,

the SA Navy and members of

the International Diplomatic

Corps. I enjoyed this aspect

and the club made good

friends who all made

important contributions.

The various committees

have also played significant

roles in contributing to

steering the club to where it

is today. Thank you to all who

participated. I would also

like to thank many of the

members outside of the

committee for their contribu-

tions and support when times

were tough and decisions

made needed backing.

Some of the memorable

moments of my term are:

• The incredible turnaround

of the financial status of the

club, thanks hugely due to

Mike Peper, our treasurer

for most of the time and

now Vice Commodore and

finicial adviser to me.

• Overhauling the club’s

restaurants and significantly

improving member partici-

pation and satisfaction as a

result. Vitor Medina and I

took on the task of taking

the catering in-house. We

hired management staff and

a top chef, and we have not

looked back since – with

happy customers and an

even happier treasurer!

• The enormous switch in the

media perception of sailing

at RCYC, largely through

Jeanne van Rooyen Martin’s

perseverance.

• The successful international

relations we have built with

visiting yachting events and

our own Cape to Rio and

Salvador yacht races.

• RCYC’s extremely success-

ful local yachting calendar,

which is our core business

and has been really well

lead by Hylton Hale, our

Rear Commodore Sailing.

• The yacht club’s contribu-

tion to development sailing

(see page 10 for more

information on this).

• Participating in the New

York Yacht Club Invitational

Regatta in Newport, Rhode

Island, where we were

sponsored by black

empowerment company

African Access Holdings,

who demonstrated their

support for transformation

of the sport.

• The many committee

members, like-minded

RCYC members and the

staff’s support for me,

without which I would not

have been able to success-

fully discharge my duties.

When I accepted the

position of Commodore,

I pledged to uphold the

standards and traditions

of the club, including making

the wonderful sport of sailing

more accessible. For this,

we needed a solid club, an

environment appealing to

sponsors, nurturing of youth

and that could, vitally, host

world-class sailing events.

I trust I have honoured my

pledge during the interesting

times had by myself and my

long-suffering, incredibly

supportive wife, Jeanne.

This being my last

contribution to Sail as

Commodore, I would like

to congratulate Ingrid Hale,

and the people who have

supported her, on starting

this wonderful magazine and

on the quality that makes it

one of RCYC’s showpieces.

I wish all well in sailing

and any other initiatives to

promote the sport that has

given so many such great

pleasure.

John MartinCommodore RCYC 2011/12

Letter from the Commodore

S A I LR C Y C

“ I trust I have honoured my pledge to make the wonderful sport of sailing more accessible”

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Cape Town boasts a host of recreational

facilities that cater to the general public

and enthusiasts with specific tastes, such

as sailing. Not only are we proud to play

host to the Royal Cape Yacht Club, but also of the

excellent facilities provided by the Cape Town

harbour as it serves as a stopover during interna-

tional sailing events.

It is therefore a great honour for me as Execu-

tive Mayor of this city to welcome both sailors and

passengers from all over South Africa and around

the globe to the shores of Cape Town.

The Royal Cape Yacht Club offers top class

vessel moorings, security and entertainment facili-

ties, as well as exceptional boat repair options.

RCYC also provides the perfect welcome to our

beautiful city, encouraging the exploration of the

many tourist attractions and ensuring that the

well-run harbour is a meeting point for people from

all over the world.

The City of Cape Town recognises the opportuni-

ties of economic growth that sailing creates, espe-

cially when our port is used as a stopover. We

welcome the impact of the sailing industry on Cape

Town’s tourism, and we encourage and support the

growth of sailing, which affords life-enhancing

recreational activities for our citizens and visitors.

Patricia de Lille

Executive Mayor of Cape Town

Welcome to Cape Town

S A I LR C Y C

Telephone: +27 21 917 8840Facsimile: +27 21 914 1174

www.afrimat.co.za

Black empowered, JSE-listed Afrimat is one of

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Collin Ramukhubathi Area Quarry Manager

Western Cape Aggregates Division

6 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

All the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s news

SET SAIL

In a fi rst for South Africa, Cape Town has taken up the challenge

of achieving the highly respected Blue Flag status for its

marinas. RCYC, False Bay Yacht Club and Granger Bay Water

Club have joined forces with the City of Cape Town to ensure

cleaner water and greener facilities.

The Blue Flag programme works towards sustainable development

of beaches and marinas. It’s a voluntary eco-label awarded internation-

ally and seeks to bring together the environmental, economic and

tourism sectors. Indeed, being awarded Blue Flag status is a tourism

drawcard as it signifi es an unpolluted area with high standards of water

quality, safety and environmental management.

“Royal Cape believes in what the Blue Flag programme is striving

to do, we are committed to minimising our impact on the environment,”

says RCYC club manager Marcus Reuter. “However, with the uncertain

tenure at our premises, there are a few requirements that demand

substantial fi nancial investment and will consequently hamper our

efforts in achieving all Blue Flag criteria in the immediate future.”

There are some surprising fi nancial benefi ts to meeting the Blue

Flag criteria though. “The club has recently had its energy consumption

audited and has been advised that, with Eskom’s incentives, a R90 000

investment will give a full return as well as saving two-thirds of its

electricity costs within two years,” says Marcus.

Some of the achievable requirements include decreasing the club’s

carbon footprint through steps such as swapping incandescent bulbs for

light-emitting diodes, or LEDs; waste separation and recycling; and water-

wise ablution facilities. But even these seemingly simple changes are not

without their challenges and RCYC will be working closely with various

authorities to ensure these changes happen. Ultimately, club members

will also need to pledge their support to the Blue Flag ethos.

With continued support from the city, and their members, these

three marinas will now work toward complying with the criteria set by

Blue Flag International and then apply for full status. RCYC looks

forward to being able to proudly fl y this fl ag.

The second green project RCYC has become part of is the

Sustainable Seas Trust, or SST. This international programme was

initiated by a South African, and aims to protect the marine environment

and the people who use and enjoy the oceans. Ensuring our sea is

vibrant, healthy and productive is non-negotiable.

The club will share news on these initiatives via the noticeboards,

website and newsletters.

CLear green COnSCienCeRoyal Cape has joined two eco initiatives in a move to keep our sailing waters as inviting as ever

1 Refi ll your water bottles at the club’s watering points. Even better, get your crew some

stainless steel water bottles branded with your boat’s name.

2 Look for solar powered lights and batteries to use on board. The Green Shop stocks a range of

eco-friendly batteries, lights, inverters and panels. www.thegreenshop.co.zaGR

EEN

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6 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

All the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s news

SET SAIL

In a fi rst for South Africa, Cape Town has taken up the challenge

of achieving the highly respected Blue Flag status for its

marinas. RCYC, False Bay Yacht Club and Granger Bay Water

Club have joined forces with the City of Cape Town to ensure

cleaner water and greener facilities.

The Blue Flag programme works towards sustainable development

of beaches and marinas. It’s a voluntary eco-label awarded internation-

ally and seeks to bring together the environmental, economic and

tourism sectors. Indeed, being awarded Blue Flag status is a tourism

drawcard as it signifi es an unpolluted area with high standards of water

quality, safety and environmental management.

“Royal Cape believes in what the Blue Flag programme is striving

to do, we are committed to minimising our impact on the environment,”

says RCYC club manager Marcus Reuter. “However, with the uncertain

tenure at our premises, there are a few requirements that demand

substantial fi nancial investment and will consequently hamper our

efforts in achieving all Blue Flag criteria in the immediate future.”

There are some surprising fi nancial benefi ts to meeting the Blue

Flag criteria though. “The club has recently had its energy consumption

audited and has been advised that, with Eskom’s incentives, a R90 000

investment will give a full return as well as saving two-thirds of its

electricity costs within two years,” says Marcus.

Some of the achievable requirements include decreasing the club’s

carbon footprint through steps such as swapping incandescent bulbs for

light-emitting diodes, or LEDs; waste separation and recycling; and water-

wise ablution facilities. But even these seemingly simple changes are not

without their challenges and RCYC will be working closely with various

authorities to ensure these changes happen. Ultimately, club members

will also need to pledge their support to the Blue Flag ethos.

With continued support from the city, and their members, these

three marinas will now work toward complying with the criteria set by

Blue Flag International and then apply for full status. RCYC looks

forward to being able to proudly fl y this fl ag.

The second green project RCYC has become part of is the

Sustainable Seas Trust, or SST. This international programme was

initiated by a South African, and aims to protect the marine environment

and the people who use and enjoy the oceans. Ensuring our sea is

vibrant, healthy and productive is non-negotiable.

The club will share news on these initiatives via the noticeboards,

website and newsletters.

CLear green COnSCienCeRoyal Cape has joined two eco initiatives in a move to keep our sailing waters as inviting as ever

1 Refi ll your water bottles at the club’s watering points. Even better, get your crew some

stainless steel water bottles branded with your boat’s name.

2 Look for solar powered lights and batteries to use on board. The Green Shop stocks a range of

eco-friendly batteries, lights, inverters and panels. www.thegreenshop.co.zaGR

EEN

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7

S a I Lr c y cN E w S & V I E w S

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

eCO CreDenTiaLSRCYC committee members share their environmen-tally conscious sailing moments and ideas:

John Martin, Commodore “During my solo-sailing days, I always kept the plastic for disposal

onshore, so on one such race, it was just me and 47 day’s worth of

plastic rubbish onboard!”

Mike Peper, Vice Commodore “I play my part in preserving our sailing waters by doing all the normal

things like eco-friendly anti-fouling paint and taking rubbish ashore. I

also have a solar panel on my boat to charge batteries. But the most

important thing is ensuring that we don’t collide with other boats while

out racing as this leaves a tangled mess of glass fi bre, paint and

stainless steel on the ocean bed.”

Vitor Medina, Rear Commodore Inside House “It was during the 96 Cape to Rio race aboard my Miura Far Med that

we noticed vast amounts of debris and rubbish fl oating in the water for

as far as the eye could see. Having completed well over 3 000nm in

beautiful crystal clear ocean water, this proved to be the saddest sight

of our journey. Although already being eco-minded, this vision had a big

impact on me and nothing is ever thrown in the sea, whether it’s

bio-degradable or not.”

Tony Blackwell, Rear Commodore Outside House “Two things: the wind is free, so why start your engine; and never put

anything down the heads that you haven’t eaten.”

Hylton Hale, Rear Commodore sailing “The fact that we sail and do not use petrol guzzling power boats is

already making an environmentally friendly statement; however the

way I would improve on this is, most yacht engines run on diesel and

are generally quite robust, so I would use biodiesel to run the engine.”

Ray Matthews, Treasurer “For all those nasty smells emanating from your bilge or diesel spills,

sprinkle a bottle of vanilla essence in the bilge or over the spill and soon

it will be fresh as a daisy.”

Brian Gardener, General Committee “Obviously we bring our rubbish ashore and recycle it. But otherwise we

avoid using the heads at all and generally only use a high-pressure hose

when cleaning the boat, so no nasty chemicals washing into the sea.”

Derek shuttleworth, General Committee “I run a biodiesel refi nery, guess what fuel I use in my boat?”

Gary sindler, General Committee “In the early Nineties when we raced the Transpac Race from Los

Angeles to Hawaii, we were educated about recycling – you were only

given an offi cial result on handing in your separated garbage bags at the

fi nish. From there we went to race in Asia and it was immediately clear

why recycling was such an important issue.”

Trevor spilhaus, General Committee “My tip: Avoid using the heads (which contain chemicals), but if you

must, use recycled toilet paper.”

Kirsten Veenstra, General Committee “For me, it’s about basics. Always take your rubbish ashore – throwing

plastic, tin, glass, and anything besides plant and vegetable matter in

the water is a real no-no. As are chemicals or pollutants in our seas.”

Polla Wasserfall, General Committee

“We bring all our rubbish ashore, and separate and recycle it.”

3 Use green cleaning products on your boat to avoid adding pollutants to the sea. Pick n Pay and

Woolworths’ green ranges are internationally certifi ed eco-friendly, affordable and easy to fi nd.

FAST FACT South Africa was the fi rst country outside Europe to win Blue Flag accreditation for its beaches. We currently have 27 Blue Flag beaches, with six of these being in Cape Town.

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a8

TrUe COLOUrSIn a courageous Olympic campaign, two Capetonians emerge victorious. By Charles NankinRoyal Cape Yacht Club members Asenathi Jim, 20, and skipper Roger

Hudson, 34, have secured a spot for South Africa in the 2012 Olympic

Games with some exceptionally tough racing at the recent World

Championships in Barcelona.

This performance by the team from RaceAhead team, added to

their four-year run at the top of the international Laser SB3 fl eet, shows

a steady stream of world-class performances and dedication in the face

of insurmountable odds, not the least of which being the huge fi nancial

layout, which for many other teams is covered by their governments,

corporate sponsors or the national lottery.

On hearing their much-anticipated results, Asenathi said: “I would

like to thank RaceAhead for the great light that it has brought to my life;

my teammate Roger Hudson for coaching me all the way, and for what

he has done to make this campaign possible; and Dave Hudson, our ‘Old

Man’, who has been with us through all the storms and sunny days.”

Skipper Roger Hudson will follow his father Dave’s example by

competing in the Olympics exactly 20 years after he helmed a Flying

Dutchman in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Asenathi will become the second black African ever to compete at

the Olympics in the sport of yachting. He is also the fi rst Xhosa person

to compete in the yachting discipline, and only the fourth Xhosa to

compete in the Olympics fullstop. Probably even more impressive than

this is the fact that Asenathi did not come from a background that

showed any relation to the sport.

This qualifi cation may also have the record of being the shortest

470 campaign ever – the boys only having stepped foot on a 470 well

into the second half of the Olympic cycle!

JOin UP!Want to become a member of

RCYC, or need to renew you membership? Simply download

the membership form on our website www.rcyc.co.za. Fees

range from R172 to R3 694 annually, depending on your

membership type.

SLeeKer naVigaTiOnHere’s a sneak peek of RCYC’s new website, which promises easier access to all the news and information you’re after. Keep your eyes on the site for event and club announcements, weather updates, member profi les and restaurant specials.

60 to 70 Geoff Grylls Corum70 to 80 (and overall winner) Phil Gutsche Windpower80 to 90 Bill O’ Reilly Windhover90 to 100 Gijs van Harten Lobelia100 and over Hein Schipper CarouselThe oldest average crew, with an average age of 78 years was Ted

Kuttel and the Spilhaus III crew.

Results

anCienT MarinerThis year’s senior’s Race attracted the attention of the Guinness Book of Records. By alex Petersen

Centenarian Hein Schipper started a whole new class in the 2012

Senior’s Race – the 100-plus age-group category – and possibly earned

himself a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest

active sailor.

Previously sailors have raced in classes according to decades,

starting from 60-plus and going up to 90-plus. But this year the fl eet

of 60 yachts included a 100-year-old competitor helming Carousel. Hein, who emigrated to South Africa from Holland before World War II,

said: “We had a great sail. It was fantastic to see such a strong fl eet,

and to have such a good breeze.

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w w w. r c y c . c o . z a8

TrUe COLOUrSIn a courageous Olympic campaign, two Capetonians emerge victorious. By Charles NankinRoyal Cape Yacht Club members Asenathi Jim, 20, and skipper Roger

Hudson, 34, have secured a spot for South Africa in the 2012 Olympic

Games with some exceptionally tough racing at the recent World

Championships in Barcelona.

This performance by the team from RaceAhead team, added to

their four-year run at the top of the international Laser SB3 fl eet, shows

a steady stream of world-class performances and dedication in the face

of insurmountable odds, not the least of which being the huge fi nancial

layout, which for many other teams is covered by their governments,

corporate sponsors or the national lottery.

On hearing their much-anticipated results, Asenathi said: “I would

like to thank RaceAhead for the great light that it has brought to my life;

my teammate Roger Hudson for coaching me all the way, and for what

he has done to make this campaign possible; and Dave Hudson, our ‘Old

Man’, who has been with us through all the storms and sunny days.”

Skipper Roger Hudson will follow his father Dave’s example by

competing in the Olympics exactly 20 years after he helmed a Flying

Dutchman in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Asenathi will become the second black African ever to compete at

the Olympics in the sport of yachting. He is also the fi rst Xhosa person

to compete in the yachting discipline, and only the fourth Xhosa to

compete in the Olympics fullstop. Probably even more impressive than

this is the fact that Asenathi did not come from a background that

showed any relation to the sport.

This qualifi cation may also have the record of being the shortest

470 campaign ever – the boys only having stepped foot on a 470 well

into the second half of the Olympic cycle!

JOin UP!Want to become a member of

RCYC, or need to renew you membership? Simply download

the membership form on our website www.rcyc.co.za. Fees

range from R172 to R3 694 annually, depending on your

membership type.

SLeeKer naVigaTiOnHere’s a sneak peek of RCYC’s new website, which promises easier access to all the news and information you’re after. Keep your eyes on the site for event and club announcements, weather updates, member profi les and restaurant specials.

60 to 70 Geoff Grylls Corum70 to 80 (and overall winner) Phil Gutsche Windpower80 to 90 Bill O’ Reilly Windhover90 to 100 Gijs van Harten Lobelia100 and over Hein Schipper CarouselThe oldest average crew, with an average age of 78 years was Ted

Kuttel and the Spilhaus III crew.

Results

anCienT MarinerThis year’s senior’s Race attracted the attention of the Guinness Book of Records. By alex Petersen

Centenarian Hein Schipper started a whole new class in the 2012

Senior’s Race – the 100-plus age-group category – and possibly earned

himself a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest

active sailor.

Previously sailors have raced in classes according to decades,

starting from 60-plus and going up to 90-plus. But this year the fl eet

of 60 yachts included a 100-year-old competitor helming Carousel. Hein, who emigrated to South Africa from Holland before World War II,

said: “We had a great sail. It was fantastic to see such a strong fl eet,

and to have such a good breeze.

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9



Hosted by Royal Cape Yacht Club, the ninth annual Lion of Africa Ladies

Day Race boasted 18 entries, bringing together most of the Cape’s top

women sailors.

IRC racing at RCYC boasts some well-known women skippers who

skipper their own boats and give the guys at the club a run for their

money on the racecourse. There are also a number of very experienced

women sailors who own their own keelboats and often do not skipper,

many of whom are very active on the dinghy and Hobie Cat sailing

circuits. It was great to see so many of these women competing

– including Olympic sailor Dominique Provoyeur, fellow Olympian Penny

Alison, and former-ISAF Hobie Cat World champ Inge Schabort; as

well as all the women who sail extensively, who have a wealth of sailing

and seamanship knowledge.

Racing for the day was close, but in the end it was Dominique and

her crew on Docksafe who took the trophy in the spinnaker division and

Heidi Kavanagh and her team on Ray of Light in the non-spinnaker

division. Lion of Africa have promised to be back next season to sponsor

their tenth Ladies Day Race in a row. The challenge, it seems, is to get

all these women out on the water as teams more often at our regattas

– that would be fi rst prize!

WHere TO neXT? Our pick of navigation apps. By William Crockett

World Tides 2012

This app is fantastic for

any serious cruiser or

racer. World Tides allows

the user to view global

tides, as well as the moon

phase, moon rise and set,

and sun rise and set.

Windguru

The popular wind website

now has an app. This

allows you access to

seven-day forecasts for

free, and to select your

favourites for quick access

to these locations.

Windspeed This exciting app turns

your iPhone into an

anemometer. Using

vibrations on the micro-

phone, you can read the

windspeed in multiple

different measures.

iRegatta

iRegatta turns your iPad

into a super-handy tactical

navigation programme. It

can read instrument data

broadcast over Wi-Fi,

which is then input into

your iPad.

Navionics

Navionics is the well

known electronic chart

company. An iPad “app”

has been released where

you can download these

charts and use your iPad

as a chartplotter.

girL POWerThe Lion of africa Ladies Day Race is the only ladies regatta on the south african sailing calendar. By Kirsten Veenstra Spinnaker Class

1st Docksafe Dominique Provoyeur

2nd Lapwing Jennifer Burger

3rd Lobelia Judy Provoyeur

4th Puma Unleashed Penny Alison & Inge Schabort

5th Hillbilly Diana Hutton-Squire

6th Impact Jackie Brand

7th Majimoto II Trish Monagan

Non-Spinnaker Class1st Ray of Light Heidi Kavanagh

2nd Necessity Carol Booth

3rd Thunderchild Janet Cotton

4th Iechyd Da Betty Brown

5th Carousel Margaret Jones

6th Tui Marine Tracy Whitehead

7th Gremlin Eva Versveld

8th FTI Flyer Martina Schmidt

9th Isla Elske Hendersen

10th Storm Wendy Gridleston

11th JML 1 TBA

Results

RACEAHEAD by Dave HudsonOver the past year RaceAhead has continued pursuing their goal of

seeing talented young South African sailors realise their potential on

the world stage. Locally, skills development clinics were run in Laser

SB3s, 420s and a 470.

On the international front, RaceAhead teams have represented

South Africa and RCYC in over 20 major international events around the

world since March 2011. These include the Laser SB3 World Champion-

ships in the UK, where Asenathi Jim, Wadi Xayimpi, Marlon Jones and

Roger Hudson finished seventh in a fleet of 103, having convincingly

won the Torquay Open, the “curtain raiser” to the Worlds.

A most interesting and unusual event for RaceAhead was an

invitation to the 11 Meter International Championships in Norway. Gerry

Hegie and KwaZulu-Natal’s Rudy McNeill teamed up with Asenathi,

Wadi and Roger, achieving sixth place overall. They finished strongly

with a second and first on the last day, to loud cheers from Beryl Sisulu,

South Africa’s ambassador in Oslo.

A major focus has been on building the RaceAhead Olympic 470

campaign. And RaceAhead is thrilled to announce that the guys have

made South Africa’s Olympic team. With Roger as mentor, coach and

team-mate, the goal is to aid 20-year-old Asenathi up the incredibly

steep learning curve from youth sailing into the professional and

brutally competitive world of Olympic racing. (See page 50 for more

details on what these sailors have been up to overseas.)

Thanks to generous donations of time, money and resources, the

RaceAhead Foundation has been able to provide talented young sailors,

many from underprivileged backgrounds, with opportunities to train and

race with some of South Africa’s most experienced yachtsmen, and

against many of the best sailors in the world. www.raceahead.co.za

IZIVUNGUVUNGU by Koos LouwLast year Izivunguvungu Sailing School suffered a traumatic start with

the loss of their entry on its return from Rio de Janeiro after the Cape

to Rio Race. Fortunately the rest of the year was a success.

Asenathi Jim is doing incredibly well under the wing of RCYC’s

Dave Hudson and RaceAhead in their overseas campaigns. He has just

made the Olympic team and was nominated for the Sportsman of the

Year award for Western Province. Wandisile “Wadi” Xayimpi excelled as

an ambassador for Izivunguvungu as part of RCYC’s team at the New

York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. He is now a junior coach at the school.

Izivungu teams participated in all major dinghy events throughout

the country. There are now 130 young people being trained on a regular

basis at the school’s facilities in Simon’s Town.

MSC has returned to being the backbone sponsor of the project.

This and other developments mean Izivunguvungu is well placed

financially for its eleventh year of developing 600 underprivileged

children. Without the support of sponsors MSC, SA Navy, RCYC, Pirelli

and others, these children would not be able to reach the heights that

they are achieving. www.izivungu.co.za

Learning THe rOPeSThe Royal Cape Yacht Club is actively involved in taking sailing to the people through three highly successful development initiatives

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RACEAHEAD by Dave HudsonOver the past year RaceAhead has continued pursuing their goal of

seeing talented young South African sailors realise their potential on

the world stage. Locally, skills development clinics were run in Laser

SB3s, 420s and a 470.

On the international front, RaceAhead teams have represented

South Africa and RCYC in over 20 major international events around the

world since March 2011. These include the Laser SB3 World Champion-

ships in the UK, where Asenathi Jim, Wadi Xayimpi, Marlon Jones and

Roger Hudson finished seventh in a fleet of 103, having convincingly

won the Torquay Open, the “curtain raiser” to the Worlds.

A most interesting and unusual event for RaceAhead was an

invitation to the 11 Meter International Championships in Norway. Gerry

Hegie and KwaZulu-Natal’s Rudy McNeill teamed up with Asenathi,

Wadi and Roger, achieving sixth place overall. They finished strongly

with a second and first on the last day, to loud cheers from Beryl Sisulu,

South Africa’s ambassador in Oslo.

A major focus has been on building the RaceAhead Olympic 470

campaign. And RaceAhead is thrilled to announce that the guys have

made South Africa’s Olympic team. With Roger as mentor, coach and

team-mate, the goal is to aid 20-year-old Asenathi up the incredibly

steep learning curve from youth sailing into the professional and

brutally competitive world of Olympic racing. (See page 50 for more

details on what these sailors have been up to overseas.)

Thanks to generous donations of time, money and resources, the

RaceAhead Foundation has been able to provide talented young sailors,

many from underprivileged backgrounds, with opportunities to train and

race with some of South Africa’s most experienced yachtsmen, and

against many of the best sailors in the world. www.raceahead.co.za

IZIVUNGUVUNGU by Koos LouwLast year Izivunguvungu Sailing School suffered a traumatic start with

the loss of their entry on its return from Rio de Janeiro after the Cape

to Rio Race. Fortunately the rest of the year was a success.

Asenathi Jim is doing incredibly well under the wing of RCYC’s

Dave Hudson and RaceAhead in their overseas campaigns. He has just

made the Olympic team and was nominated for the Sportsman of the

Year award for Western Province. Wandisile “Wadi” Xayimpi excelled as

an ambassador for Izivunguvungu as part of RCYC’s team at the New

York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. He is now a junior coach at the school.

Izivungu teams participated in all major dinghy events throughout

the country. There are now 130 young people being trained on a regular

basis at the school’s facilities in Simon’s Town.

MSC has returned to being the backbone sponsor of the project.

This and other developments mean Izivunguvungu is well placed

financially for its eleventh year of developing 600 underprivileged

children. Without the support of sponsors MSC, SA Navy, RCYC, Pirelli

and others, these children would not be able to reach the heights that

they are achieving. www.izivungu.co.za

Learning THe rOPeSThe Royal Cape Yacht Club is actively involved in taking sailing to the people through three highly successful development initiatives

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SAILPRO by Penny Alison and Nic BaigrieSailPro changed ownership in October 2011, with Markus Progli and

Andrea Giovannini handing over the reigns to Penny Alison and Nic

Baigrie. SailPro’s high school sailing programme is now running at full

capacity, with over 70 students from five local schools – Bishops, SACS,

Westerford, Wynberg and Plumstead.

Graduates of the 2011 course have gone on to compete in the 420

dinghy nationals as well as the Mykonos Offshore Regatta and RCYC’s

Wednesday night series. RCYC’s continued support of development

sailing has allowed SailPro to include 21 previously disadvantaged

students in the programme.

SailPro’s 2011/2012 summer season was action-packed, with

various well-attended initiatives, including weekly training sessions

during the school term and additional events during the season. Bishops

kicked off the season with their annual Grade 10 camp, where 120

pupils were taught basic seamanship and sailing skills.

As part of the Volvo Ocean Race Cape Town stopover, SailPro ran

the successful Volvo Try Sail initiative based at the V&A Waterfront.

This was a drive to get school kids and members of the public out on

the water on 18ft Ludic dinghies, giving them their first taste of sailing.

The season continued with the 10-day International Laser Clinic,

with South Africa’s most talented youth Laser sailors training alongside

the top-ranked Swiss Laser youth, Cyrill Knecht.

Finally, the season culminated with a highly competitive Inter-

schools Team-Racing Regatta, with a record 11 teams from seven

schools competing – a clear indication of the success of the SailPro

programme. The final was nailbiting, and saw Bishops, the five-time

champions, dethroned by a young and talented Westerford team.

www.sailpro.org.za


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S a I Lr c y c

Local 14 Mykonos Offshore Race 17 Pacer Nationals18 Crocs Summer Regatta20 Midsummer Fling Regatta22 Division 3 racing24 Lipton Cup26 Puma Twilight Series28 IRC racing32 The Cape boat-building

industry

International36 Volvo Ocean Race42 Global Ocean Race46 New York Yacht Club Invitational Regatta50 Royal Capers abroad

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Feel it, live it


With its thrilling sea and weather conditions, not to mention breath-taking scenery, it’s no surprise that Table Bay plays host to numerous international yacht races, and is the playground of choice for local sailors

L o c a L & I N T E r N a T I o N a L

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Known as the largest keelboat event in South Africa, the

Mykonos Offshore regatta certainly lived up to expectations

with a fl eet of 97 yachts assembling on the start line for the

2012 event. Now in its twenty-second year, the regatta is a

favourite among the yachting fraternity and it’s fantastic that Club

Mykonos and the other regular sponsors continue to support the event.

The 2012 Mykonos Offshore had one major change in the format

from last year – all four races counted and there was no discard. The

start was divided into two starts with the smaller Division 2 and 3

yachts kicking off half an hour before the larger Division 1 yachts and

sport multihulls.

The fi rst start went well for the smaller boats with a consistent

wind on the start line to the fi rst mark off Paarden Eiland. However the

same could not be said for the larger yachts, who faced a frustrating

start due to the southeaster backing off parts of the start line, leaving

skippers and crews stranded in breathless conditions with a strong

southeaster mere metres away. Eventually all the fl eet managed to

round Paarden Eiland and head for the gate off Dassen Island and then

onto the fi nish at Club Mykonos harbour.

It was an interesting race for my crew and I. Having recently sold

my racy Pacer 42, Unleashed, we had borrowed Bally Hoo Too.

We were one of those yachts that managed to get stuck on the

start line, sandwiched nicely between Corum and Ray of Light. Our

tactician Andrea Giovannini called the position on the start line for

middle to weather, unfortunately as we worked our way there, the wind

died off and all the boats to lee of us still had the remains of the

southeaster on the line. Unbelievably, once we had started, the

spinnaker was needed and, heading in the same direction as us, were

all the leeward starters beating upwind with all the crew on the rail.

Eventually we got through the convergence zone between the south

west and south east and started our trek towards the Paarden Eiland

mark, albeit in the bottom quarter of the fl eet. Once around Paarden

Eiland, with the front runners in the distance, Andrea decided that our

best chance to catch up was to sail as close as possible to the surf line,

gybing out when we only had a few metres under the keel and then

gybing in as soon as we felt the colder south-westerly or the wind

clocked slightly right. We continued this tactic all the way down the

West Coast until we were happy with our transit to the gate, which was

about a mile off the northern part of Dassen Island. The crew’s gloom

from the start quickly lifted: our tactics had taken us right around the

whole fl eet, apart from the bigger yachts such as Cape Fling, Wind-power, the trimaran and the lonely Division 2 yacht Freedom, who was

sailing a superb race. We found ourselves in sixth position for line

honours and top three on handicap. The sail from Dassen to South Head

was an absolute jol, especially on the Mumm 36 – at a consistent 12

knots she surfed beautifully, reaching top speeds of 17 knots. Once

through South Head, the timing on dropping the kite was critical, many

yachtsmen have come short in the last sprint from Jutten Island to the

fi nish line with some dramatic spinouts. Once around Elandspunt, just

south east of Jutten Island, the wind more than often freshens and

there is a wild ride for the last 3.5 miles to the fi nish.

We had really recovered well after the mess of the start and were

thrilled with the third in the IRC Division for the three races and sixth

boat over the line. The line honours went to Irvine Laidlaw’s Cape Fling,

which fi nished the 65 miles in just under six hours, with Kevin Webb’s

Farrier Tri fi nishing second over the line in six-and-a-half hours. The

Cape Town to Club Mykonos sprint was all done before 8.30pm with the

last boat, Shandy, crossing the line at 8.23pm.

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There’s nothing better than fl ying downwind in the invigorating Mykonos Offshore Regatta. By Hylton Hale

King of the coast

w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A1 4

Known as the largest keelboat event in South Africa, the

Mykonos Offshore regatta certainly lived up to expectations

with a fl eet of 97 yachts assembling on the start line for the

2012 event. Now in its twenty-second year, the regatta is a

favourite among the yachting fraternity and it’s fantastic that Club

Mykonos and the other regular sponsors continue to support the event.

The 2012 Mykonos Offshore had one major change in the format

from last year – all four races counted and there was no discard. The

start was divided into two starts with the smaller Division 2 and 3

yachts kicking off half an hour before the larger Division 1 yachts and

sport multihulls.

The fi rst start went well for the smaller boats with a consistent

wind on the start line to the fi rst mark off Paarden Eiland. However the

same could not be said for the larger yachts, who faced a frustrating

start due to the southeaster backing off parts of the start line, leaving

skippers and crews stranded in breathless conditions with a strong

southeaster mere metres away. Eventually all the fl eet managed to

round Paarden Eiland and head for the gate off Dassen Island and then

onto the fi nish at Club Mykonos harbour.

It was an interesting race for my crew and I. Having recently sold

my racy Pacer 42, Unleashed, we had borrowed Bally Hoo Too.

We were one of those yachts that managed to get stuck on the

start line, sandwiched nicely between Corum and Ray of Light. Our

tactician Andrea Giovannini called the position on the start line for

middle to weather, unfortunately as we worked our way there, the wind

died off and all the boats to lee of us still had the remains of the

southeaster on the line. Unbelievably, once we had started, the

spinnaker was needed and, heading in the same direction as us, were

all the leeward starters beating upwind with all the crew on the rail.

Eventually we got through the convergence zone between the south

west and south east and started our trek towards the Paarden Eiland

mark, albeit in the bottom quarter of the fl eet. Once around Paarden

Eiland, with the front runners in the distance, Andrea decided that our

best chance to catch up was to sail as close as possible to the surf line,

gybing out when we only had a few metres under the keel and then

gybing in as soon as we felt the colder south-westerly or the wind

clocked slightly right. We continued this tactic all the way down the

West Coast until we were happy with our transit to the gate, which was

about a mile off the northern part of Dassen Island. The crew’s gloom

from the start quickly lifted: our tactics had taken us right around the

whole fl eet, apart from the bigger yachts such as Cape Fling, Wind-power, the trimaran and the lonely Division 2 yacht Freedom, who was

sailing a superb race. We found ourselves in sixth position for line

honours and top three on handicap. The sail from Dassen to South Head

was an absolute jol, especially on the Mumm 36 – at a consistent 12

knots she surfed beautifully, reaching top speeds of 17 knots. Once

through South Head, the timing on dropping the kite was critical, many

yachtsmen have come short in the last sprint from Jutten Island to the

fi nish line with some dramatic spinouts. Once around Elandspunt, just

south east of Jutten Island, the wind more than often freshens and

there is a wild ride for the last 3.5 miles to the fi nish.

We had really recovered well after the mess of the start and were

thrilled with the third in the IRC Division for the three races and sixth

boat over the line. The line honours went to Irvine Laidlaw’s Cape Fling,

which fi nished the 65 miles in just under six hours, with Kevin Webb’s

Farrier Tri fi nishing second over the line in six-and-a-half hours. The

Cape Town to Club Mykonos sprint was all done before 8.30pm with the

last boat, Shandy, crossing the line at 8.23pm.

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There’s nothing better than fl ying downwind in the invigorating Mykonos Offshore Regatta. By Hylton Hale

King of the coast

S A I LR C Y C

w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A 1 5

S A I LR C Y CL o C A L

Top: Boats flying down to Club Mykonos for the finish.Left: Cape Fling setting the pace.Below: Sailors were welcomed into port by the Club Mykonos girls.

1 6 w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

L o C A LS A I L

R C Y C

We were all greeted with bikini-clad girls carrying bottles

of champagne for the battle weary, thirsty crews. What an end to

a fantastic day under the West Coast sun doing what we like best:

sailing downwind.

Saturday dawned bright and windless for the pursuit race, with the

promise of a southeaster. The course was a race around the Langebaan

lagoon and Saldahna Bay. The lowest handicapped yacht (slowest) set

off first and then as the handicaps went up so the boats started, with

the highest handicapped yacht, Cape Fling, leaving last. On cue, the

southeaster picked up, providing the sailors with a memorable day on

the water with the multihull Isla claiming the honours for the race with

competitive A-L in second place. The excitement of the races was

enhanced by the helicopter swooping in low to get TV shots for the

Mnet Supersport production featured on their various channels.

The Mykonos Offshore ended with a prizegiving ceremony and

party at the Mykonos Terrace, the winners received some fantastic

prizes from a free Moorings Holiday in the Seychelles to a Garmin

GPS. This year the Mykonos Offshore was dominated by the sports

boats with five of them taking podium finishes. These yachts are

normally heavily handicapped in normal round-the-cans racing and

this time got their opportunity to shine in the downhill sprint this race

normally produces.

IRC – 16 entries1st Cape Fling (Corby 49) Irvine Laidlaw

2nd A-L (Farr 38) Robbie van Rooyen

3rd Windpower (Landmark 43) Phil Gutsche/Rick Nankin

Division 1 Club Handicap – 24 Entries1st Felix the Cat (Pacer 27) Allan Lawrence

2nd Unruly (Pacer 27) Richard Tanner

3rd Sebago Music (Pacer 27) Rob de Vlieg

Division 2 Club Handicap – 25 Entries1st Always Well (First 7.5) Ralph Thomas

2nd Numero Uno (Lutra 22) Leo Davis

3rd Freedom (Farr 38) CP van der Merwe

Division 3 Club Handicap – 21 Entries1st Far Med (Miura) Vitor Medina

2nd Reaction (RCOD) Marthinus Groenewald

3rd Team Escape – EKO Energy (L26) Rodney Tanner

Multihull – 5 Entries1st Isla Ian Henderson

Results

Top: Corum sailing towards Saldanha.Above: The start proved tricky as the southeaster hadn’t filled in yet.Below: Windpower leads the fleet to the Milnerton mark.

1 6 w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

L o C A LS A I L

R C Y C

We were all greeted with bikini-clad girls carrying bottles

of champagne for the battle weary, thirsty crews. What an end to

a fantastic day under the West Coast sun doing what we like best:

sailing downwind.

Saturday dawned bright and windless for the pursuit race, with the

promise of a southeaster. The course was a race around the Langebaan

lagoon and Saldahna Bay. The lowest handicapped yacht (slowest) set

off first and then as the handicaps went up so the boats started, with

the highest handicapped yacht, Cape Fling, leaving last. On cue, the

southeaster picked up, providing the sailors with a memorable day on

the water with the multihull Isla claiming the honours for the race with

competitive A-L in second place. The excitement of the races was

enhanced by the helicopter swooping in low to get TV shots for the

Mnet Supersport production featured on their various channels.

The Mykonos Offshore ended with a prizegiving ceremony and

party at the Mykonos Terrace, the winners received some fantastic

prizes from a free Moorings Holiday in the Seychelles to a Garmin

GPS. This year the Mykonos Offshore was dominated by the sports

boats with five of them taking podium finishes. These yachts are

normally heavily handicapped in normal round-the-cans racing and

this time got their opportunity to shine in the downhill sprint this race

normally produces.

IRC – 16 entries1st Cape Fling (Corby 49) Irvine Laidlaw

2nd A-L (Farr 38) Robbie van Rooyen

3rd Windpower (Landmark 43) Phil Gutsche/Rick Nankin

Division 1 Club Handicap – 24 Entries1st Felix the Cat (Pacer 27) Allan Lawrence

2nd Unruly (Pacer 27) Richard Tanner

3rd Sebago Music (Pacer 27) Rob de Vlieg

Division 2 Club Handicap – 25 Entries1st Always Well (First 7.5) Ralph Thomas

2nd Numero Uno (Lutra 22) Leo Davis

3rd Freedom (Farr 38) CP van der Merwe

Division 3 Club Handicap – 21 Entries1st Far Med (Miura) Vitor Medina

2nd Reaction (RCOD) Marthinus Groenewald

3rd Team Escape – EKO Energy (L26) Rodney Tanner

Multihull – 5 Entries1st Isla Ian Henderson

Results

Top: Corum sailing towards Saldanha.Above: The start proved tricky as the southeaster hadn’t filled in yet.Below: Windpower leads the fleet to the Milnerton mark.

1 7W W W. R C Y C . C O . Z A

S A I LR C Y CL O C A L

By now most people know about the Pacer 27 Sport. It’s that

small, lightweight boat that goes tearing through the fl eet at

breakneck speeds downwind; the boat where the crew seems

to have a perpetual grin from ear to ear; the boat that

represents the epitome of fun on the water.

By defi nition a sports boat will typically be under 32ft in length;

have a fl at triangular hull shape; be lightweight; have slender foils; have

a tall, powerful rig and boast large masthead asymmetrical spinnakers

and roller furling headsails for ease of handling and safety. But in spite

of the many obvious advantages of having a boat that can handle the

heavy coastal breeze; costs a fraction of a 40-footer, but does the same

speed and more; is trailerable and easy to rig without a crane – there

has still not been an explosion in sales with approximately fi fteen boats

currently actively racing.

While the class seems to attract top-end sailors, a sports boat has

the reputation of being a thoroughbred racehorse that requires an

experienced crew to tame it. This may have put potential owners off.

However, nothing could be further from the truth as the boats are

beautiful to helm with a featherlight helm in all conditions.

Several boats sailing in and around Cape Town in very heavy

weather conditions, have demonstrated that the boat is strong and

robust. The Pacer’s real thrill comes when the asymmetric goes up at

the weather mark and the boat jumps onto the plane, usually generating

speeds between 12 and 20 knots. The highest known speed achieved to

date was set by Rick Nankin at 24.5 knots. And therein lies the buzz.

Rule makers worldwide have been scratching heads for the past decade,

unable to come up with an equitable rating.

When the Pacer 27 was fi rst registered with the IRC offi ce in

London as a one-design class, a rating of 1.032 was generated. Over

the past three years, the IRC offi ce has recalculated the rating each

year and it now stands at a staggering 1.054 – the equivalent of a 40ft

modern IRC racer. No explanation for the rating increase was offered

by the IRC offi ce.

Sports boats are so designed to sail downwind at optimal VMG

angles. For those who are unfamiliar with the terminology, it basically

means a sports boat cannot sail dead down wind (DDW), so one would

typically see a sports boat sailing tighter reaching angles on a wind-

ward/leeward course and having to put several gybes in. While they will

be sailing faster than a conventionally rigged boat with a symmetrical

spinnaker, they will be sailing a greater distance. These factors equal

things out and one would typically see a 27ft sports boat and a 40ft

IRC boat covering a downwind leg on equal terms. Upwind the

40-footer with a big keel and greater waterline length will have the

sports boat for breakfast. In short, a sports boat cannot beat its rating

equivalent 40-footer on a conventional windward/leeward course.

Typically, even the best sailed sporties will end up, at best, mid

fl eet in the results table. But as soon as a triangular component is

introduced to the course, the sports boats will typically perform much

better. Give them a reaching or mainly downwind course, like the

Mykonos Offshore, and suddenly they perform well beyond their rating.

In the 2012 Mykonos Offshore, the seven Pacer 27s entered took

up the fi rst seven positions in the Club Division 1 fl eet, and have done so

for the last three years. This causes some frustration among the other

Division 1 boats, as they deem the Pacer 27 to have an unfair advantage

and there is presently a move to have the Pacers in their own sports

boat class to even things out – similar to the multi-hulls.

Three years ago, the Pacer 27 Class Association decided to run

their National Championships within the organisational structure of the

Mykonos Offshore, by adding two days of round-the-cans racing in Table

Bay ahead of the main event. The inaugural event proved so popular

with owners that it has remained in the Cape since then, providing

crews from around the country with the prospect of a scintillating

six-hour downwind blast from Table Bay to Saldanha Bay – an annual

opportunity for the Pacers to shine.

When the IRC offi ce in London moved the boat’s rating literally off

the scale, it left owners with no option but to abandon the IRC rating

system in favour of the existing club rating. This effectively means that

the boats still have a reasonable chance of attaining podium fi nishes.

Sports boats are unique and the only truly viable option in terms of

rating them is to have a dedicated sports boat class. Until sports boats

catch on suffi ciently to reach critical mass in this country, the dilemma

will remain. In the USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the sports

boat phenomenon has caught on, with huge one-design fl eets compet-

ing. Some classes like the Melges 24 and the Melges 32 regularly

attract fl eets in excess of 100 boats. When the South African economy

improves, this trend will follow locally too.

� www.pacer27.co.za

LEADING THE WAYUnderstanding why Pacer 27s are taking the ailing out of sailing. By Trygve Roberts

1st Felix the Cat Allan Lawrence

2nd Unruly Richard Tanner

3rd Regent Express Trygve Roberts

Results

Trygve Roberts and crew on Regent Express.

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w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A1 8

At the Crocs Summer Regatta prizegiving, Commodore John

Martin said the event naturally recalled the glory days of the

premier regattas given this time slot during the Seventies,

Eighties and Nineties.

Learning from successful international events in other parts of the

world – such as Key West, Antigua and Cowes Week – the Crocs

Summer Regatta would feature top-class professional racing on the

water and a full entertainment programme for competitors to let rip

ashore. Post-race rafting up for fun events in the nearby V&A Water-

front, parties at the club and even offshore anchoring for lunch breaks

would remain part of the package.

Designed to incorporate the 16 December “Day of Reconciliation”

public holiday, the event features a compact format for three days of

non-stop racing. And conditions in December 2011 couldn’t have been

more perfect, with successive hot, sunny days and moderate winds from

the west.

A strong 42-boat fl eet was on the start line for these champagne

sailing conditions and enjoying the competition were crews peppered by

former America’s Cup Team Shosholoza sailors, Olympic champions and

international competitors. Lord Irvine Laidlaw who campaigns the Corby

49 Cape Fling locally, fl ew in Shosholoza skipper Mark Sadler from

Palma as tactician. The bridge team run by John and Erica Spilhaus

(themselves members of Team Shosholoza’s shore crew in Valencia) also

made sure there were a range of different courses for the four classes:

IRC Class 1, IRC Class 2, Club Division Class 1 and Club Division 2.

The fi rst race day saw light south-westerly winds around Robben

Island. The course was a beat up to a weather mark with the island as

a wing mark. The IRC 1 boats stayed well clear of the island but the

smaller boats cut the corner to rock hop past the island’s Murray

Harbour and political prison (where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated

for 27 years), displaying much skill to avoid hitting rocks, reefs, wrecks,

sandbanks and hooking kelp.

The second day of racing came with exhilarating winds of 22 knots

for fast and furious round-the-buoy races. Things got a bit hectic when

the fl eet converged on Channel Marker Number One but it was a great

day on the water. After two days of sailing and four races, Corum and

Windpower were tied on points and a shoot-out was on the cards for the

two leading skippers Jannie Reuvers and Rick Nankin respectively for

the fi nal day of racing.

Post-race festivities were a highlight with the fl eet motoring in the

historic V&A Waterfront for a sunset party spiced up with an inter-class

dragon boat contest. Yachts rafted up at the shore base only just

vacated by New Zealand’s Volvo Ocean Race Team Camper and crews

enthusiastically manned or supported their respective class teams amid

much revelry. IRC 1 were the eventual Dragon Boat winners – but only

after IRC 2’s Cape to Rio Race champion Gerry Heggie bowed out after

breaking his paddle.

The fi nal day of racing arrived with beautiful moderate westerlies

– with the course set for just one beat and a run for each of the two

races. The resulting drag races saw Rick Nankin on Windpower fi nishing

the fi rst race ninth after hooking kelp on her keel but still managing to

trump Reuvers on Corum overall by nailing a win in the fi nal race.

Prizegiving was a lavish affair with Crocs merchandise for all

prizewinners. And to crown three fantastic days of sailing, the sponsors

announced that they’ll be back in December 2012 for a bigger and

better premier summer event.

IRC 1 – 9 entries1st Windpower (Landmark 43) Phil Gutsche/Rick Nankin

2nd Corum (Briand 43) Jan Reuvers

3rd Puma Unleashed (Pacer 42) Hylton Hale

IRC 2 – 8 entries1st A-L (Farr 38) Robbie van Rooyen

2nd DockSafe (Archambault 35) Alex Monat/Gerry Hegie

3rd Lobelia (IMX 40) Gordon Kling/Rob Meek

Division 1 – 9 entries1st Rockstar (Farr 38) Brian Gardener

2nd Numero Uno (K22) Greg Davis

3rd Regent Express (Pacer 27) Trygve Roberts

Division 2 – 18 entries1st Far Med (Miura) Vitor Medina

2nd Iechyd Da (Miura) Stefan Hundt

3rd Cabaray (Van der Stadt 34) Ray Mathews

Results

Riding the waveFair winds, summer holidays and festive season celebrations set the scene for Table Bay’s mid-December Crocs Summer Regatta. By Rob Meek

Top: Windpower looking formidable. Below: The crew of A-L celebrate their IRC 2 win with the impressive trophy.

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w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A1 8

At the Crocs Summer Regatta prizegiving, Commodore John

Martin said the event naturally recalled the glory days of the

premier regattas given this time slot during the Seventies,

Eighties and Nineties.

Learning from successful international events in other parts of the

world – such as Key West, Antigua and Cowes Week – the Crocs

Summer Regatta would feature top-class professional racing on the

water and a full entertainment programme for competitors to let rip

ashore. Post-race rafting up for fun events in the nearby V&A Water-

front, parties at the club and even offshore anchoring for lunch breaks

would remain part of the package.

Designed to incorporate the 16 December “Day of Reconciliation”

public holiday, the event features a compact format for three days of

non-stop racing. And conditions in December 2011 couldn’t have been

more perfect, with successive hot, sunny days and moderate winds from

the west.

A strong 42-boat fl eet was on the start line for these champagne

sailing conditions and enjoying the competition were crews peppered by

former America’s Cup Team Shosholoza sailors, Olympic champions and

international competitors. Lord Irvine Laidlaw who campaigns the Corby

49 Cape Fling locally, fl ew in Shosholoza skipper Mark Sadler from

Palma as tactician. The bridge team run by John and Erica Spilhaus

(themselves members of Team Shosholoza’s shore crew in Valencia) also

made sure there were a range of different courses for the four classes:

IRC Class 1, IRC Class 2, Club Division Class 1 and Club Division 2.

The fi rst race day saw light south-westerly winds around Robben

Island. The course was a beat up to a weather mark with the island as

a wing mark. The IRC 1 boats stayed well clear of the island but the

smaller boats cut the corner to rock hop past the island’s Murray

Harbour and political prison (where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated

for 27 years), displaying much skill to avoid hitting rocks, reefs, wrecks,

sandbanks and hooking kelp.

The second day of racing came with exhilarating winds of 22 knots

for fast and furious round-the-buoy races. Things got a bit hectic when

the fl eet converged on Channel Marker Number One but it was a great

day on the water. After two days of sailing and four races, Corum and

Windpower were tied on points and a shoot-out was on the cards for the

two leading skippers Jannie Reuvers and Rick Nankin respectively for

the fi nal day of racing.

Post-race festivities were a highlight with the fl eet motoring in the

historic V&A Waterfront for a sunset party spiced up with an inter-class

dragon boat contest. Yachts rafted up at the shore base only just

vacated by New Zealand’s Volvo Ocean Race Team Camper and crews

enthusiastically manned or supported their respective class teams amid

much revelry. IRC 1 were the eventual Dragon Boat winners – but only

after IRC 2’s Cape to Rio Race champion Gerry Heggie bowed out after

breaking his paddle.

The fi nal day of racing arrived with beautiful moderate westerlies

– with the course set for just one beat and a run for each of the two

races. The resulting drag races saw Rick Nankin on Windpower fi nishing

the fi rst race ninth after hooking kelp on her keel but still managing to

trump Reuvers on Corum overall by nailing a win in the fi nal race.

Prizegiving was a lavish affair with Crocs merchandise for all

prizewinners. And to crown three fantastic days of sailing, the sponsors

announced that they’ll be back in December 2012 for a bigger and

better premier summer event.

IRC 1 – 9 entries1st Windpower (Landmark 43) Phil Gutsche/Rick Nankin

2nd Corum (Briand 43) Jan Reuvers

3rd Puma Unleashed (Pacer 42) Hylton Hale

IRC 2 – 8 entries1st A-L (Farr 38) Robbie van Rooyen

2nd DockSafe (Archambault 35) Alex Monat/Gerry Hegie

3rd Lobelia (IMX 40) Gordon Kling/Rob Meek

Division 1 – 9 entries1st Rockstar (Farr 38) Brian Gardener

2nd Numero Uno (K22) Greg Davis

3rd Regent Express (Pacer 27) Trygve Roberts

Division 2 – 18 entries1st Far Med (Miura) Vitor Medina

2nd Iechyd Da (Miura) Stefan Hundt

3rd Cabaray (Van der Stadt 34) Ray Mathews

Results

Riding the waveFair winds, summer holidays and festive season celebrations set the scene for Table Bay’s mid-December Crocs Summer Regatta. By Rob Meek

Top: Windpower looking formidable. Below: The crew of A-L celebrate their IRC 2 win with the impressive trophy.

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1 9w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

IRC 1 By Windpower’s skipper Rick NankinCrocs was an interesting regatta for the IRC 1 boats as both Corum and Windpower had just undergone a few alterations. Corum had been cleverly optimised by adding weight, making her a faster boat with a better IRC rating. She looked quick in the flat seas and medium strong wind conditions.

On Windpower, we had also done some minor changes – increas-ing sail area with a large, roached mainsail, which pushed the light air potential up but also ramped up the rating. We were concerned about our ability to sail up to the new rating. But by Day 2 of the regatta, it was obvious it would indeed be between Corum and Windpower. We had a southwesterly down the shore off the Green Point/Granger Bay area – classic Table Bay conditions that have always made this date in mid-December some of the best regatta sailing ever. It was a close call right until the last race where, with a bit of luck and a lovely gust of wind, we managed to win the race by a few seconds. Phil Gutsche and the Windpower crew were relieved and elated!

IRC2By DockSafe’s owner Alexandre MonatBecause the big IRC 1 boats manage to retain most of the experi-enced sailors, it’s difficult in IRC2 to find a faithful, worthy core crew, or even better, to try regrouping some magic mates just for a few days. But for the Crocs Summer Regatta we did. Eight boats competed fairly and all appreciated having their own class. Out at sea, within IRC2, it was a pleasure racing. The start line was definitively more suitable to our size of boat and feeling like a normal dimension, without mega main sails or hulls closing some doors. The courses were for our size; avoiding the need for our mates to stay out on the rails for hours without any manoeuvres

and action. The boats almost finished together and not behind the clock. The rating and the chrono were forgotten for a while, as were the fast boats. The DockSafe team enjoyed the event, particularly to stay in the top three. We had plenty of fun, especially with Lobelia, as no positions were finalised right up to the last race.

DIVISION 2 By owner and skipper of Far Med, Vitor MedinaIn Class 2 the fleet for Crocs comprised of 18 entries – by far the biggest division. There were seven Miura entries, allowing the Miuras to have their own class competition within Division 2.

Friday’s race was a medium-distance race around Robben Island and a gentle westerly allowed the race committee to set a perfect start line. Rounding the island, spinnakers popped and it was a colourful and beautiful rounding with the wind freshening.

There seemed to be confusion as to where the finish was and a longer course was sailed by the front of the fleet, allowing the backmarkers to close in. The race was well sailed by Cabaray who took first place on handicap followed by Far Med and JML who took line honours. The next two days of racing saw gentle, steady westerlies, making for excellent keelboat racing. The strength of the wind and the flat sea favoured the Miuras, a highlight for us.

Club Division 1 By crewmember of Rockstar, Charmaine WarburtonThe Crocs Summer Regatta is always fun, with a great goodie bag and sponsorship from Crocs. But for the crew of Rockstar, the highlight was without a doubt beating Greg Davis who has been the Lipton Cup reigning champion (for the last five years). This is what we set out to do and we were thrilled when we achieved our goal. The cherry on the top was the lone dolphin that swam with the boat for the entire last leg of the last race.

Regatta highlights

The fleet heads up to Granger Bay.

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a2 0

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Club Division 1 – 14 entries1st Necessity (Benetau 34.7) D Booth

2nd Maestro (Fast 42) A Roux/P van Ass

3rd Lapwind (L34) J Burger/A Keen

Club Division 2 – 9 entries1st Team Escape (L26) R Matthews/R Tanner

2nd Esmeralda (L26) B Farmer

3rd Cabaray (Van Der Stadt) R Matthews

IRC – 10 entries1st Lobelia (IMX 40) G Kling/R Meek

2nd Cape Fling (Corby 49) I Laidlaw

3rd Speed of Yellow (J133) D Munro/S Meek

Results

The idea of the Midsummer Fling Regatta was hatched in

mid-2010 when Lord Irvine Laidlaw, having decided to bring

a boat to race in Cape Town, spoke to me about the number

of quality local regattas he could compete in over the

four-month summer period. Irvine had been living in the Cape for the

summer months for a number of years and, although he is a prodigious

racing sailor and prominent boat owner, he had never shown much

interest in sailing here over this annual sojourn to the south.

This changed in 2010 and he began a search for a suitable racing

boat for Table Bay. It did not take long to decide it should be a fast

machine to thoroughly enjoy the solid wind conditions. The Corby 49

Flirt was sourced in Melbourne and shipped to Cape Town where she

was cleaned up and launched as Cape Fling in November ready for

Royal Cape Yacht Club’s summer regattas.

Irvine was still concerned that during his annual visit he would

not be able to experience suffi cient regatta sailing to warrant the effort

of bringing in a serious racing yacht like Cape Fling. We approached

RCYC to fi nd out if they would be interested in laying on an extra event

to the regattas already scheduled. Irvine was keen to make it possible

fi nancially. And so the fi rst Midsummer Fling Regatta was born in early

February 2011.

Irvine proposed some innovative ideas. He expressed interest in an

event that started on a Friday afternoon and used the full weekend for

racing. He had some unusual ideas for us to make the event very unique,

including:

• some “medium length races” along the coast, if it was suitable, or

around Robben Island.

• a pursuit race

• a “round the houses” race on the Friday evening – up and down in front

of the hotels and waterfront close to shore.

• one owner-driver race each day, or the owner could be replaced by

a lady driver.

Irvine’s concept worked well and for 2012 he suggested a similar

programme, although now we would aim to fi t in one or two longer

legged bay races at some stage, as well as a few other enhancements.

Firstly, he proposed bringing in international race offi cer Peter

Craig for the event. Peter is a professional yachtsman who has

specialises in running sailing events and has made a name for his open

and very verbal manner of running regattas. He keeps competitors

informed constantly of the thoughts, plans and actions of the race

committee as the day progresses, as well as during racing. There is

constant reporting from Peter on the lay of the marks, the weather

expected and the reasons for any proposed action from his team. The

sailors respond to and enjoy this interaction.

Irvine’s second innovation was to host an owner’s regatta dinner at

his beautiful residence and estate in Noordhoek where owner’s were

acknowledged for their support. The dinner was a huge hit. Limited to

just the owners and partners, it was meant to be something special and

certainly was. The beautiful gardens and views from the manor house

were matched only by the attention and service the guests received.

As for the racing concept for the 2012 event, we felt the owner-

driver rule should only be used if the breeze was below 15 knots as

many people do not steer their own boats regularly. Friday was to be

simplifi ed and the aim was to get in one really good race anywhere in

the bay. For Saturday, we imagined having an early start with a short

windward/leeward race followed by either two more quality windward/

leeward races (or a medium distance race that should give some solid

windward and leeward sailing with some interesting reaching legs if

necessary). The notice of race allowed IRC boats to carry an extra

spinnaker so Code Zeroes and reaching sails would be at the ready. The

pursuit race for Sunday was very diffi cult to work out and keep all boats

racing without hanging about so we felt that we may drop this from the

schedule. We decided that if the wind played ball we would try to get it

out of the way fi rst thing Sunday morning. A 50-minute to one-hour

race for the fastest craft is all you really need. However if the weather

was not conducive to an easily run pursuit then a short windward/

leeward with owner-driver would be a great option too.

As we know in Cape Town, the weather is somewhat unreliable so

unfortunately with the wind howling at 45 knots, no races were sailed

on Friday. Saturday and Sunday were more promising with sweltering

temperatures and great wind conditions. We managed to get fi ve races

in, including an owners/ladies helm race and a medium distance race.

We look forward to continuing the growth of numbers and quality in

2013’s Midsummer Fling regatta. Irvine has confi rmed Peter Craig will

be invited again. With the RCYC sailing team doing such a great job on

the race organisation side, we can expect another excellent event.

PITCH PERFECTThe innovative concepts around the Midsummer Fling Regatta ensure it is a fi rm favourite on our

sailing calendar. By Rick Nankin

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Club Division 1 – 14 entries1st Necessity (Benetau 34.7) D Booth

2nd Maestro (Fast 42) A Roux/P van Ass

3rd Lapwind (L34) J Burger/A Keen

Club Division 2 – 9 entries1st Team Escape (L26) R Matthews/R Tanner

2nd Esmeralda (L26) B Farmer

3rd Cabaray (Van Der Stadt) R Matthews

IRC – 10 entries1st Lobelia (IMX 40) G Kling/R Meek

2nd Cape Fling (Corby 49) I Laidlaw

3rd Speed of Yellow (J133) D Munro/S Meek

Results

The idea of the Midsummer Fling Regatta was hatched in

mid-2010 when Lord Irvine Laidlaw, having decided to bring

a boat to race in Cape Town, spoke to me about the number

of quality local regattas he could compete in over the

four-month summer period. Irvine had been living in the Cape for the

summer months for a number of years and, although he is a prodigious

racing sailor and prominent boat owner, he had never shown much

interest in sailing here over this annual sojourn to the south.

This changed in 2010 and he began a search for a suitable racing

boat for Table Bay. It did not take long to decide it should be a fast

machine to thoroughly enjoy the solid wind conditions. The Corby 49

Flirt was sourced in Melbourne and shipped to Cape Town where she

was cleaned up and launched as Cape Fling in November ready for

Royal Cape Yacht Club’s summer regattas.

Irvine was still concerned that during his annual visit he would

not be able to experience suffi cient regatta sailing to warrant the effort

of bringing in a serious racing yacht like Cape Fling. We approached

RCYC to fi nd out if they would be interested in laying on an extra event

to the regattas already scheduled. Irvine was keen to make it possible

fi nancially. And so the fi rst Midsummer Fling Regatta was born in early

February 2011.

Irvine proposed some innovative ideas. He expressed interest in an

event that started on a Friday afternoon and used the full weekend for

racing. He had some unusual ideas for us to make the event very unique,

including:

• some “medium length races” along the coast, if it was suitable, or

around Robben Island.

• a pursuit race

• a “round the houses” race on the Friday evening – up and down in front

of the hotels and waterfront close to shore.

• one owner-driver race each day, or the owner could be replaced by

a lady driver.

Irvine’s concept worked well and for 2012 he suggested a similar

programme, although now we would aim to fi t in one or two longer

legged bay races at some stage, as well as a few other enhancements.

Firstly, he proposed bringing in international race offi cer Peter

Craig for the event. Peter is a professional yachtsman who has

specialises in running sailing events and has made a name for his open

and very verbal manner of running regattas. He keeps competitors

informed constantly of the thoughts, plans and actions of the race

committee as the day progresses, as well as during racing. There is

constant reporting from Peter on the lay of the marks, the weather

expected and the reasons for any proposed action from his team. The

sailors respond to and enjoy this interaction.

Irvine’s second innovation was to host an owner’s regatta dinner at

his beautiful residence and estate in Noordhoek where owner’s were

acknowledged for their support. The dinner was a huge hit. Limited to

just the owners and partners, it was meant to be something special and

certainly was. The beautiful gardens and views from the manor house

were matched only by the attention and service the guests received.

As for the racing concept for the 2012 event, we felt the owner-

driver rule should only be used if the breeze was below 15 knots as

many people do not steer their own boats regularly. Friday was to be

simplifi ed and the aim was to get in one really good race anywhere in

the bay. For Saturday, we imagined having an early start with a short

windward/leeward race followed by either two more quality windward/

leeward races (or a medium distance race that should give some solid

windward and leeward sailing with some interesting reaching legs if

necessary). The notice of race allowed IRC boats to carry an extra

spinnaker so Code Zeroes and reaching sails would be at the ready. The

pursuit race for Sunday was very diffi cult to work out and keep all boats

racing without hanging about so we felt that we may drop this from the

schedule. We decided that if the wind played ball we would try to get it

out of the way fi rst thing Sunday morning. A 50-minute to one-hour

race for the fastest craft is all you really need. However if the weather

was not conducive to an easily run pursuit then a short windward/

leeward with owner-driver would be a great option too.

As we know in Cape Town, the weather is somewhat unreliable so

unfortunately with the wind howling at 45 knots, no races were sailed

on Friday. Saturday and Sunday were more promising with sweltering

temperatures and great wind conditions. We managed to get fi ve races

in, including an owners/ladies helm race and a medium distance race.

We look forward to continuing the growth of numbers and quality in

2013’s Midsummer Fling regatta. Irvine has confi rmed Peter Craig will

be invited again. With the RCYC sailing team doing such a great job on

the race organisation side, we can expect another excellent event.

PITCH PERFECTThe innovative concepts around the Midsummer Fling Regatta ensure it is a fi rm favourite on our

sailing calendar. By Rick Nankin

2 1w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

From international race officer Peter CraigGenerous sponsor of the RCYC Midsummer Fling Regatta Lord Irvine Laidlaw invited veteran US yachtsman Peter Craig to be race officer for the event. Peter provided thought-provoking input. He did not tolerate latecomers, and gave himself more than adequate time to familiarise himself with the conditions by going out to the race area well before the fleet. He communicated with the fleet on VHF at periodical intervals and even went as far as indicating how he was thinking at the time concerning the wind and course-laying. The fleet really appreciated this. His accent on the radio also meant some very careful listening on the part of those being instructed. But his pronunciation of the word buoy as B-you-ey, rather than buoy I think is preferable and would stop any misnomer of having laid the buoys!

Peter ran some excellent courses, with good beats and well-laid start lines – as someone at the top of his game should. He had excellent coms with the mark-layers who were fast, efficient and pre-emptive so that when a change of course was necessary mid-race it was all done very swiftly. This is a sign of a well-managed race.

I believe a good race officer will always pre-plan his course of action, and go on the water early to familiarise himself with conditions so that courses are true, good and safe, timeously laid and communicated, and results are verified as speedily as possible – meaning we can all have good racing and fun, safely, on the water.

From champion tactician Peter HolmbergI was invited to sail on Cape Fling for the Midsummer Fling Regatta and was espe-cially keen to sail with this team because one of the world’s top sailors, Peter Holmberg, was their tactician. For those who don’t know Peter, his CV is impressive: silver medallist in the Finn class, ranked number one on the world match-racing tour and victory in the America’s Cup (Alinghi).

What I found impressive on Cape Fling was how quiet the boat was while racing – talk was kept to a minimum with Peter clearly running the show. There was a systematic approach to every race, from “pinging” the start line; doing a practice start; the navigator, skipper and tactician having a discussion on where on the start line we should start and on the course and sail selection, using input from pre- nominated experts in their selected fields. There were no interruptions. The bowman and various trimmers all knew what was expected of them.

I might be going on a bit about the quietness on the boat, but some of us “week-end warriors” sometimes seem to think that a booming voice hurling instructions is the way to handle your crew. This is probably a result of poor preparation before we go out racing. Getting the boat ready is often rushed; crew are placed in unfamiliar positions; there is no pre-race brief; the skipper is tactician, navigator, crew boss, helmsman all in one. No wonder he becomes this schizophrenic maniac, because people (especially men) battle to do more than one thing at a time! The professional era of yacht racing has brought with it the formula of shared responsibility, where sailors become absolute experts in their respective field; for example trimmers became experts in sail shape and design.

There is no reason why we can’t bring this shared responsibility formula to our club racing; we will definitely see an improvement in our fleet. Some of our racing boats are already adopting this approach and some have been doing so for years – you can see it in their results.

Another interesting thing I noticed on Cape Fling (and this is probably from the responsibility/accountability formula) is that no one blamed anyone when things went wrong. The focus was on a solution and discussing a strategy to make sure it didn’t happen again. Any incident was handled with quiet efficiency and with the aim of getting back any lost time. Issues were discussed at the debrief, or during the break between races. This is something we should all aspire to.

If you would like to find out a bit more about Peter go to www.peterholmberg.com.

Lessons learnt By Di Hutton-Squire & Hylton Hale

S a I Lr c y cL o c a L

Opposite: Lord Irwin Laidlaw at the helm of Cape Fling. Left: The fleet led by the pacey DHL Speed of Yellow.Below: Peter Craig and Di Hutton-Squire during starting procedures on the bridge.

w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A2 2

Sailing at the southern tip of Africa, in Table Bay, is really about

two seasons – summer with the traditional southeaster wind

and fl at seas, and winter with its moderate westerlies and

large swells. Within these two sailing seasons the Division 3

fl eet of the Royal Cape Yacht Club hone their skills against each other.

Division 3 caters for boats below .950 club handicap, this excludes

the larger, newer, faster, racing (or cruising) yachts. The 30-plus boats

in the division are mainly in the 28- to 34-foot range, older boats of

mainly cruising design. The 31-foot Miura (which means fi ghting bull in

Spanish) has 10 boats in this fl eet and, judging from the results of the

last decade, this craft is ideally suited to our conditions.

There is a feeling of optimism for this division’s future, which is not

always supported by the prevailing economic gloom. Club membership

may be under pressure from generally increasing cost, yet this division

has an increasing participation level. One challenge Division 3 faces is to

encourage the boats in our division that remain on their moorings into the

bay to compete.

Competitive sailing takes place at least once a week, and in summer

includes a Wednesday night twilight race. The rest of the racing

comprises of the summer, winter and double-handed series, as well as

longer pursuit races and the major sponsored multi-day regattas.

The profi le of the sailors and owners comprise the whole spectrum

– from new entrants to wily old sea dogs, but mainly tending to the

older member. As such, no race is ever a walkover. With the changing

conditions suiting different designs, a new frontrunner is always

emerging, causing consternation behind.

With the ongoing use of our boats and the harsh climatic conditions

down south, it’s hardly surprising that Division 3 owners are constantly

improving their boats, equipment and crew handling skills – which

results in consistent enhancement of the competition.

One of the highlights of this year must be the Midsummer Fling

Regatta, when Lord Irvine Laidlaw brought out an international bridge

crew to run the event. This gave all entrants exposure to the way these

regattas are run overseas. The other high point was the annual race to

SHOOTING THE BREEZEDivision 3 sailing is riding a wave of success with increased participation levels and spirited competition. By Ray Matthews

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w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A2 2

Sailing at the southern tip of Africa, in Table Bay, is really about

two seasons – summer with the traditional southeaster wind

and fl at seas, and winter with its moderate westerlies and

large swells. Within these two sailing seasons the Division 3

fl eet of the Royal Cape Yacht Club hone their skills against each other.

Division 3 caters for boats below .950 club handicap, this excludes

the larger, newer, faster, racing (or cruising) yachts. The 30-plus boats

in the division are mainly in the 28- to 34-foot range, older boats of

mainly cruising design. The 31-foot Miura (which means fi ghting bull in

Spanish) has 10 boats in this fl eet and, judging from the results of the

last decade, this craft is ideally suited to our conditions.

There is a feeling of optimism for this division’s future, which is not

always supported by the prevailing economic gloom. Club membership

may be under pressure from generally increasing cost, yet this division

has an increasing participation level. One challenge Division 3 faces is to

encourage the boats in our division that remain on their moorings into the

bay to compete.

Competitive sailing takes place at least once a week, and in summer

includes a Wednesday night twilight race. The rest of the racing

comprises of the summer, winter and double-handed series, as well as

longer pursuit races and the major sponsored multi-day regattas.

The profi le of the sailors and owners comprise the whole spectrum

– from new entrants to wily old sea dogs, but mainly tending to the

older member. As such, no race is ever a walkover. With the changing

conditions suiting different designs, a new frontrunner is always

emerging, causing consternation behind.

With the ongoing use of our boats and the harsh climatic conditions

down south, it’s hardly surprising that Division 3 owners are constantly

improving their boats, equipment and crew handling skills – which

results in consistent enhancement of the competition.

One of the highlights of this year must be the Midsummer Fling

Regatta, when Lord Irvine Laidlaw brought out an international bridge

crew to run the event. This gave all entrants exposure to the way these

regattas are run overseas. The other high point was the annual race to

SHOOTING THE BREEZEDivision 3 sailing is riding a wave of success with increased participation levels and spirited competition. By Ray Matthews

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Club Mykonos in Langebaan (a casino resort close to Saldanha Bay).

Landfall at a different port is always exciting but in the company of

a fleet of 80 boats with crews all bent on having a good time, this is

a race not to be missed.

At some time or other in their youth, most of the sailors in this

class would have tried their hand at dinghy sailing – keelboats being

a natural progression as the confines and vigours of dinghy sailing take

their toll. This stands most of us in good stead for competitive sailing,

which is about good boat handling, knowledge of local sea and wind

conditions, tactical use of sailing rules and effective race management.

However, during the year some podium positions were lost as a result of

lack of understanding course cards or sailing notices – it is worth taking

the time to ensure the crew grasps these. Those that have consistently

good results manage to maintain and attract regular crew. It is not

uncommon for new crew to move to some of the top racing boats.

It’s not always easy to vary the content of the races or regattas;

however a challenge may be to partake in an overnight event or a longer


2 3w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

starter event such as the Governor’s Cup to Saint Helena island. This

year, a novel and successful innovation by Keith Mattison has been level

racing where Division 3 race against each other without handicaps.

It gives the more highly rated boats a bit of a chance and is easy to

organise with one start – the results are simply the order that you

finish. Setting the course is in rotation, by a competitor who, using GPS

time, controls the start sequence from his radio.

Some stars have risen this year, and some have maintained their

dominance. Mike Paddick on Spirit of Victory (Astove 30), Vitor Medina

on Far Med (Miura), Stefan Hundt on Iechyd da (Miura) have all excelled

consistently. Special mention must be made of the crew of Ava (Miura)

whose average age is over 70 years.

While Division 3 may seem dominated by Miuras, it has to be said

these boats are strong all-rounders and are exciting to race against. To

those who have not reached the podium this year, it’s time to prepare

for next season when our wonderful and diverse fleet take to the waters

of Table Bay again.

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a2 4

L o c a LS a I L

r c y c

The Lipton Challenge Cup is arguably the most hotly contested

keelboat sailing regatta on the South African sailing calendar.

The magnifi cent 103-year-old trophy presented to the winner

each year is celebrated in a fashion similar to that which one

sees portrayed by the winner of any World Cup challenge.

The Lipton Challenge Cup was presented by Sir Thomas Lipton to

the then Table Bay Yacht Club in 1909 “for the purpose of encouraging

yachting in South Africa, and especially in the way of friendly contests

in sailing and seamanship in deep see yacht racing.” The conditions and

rules governing this event are in the Deed of Gift signed by Sir Thomas.

The Royal Cape Yacht Club appoint a board of trustees to ensure that

the spirit of the agreement is followed at each staging of the challenge.

The current trustees are Hylton Hale, David Abromowitz, Peter

Bazlinton and myself, Michael Peper.

The 2011 chapter of this regatta was managed by the 2010

winners, Knysna Yacht Club, who nominated Mossel Bay as their sailing

waters for the event. Despite having no major title sponsor, the

organising committee hosted an event that many have described as the

best Lipton yet. Mossel Bay produced a mixture of sailing conditions

that tested all the competitors’ sailing skills. The light conditions experi-

enced on the Monday resulted in the rectangular race fi nishing in the

dark. The on-water scrutineers decided to check navigation lights that

evening with some interesting fi ndings.

Many of the boats had no lights, some only

had partly working lights, with one boat

having red on starboard and green to port!

That said, the racing was extremely

competitive with fi ve different winners

over six races (even Transvaal Yacht Club

managed to win a race). The last race

started in cold and rainy conditions with Team Intasure having to beat

the defending champion, Team Colorpress, by two positions. Despite

crossing the line in second position they achieved the desired distance

from Team Colorpress. Who can describe the emotions on the Team

Intasure L26 as they anxiously watched the TYC boat and then the

Navy boat cross the line ahead of Colorpress. It was close – a few boat

lengths to be exact! Well done to Andrea Giovannini, Markus Progli and

crew on fi nally dethroning Greg Davis and crew who have won this

event for the last fi ve years.

The prizegiving was hosted in the magnifi cent Maritime Museum

alongside the replica of the caravel – a light Portuguese sailing ship

developed in the fi fteenth-century. In 1987, this replica boat commemo-

rated the original voyage of Bartholomeu Dias in 1488 by sailing the same

route from Portugal to Mossel Bay. This awesome setting is going to take

a lot of beating as a venue for a yachting event prizegiving. (Many thanks

to the museum for making this iconic venue available for the closing

ceremony.) Nobody wanted to leave the venue and eventually had to be

coerced out to attend the after party at Mossel Bay Yacht Club. The

mayoress of Mossel Bay enthusiastically invited everyone to return in

2012 but this, unfortunately, is not going to happen.

The trustees have taken cognisance of comments made by many

of the competing teams regarding the class of boat to be used for this

AN ENDURING LEGACYBorn from a desire to encourage competition 103 years ago, the Lipton Challenge Cup remains the most prestigious race in South Africa. By Mike Peper

Club Boat Skipper1st False Bay Yacht Club Intasure Marine Insurance Andrea Giovannini/Markus Progli

2nd Knysna Yacht Club Colorpress Greg Davis

3rd Transvaal Yacht Club TYC Lipton Cup Challenge Ewald Sternagel

Results

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w w w. r c y c . c o . z a2 4

L o c a LS a I L

r c y c

The Lipton Challenge Cup is arguably the most hotly contested

keelboat sailing regatta on the South African sailing calendar.

The magnifi cent 103-year-old trophy presented to the winner

each year is celebrated in a fashion similar to that which one

sees portrayed by the winner of any World Cup challenge.

The Lipton Challenge Cup was presented by Sir Thomas Lipton to

the then Table Bay Yacht Club in 1909 “for the purpose of encouraging

yachting in South Africa, and especially in the way of friendly contests

in sailing and seamanship in deep see yacht racing.” The conditions and

rules governing this event are in the Deed of Gift signed by Sir Thomas.

The Royal Cape Yacht Club appoint a board of trustees to ensure that

the spirit of the agreement is followed at each staging of the challenge.

The current trustees are Hylton Hale, David Abromowitz, Peter

Bazlinton and myself, Michael Peper.

The 2011 chapter of this regatta was managed by the 2010

winners, Knysna Yacht Club, who nominated Mossel Bay as their sailing

waters for the event. Despite having no major title sponsor, the

organising committee hosted an event that many have described as the

best Lipton yet. Mossel Bay produced a mixture of sailing conditions

that tested all the competitors’ sailing skills. The light conditions experi-

enced on the Monday resulted in the rectangular race fi nishing in the

dark. The on-water scrutineers decided to check navigation lights that

evening with some interesting fi ndings.

Many of the boats had no lights, some only

had partly working lights, with one boat

having red on starboard and green to port!

That said, the racing was extremely

competitive with fi ve different winners

over six races (even Transvaal Yacht Club

managed to win a race). The last race

started in cold and rainy conditions with Team Intasure having to beat

the defending champion, Team Colorpress, by two positions. Despite

crossing the line in second position they achieved the desired distance

from Team Colorpress. Who can describe the emotions on the Team

Intasure L26 as they anxiously watched the TYC boat and then the

Navy boat cross the line ahead of Colorpress. It was close – a few boat

lengths to be exact! Well done to Andrea Giovannini, Markus Progli and

crew on fi nally dethroning Greg Davis and crew who have won this

event for the last fi ve years.

The prizegiving was hosted in the magnifi cent Maritime Museum

alongside the replica of the caravel – a light Portuguese sailing ship

developed in the fi fteenth-century. In 1987, this replica boat commemo-

rated the original voyage of Bartholomeu Dias in 1488 by sailing the same

route from Portugal to Mossel Bay. This awesome setting is going to take

a lot of beating as a venue for a yachting event prizegiving. (Many thanks

to the museum for making this iconic venue available for the closing

ceremony.) Nobody wanted to leave the venue and eventually had to be

coerced out to attend the after party at Mossel Bay Yacht Club. The

mayoress of Mossel Bay enthusiastically invited everyone to return in

2012 but this, unfortunately, is not going to happen.

The trustees have taken cognisance of comments made by many

of the competing teams regarding the class of boat to be used for this

AN ENDURING LEGACYBorn from a desire to encourage competition 103 years ago, the Lipton Challenge Cup remains the most prestigious race in South Africa. By Mike Peper

Club Boat Skipper1st False Bay Yacht Club Intasure Marine Insurance Andrea Giovannini/Markus Progli

2nd Knysna Yacht Club Colorpress Greg Davis

3rd Transvaal Yacht Club TYC Lipton Cup Challenge Ewald Sternagel

Results

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event in the future. After canvassing eligible clubs around the country,

it has been decided to confirm the L26 as the boat of choice for the

2013 and 2014 events. This will hopefully encourage more L26 owners

to invest in their boats and compete in the event.

Having done this, the trustees also recognise that a new boat is

required to elevate this event to the next level and will be approaching

boat manufactures and sponsors to achieve this goal. The trustees

believe that this regatta should be ranked alongside the most presti-

gious one-class keelboat events staged around the world. A more

competitive and exciting boat is expected to attract a younger sector of

the yachting fraternity, and hopefully a significant sponsor. The formula

for this challenge cup is clearly defined in the Deed of Gift and will be

followed as decreed by Sir Thomas Lipton. A trophy is awarded each

year to the crew with the youngest average age below 21. The number

of teams qualifying for this award will be a measure of the success of

any new initiative adopted.

The next event will be hosted by False Bay Yacht Club – the

winners of the 2011 challenge. The organising committee, under the

leadership of John Leslie, are excited about hosting the regatta and

have the planning well in hand. The close proximity and involvement of

the Navy allows any competitor unlimited and free access to the sailing

waters, craning and boat storage facilities until the first race on Sunday

19 August 2012 to prepare and train.

The Royal Cape Yacht Club will, as usual, enter a team to

challenge for the cup. Several potential skippers and crews have

approached the club to be considered as potential entrants. RCYC’s top

team will be selected by means of a sail-off.

The Lipton Challenge Cup is here to stay and, as long as that

magnificent trophy is around, there will be teams of yachties from

around the country competing to bring it back to their clubs.

I started sailing when I was 12, doing one of those learn to sail

programmes at Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club on an old rented Optimist.

At the end of the season you needed to buy your own boat, and back

then Optimists came from Europe and were very expensive. Coming

from a non-sailing family, my folks were not that keen on buying one.

On the last day of the learn-to-sail programme, there was a notice

up for a crewing position for a Mirror – if you weighed less than 30kg.

I phoned up the helm who was Trygve Roberts (who now sails a

Pacer 27 competitively at RCYC). He was known as Mr Mirror

because he used to win races by a couple of legs. I sailed with

Trygve for two years and he taught me all the basics that I use

every time I step on a sailboat.

After crewing with Tryg, I bought my own boat and ended up

sailing Mirrors for two years, finally doing a world championship

before joining the rest of my mates on the Dabchick class. After

Dabbies, I bought an Extra and sailed every dinghy I could beg

borrow or steal from Sonnets to Fireballs and everything in between.

I had my Matric dance near RCYC, and ended up going there after

the party, where we witnessed Ian Ainslie win the Lipton Cup! From

that day on I wanted to win that event.

I was friends with Duncan Mathews and I begged his dad to

lend me his L26. We did our first ever Lipton when we were 18 and

finished fifth. After that I started helming Sensation, the L34 owned

by Rigard Munnik – we had some amazingly competitive years in this

caravan of a boat. It is intriguing that so many of South Africa’s top

sailors came from sailing that boat – Mark Sadler, David Rae, Seraaj

Jacobs, Davie James. Pretty unbelievable that all this talent came

from a locally designed and produced L34!

I went overseas for a couple of years, and when I returned the

super-talented Markus Progli and I started SailPro, to encourage

participation in sailing, particularly at school level. The Lipton Cup

was always in the back of my mind, and we teamed up to do a

campaign to win the event. We were given a three-year sponsorship

deal by Intasure Marine Insurers and a boat by Chris Lee, the

former commodore of False Bay Yacht Club. The first year we

finished third, then second and, finally, last year we became the

Lipton Cup winners, a dream that has spanned 10 years. And we will

certainly attempt to defend it this year.

Pay it forward The importance of giving young sailors a chance. By Andrea Giovannini, co-skipper of 2011 Lipton Cup winning boat

Opposite page: The fleet of L26s with the majestic Outeniqua mountain range in the background.Top: Intasure leading the fleet, including defending champions Colorpress, to the bottom mark. Above, right: Winning team Intasure: (clockwise from left) Andrea Giovannini, Penny Alison, Ian MacRobert, Nic Baigrie, Markus Progli and Oliver van der Pitte.

2 5w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

w w w. R c Y c . c o . z a2 6

SUNSET SAILING

The Puma Twilight Series offers a cool cocktail for sailors

looking for some fun racing. By Toni Mainprize

w w w. R c Y c . c o . z a2 6

SUNSET SAILING

The Puma Twilight Series offers a cool cocktail for sailors

looking for some fun racing. By Toni Mainprize

l o c a lS a I lR c Y c

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2 7w w w. R c Y c . c o . z a

Whether it’s a sunset cruise or a highly competitive

round-the-cans race, the Twilight Series offers something

for everyone. With their substantial new sponsorship,

Puma has come on board for the 2011/2012 Twilight

Series, bringing with them an exciting, bold, new branded look for the

club, and the promise of great prizes each week after racing. There is

huge anticipation for the start of this different and unpredictable

two-part, 18-race summer sailing series.

Mid-week twilight racing has become a worldwide sailing

phenomenon and is as popular as ever at Royal Cape Yacht Club. From

4pm every Wednesday, the RCYC team work hard to welcome visitors

to the club, aiming to place each one as a guest on a yacht for that

evening’s race. The visitors are typically hoping to get a taste of what

it’s like to sail in Table Bay. Generally they have very little to no

experience. The club and the marina come alive with sporty-looking

men and women, and talk of the direction and strength of the wind that

they may be going out in. Of course summer is the season for infamous-

ly strong south-easterly winds, which leads to one of the most

controversial decisions of the day: to sail or not to sail. The race officer

and the sailing office must make the call – normally met with rolling

eyes from the hardy racers if racing is cancelled, and glazed eyes from

the conservative cruisers if they’re sent out in strong winds.

This is the one time the club has an open door policy, allowing

non-members to experience the thrill of sailing in Table Bay and to

enjoy the camaraderie of the bar post-race. If visitors discover it’s their

thing, RCYC has a unique, affordable Twilight-only membership.

For the past season, in addition to Puma as a new sponsor, owner/

skipper Irvine Laidlaw of Cape Fling donated new racing marks

(Milnerton, Woodbridge and Paarden Eiland), and there was a new

starting line up for the beginning of the October to December series.

Briefly, the very mixed fleet of 65 boats was divided into five divisions,

with Division 1 and 2 being split into spinnaker and non-spinnaker. This

led to a new start line up of four separate start times, five minutes

apart, reducing the number of boats crossing the line in each division.

Another new addition was a small finishing buoy, lying inside the normal

Number 10 finishing mark, bringing the yachts closer to the bridge and

easing the job of the bridge team to correctly identify and record as

many as 60 yachts crossing the line in the space of 30 minutes!

Each member of the sailing committee takes a turn to serve as

race officer. With the support and advice of RCYC resident race officer

and sailing administrator, Ron Keytel, the aim here is to give the fleet

a good hour or more of varied, well planned courses.

The main challenge is course-setting for a fleet of five divisions,

which are dramatically varied in speed and competitiveness. At RCYC,

the race officer sets the course on arriving at the club in the afternoon,

but only once the bridge team reach the bridge hut can the conditions

be determined – often demanding a last minute course change. As a

result, the courses are only read out from the bridge hut VHF radio

some 20 minutes before the first start.

The first part of the Twilight Series consisted of nine races, with

only two cancelled races due to the strong south-easterly. Basically a

very good season and we couldn’t have asked for a better finale to the

first half of this Puma Twilight Series.

Part Two, from January to March, saw the vicious south-easterly

winds cancel three of the nine races. This didn’t seem to dampen

enthusiasm, as we recorded approximately 700 sailors participating

over the series. Confidence grew among some teams, seeing bold

moves and expensive damages to on board equipment. Although this

is a fun series, the only way to keep it safe is to sail by the rules,

meaning the odd “cowboy” on the water still needs to read the rules.

The second Puma prizegiving brought the highly successful

Twilight Series to a close, with a large number of smiling winners

sporting their new Puma sports bags and clothing around the club.

Big thanks to Puma for the generous prizes for the first three teams

in all divisions.

One of the more humble benefits that come out of a well spon-

sored event likes this, is the pleasure in being able to hand over a

cheque to chosen fundraising communities. Community Chest and the

National Sea Rescue Institute were our worthy chosen recipients of

R15 000 each from the boat owners’ entry fees.

The dramatic range of ages, professions and sailing experience

that is brought together for the Twilight Series is a unique and intoxicat-

ing mix that can only be found at RCYC on a Wednesday evening.

Division 1 Spinnaker – 12 boatsSouthern Storm Harry Brehm

Division 1 Non Spinnaker – 18 boatsA-L Robert van Rooyen

Division 2 Spinnaker – 8 boatsLapwing Alan Keen/Jennifer Burger

Division 2 Non Spinnaker – 11 boatsCeline 4 Volker Vierhaus

Division 3 – 16 boatsFar Med Vitor Medina

Winners – Part one

Division 1 Spinnaker – 14 boatsWindpower Rick Nankin/Phil Gutsche

Division 1 Non Spinnaker – 17 boatsA-L Robert van Rooyen

Division 2 Spinnaker – 9 boatsLapwing Alan Keen/Jennifer Burger

Division 2 Non Spinnaker – 10 boatsSpectrum Andy James

Division 3 – 18 boatsSpirit of Victory Michael Paddick

Winners – Part two

w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A2 8

TIDES OF CHANGEWith new boats, new owners and some major refurbs making waves in the IRC arena, we bring you some inside info from key players.

Role out 2012, and Cape Fling was ready for the season. Interna-

tional sailors including America’s Cup Alinghi helmsman Peter

Holmberg, Mike Toppa of North Sails Florida and US navigator Matt

Wachowicz were fl own in to set the benchmark for local crew. The net

result? The boat fi nished off the 2012 season with easy wins on both

handicap and line honours in the Mykonos Offshore Regatta. However, it

was felt Cape Fling had been optimised to her full potential. It was time

to look at getting a newer, lighter version in the 46 to 52-foot mark. The

challenge here being: to fi nd a boat faster than Cape Fling around the

race course; have a proven track record; sound construction and an

improved IRC rating. The chosen design was a Ker 46, being built at

McConaghy’s in China. It seemed to tick all the boxes. The boat is

modelled on the 46-foot Tonnerre, designed by Jason Ker for Dutchman

Piet Vroon, and is sailed extensively in the UK. McConaghy’s have been

building top-end race boats for the past 20 odd years and were

competitive in the bid. Jason Ker was the designer of Shosholoza, South

Africa’s America’s Cup entry. The new boat is expected to arrive in

October and be ready for the latter part of 2012. If she is as good as the

numbers predict, she should be a very competitive boat to sail around

Table Bay. The crew is still mostly locally based, yet there may be guest

appearances by key players to impact and raise the local level.

optImIsIng cape flIng and BeYondBy Mike GilesHaving been with the Cape Fling programme since its arrival in Cape

Town in 2010, it’s been a steep learning curve for all onboard. She

proved to be a diffi cult boat to sail to her rating in 2011. Upwind, she

battled to hold any lane with a boat to leeward, and could not extend

on the target True Wind Angles (TWA) downwind, making it nearly

impossible to win races. Even after near perfect races, the overall result

was minutes off the pace. The team had to go back to the think tank.

Some major changes were needed.

After performance analysis, the fundamental problems were

upwind. It was apparent the boat did not have a high VMG upwind

mode, and down speed after tacks she tended to lose leeway. In

addition, there was scope to refi ne deck systems, making gear changes

quicker, saving seconds that add up to minutes around the race course.

It was felt the B&G package was under-utilised and skills transfer from

a top navigator was needed. Get that right and the boat had a good

chance to do very well.

With North Sails 3Di technology more advanced, the upwind

inventory was improved and new spinnakers added to cover the key

angles. The main sail luff curve was redone and the mast retuned to

match. A new keel was designed, built and shipped to Cape Town while

the hull underwent modifi cations at Jaz Marine for top side fairing. Deck

system modifi cations (which included a new main sheet system), new

main traveler system, new Genoa sheeting position (to sheet closer to

the fi ve degree sheeting – similar to new generation TP 52 style boats)

and some other minor changes were also done. One of the bigger

changes included a new front hatch to aid the powered spinnaker

takedown system. The boat has powered winches, so harnessing the

ability to hoist and lower spinnakers quickly would be key to gaining

additional seconds. The new keel was fi tted and later moved to a

forward position, which meant a more bow down trim that favoured

the IRC rating.

w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A2 8

TIDES OF CHANGEWith new boats, new owners and some major refurbs making waves in the IRC arena, we bring you some inside info from key players.

Role out 2012, and Cape Fling was ready for the season. Interna-

tional sailors including America’s Cup Alinghi helmsman Peter

Holmberg, Mike Toppa of North Sails Florida and US navigator Matt

Wachowicz were fl own in to set the benchmark for local crew. The net

result? The boat fi nished off the 2012 season with easy wins on both

handicap and line honours in the Mykonos Offshore Regatta. However, it

was felt Cape Fling had been optimised to her full potential. It was time

to look at getting a newer, lighter version in the 46 to 52-foot mark. The

challenge here being: to fi nd a boat faster than Cape Fling around the

race course; have a proven track record; sound construction and an

improved IRC rating. The chosen design was a Ker 46, being built at

McConaghy’s in China. It seemed to tick all the boxes. The boat is

modelled on the 46-foot Tonnerre, designed by Jason Ker for Dutchman

Piet Vroon, and is sailed extensively in the UK. McConaghy’s have been

building top-end race boats for the past 20 odd years and were

competitive in the bid. Jason Ker was the designer of Shosholoza, South

Africa’s America’s Cup entry. The new boat is expected to arrive in

October and be ready for the latter part of 2012. If she is as good as the

numbers predict, she should be a very competitive boat to sail around

Table Bay. The crew is still mostly locally based, yet there may be guest

appearances by key players to impact and raise the local level.

optImIsIng cape flIng and BeYondBy Mike GilesHaving been with the Cape Fling programme since its arrival in Cape

Town in 2010, it’s been a steep learning curve for all onboard. She

proved to be a diffi cult boat to sail to her rating in 2011. Upwind, she

battled to hold any lane with a boat to leeward, and could not extend

on the target True Wind Angles (TWA) downwind, making it nearly

impossible to win races. Even after near perfect races, the overall result

was minutes off the pace. The team had to go back to the think tank.

Some major changes were needed.

After performance analysis, the fundamental problems were

upwind. It was apparent the boat did not have a high VMG upwind

mode, and down speed after tacks she tended to lose leeway. In

addition, there was scope to refi ne deck systems, making gear changes

quicker, saving seconds that add up to minutes around the race course.

It was felt the B&G package was under-utilised and skills transfer from

a top navigator was needed. Get that right and the boat had a good

chance to do very well.

With North Sails 3Di technology more advanced, the upwind

inventory was improved and new spinnakers added to cover the key

angles. The main sail luff curve was redone and the mast retuned to

match. A new keel was designed, built and shipped to Cape Town while

the hull underwent modifi cations at Jaz Marine for top side fairing. Deck

system modifi cations (which included a new main sheet system), new

main traveler system, new Genoa sheeting position (to sheet closer to

the fi ve degree sheeting – similar to new generation TP 52 style boats)

and some other minor changes were also done. One of the bigger

changes included a new front hatch to aid the powered spinnaker

takedown system. The boat has powered winches, so harnessing the

ability to hoist and lower spinnakers quickly would be key to gaining

additional seconds. The new keel was fi tted and later moved to a

forward position, which meant a more bow down trim that favoured

the IRC rating.

S A I LR C Y C

w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A 2 9


IntroducIng a whole new classBy Nigel ClackAbout a year ago, RCYC club member and good friend of mine, Joe van

der Westhuizen, suggested I buy his Beneteau 35 so I could introduce

my grandchildren to sailing. I tentatively agreed. However, before we

could put pen to paper, Joe had swapped the Beneteau for a set of

tooling (moulds) for the Reichel Pugh 37. He “advised” me I was now

going to own 50 percent of this tooling set-up and that we were going to

build a boat each and attempt to start a one-design class. This has now

come to pass and we are both very excited, and also very much poorer.

These boats will be launched at RCYC as this magazine comes out. We

hope this will be the beginning of a seriously fun one-design class. The

rating rule is encouraging good upwind and relatively heavy displace-

ment boats. This boat is an off-the-wind flyer with scant respect for the

rating rule. We both have little inclination to go around the course at

seven knots and win on handicap. We want to go 25 knots – whether it’s

to Mykonos or Rio! It’s the same boat that Rob Meek won the Rio race

on a few years back. It has been reworked in as much as the underwa-

ter foils were radical and are now more conservative to suit old codgers

like ourselves. We have built in a permanent bow prod and the boat will

use asymmetrical kites, so no spinnaker pole gybes.

The entire construction is carbon, as are the mast and boom. The

total displacement is 3 400kg, of which the keel weighs 2 040kg, so a

ratio of 60 percent will make this boat stiff upwind and very fast

downwind with the new foil design giving us good control. The sails are

also carbon, so we’re all black above the decks. It looks pretty cool.

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3 0 w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

unveIlIng vulcanBy Hylton HaleIRC racing in the past has tended to favour the heavier displaced boats

in the 40-foot range. This starts to even out towards the grand prix

racers as you get over 50 feet, especially in the case of the TP52s,

which have enjoyed particular success under IRC. However, recently

some out-and-out racers in the 40-foot range have started showing

better form when converted or designed around IRC. For example, the

all-new Carkeek 40, McConaghy 38, Farr 400 and the Ker 40 (not quite

an out-and-out racer but still worthy of mention here) are all competi-

tive under IRC – but they are also very pricey to import.

This prompted my partner and me to look around for a 40-foot

racer that we could convert to IRC and, hopefully, be competitive. The

brief for us was simple: we are both Hobie Tiger sailors who enjoy the

thrills and spills of F18 racing and we wanted to bring this fun element

to our keelboat racing. With the demise of the GP42 as the Med Cup

boat in 2010, coupled with the GP42’s Association not really transiting

itself into a measurement fleet (mainly due to the owners focusing on

the SOTO 40 as the replacement boat in the Med Cup), we considered

this boat a viable option.

With the help of Rob Sharp (of David Abromowitz and Associates),

we started our search for a suitable GP42 that suited our budget. After

hundreds of emails and thorough research, we finally narrowed our

search down to two boats, both successful with overall wins in the Med

Cup circuit, and both having been packed away at the end of their

campaigns. In the end it was the shipping costs that decided the boat

for us – the boat we chose was the most convenient one to ship to Cape

Town, ex Valencia instead of Lanzerote in the Canaries.

In South Africa, the GP42 is relatively unknown, but the interesting

fact about the little sister of the TP52 is that all the successful GPs

were designed by Cape Town yacht designer, Shaun Carkeek and his

former partner Marcelino Botin. Shaun was also responsible for the

designs of the successful TP52s in the Med Cup circuit as well as two

Volvo Ocean race campaigns in Puma’s Il Mostro (2009/10 edition) and

Team Emirates New Zealand’s Camper.

At the time of writing this piece, our GP42, now renamed Vulcan

has just been launched and we are about to go on sea trials. The only

modification we have made for now is the addition of a 1.6 metre

bowsprit and we will drop the use of spi poles. Some interesting facts

about Vulcan:

LOA 12.8 metres

DSPW 4.2 tons

Spinnaker sail area 185 square metres

earnIng her racIng strIpesBy Patrick HollowayA new British boat on the start line, DHL Speed of Yellow, owned by

David Munro and skippered by Patrick Holloway, is causing a lot of talk

and predictions in the IRC Division. She is a standard production J133

cruiser-racer built in France, but is heavier than the standard boat due

to having had an unfortunate grounding soon after launching that

required her to be shipped back to France and rebuilt.

The 43-foot yacht had been shipped to Cape Town from the UK for

the Cape to Rio Race – but instead of returning her to the UK from Rio,

the decision was taken to bring her back to South Africa.

Jacana, as she is registered, was in need of some work and, in

particular, racing sails. DHL came to the rescue by way of a branding

agreement for the boat. The boat was re-named Speed of Yellow and

launched in October 2011. She’s difficult to miss in her bright yellow

livery out in Table Bay.

A great deal of research and experimenting has resulted in the

yacht having a suit of much larger sails than she had when she first

arrived in South Africa, but her results speak for themselves: fourth

in the Spring Regatta; line honours and first overall on IRC and PHRF

in the Double Cape Race; first in the Harken Round Robben Island;

fourth in the Crocs Summer Regatta; and third in the IRC division in

the Midsummer Fling Regatta.

The core crew of Patrick, Erik Potgieter, Gary Dix, Jan Clavaux

and John and Tim Jones have been sailing together for the last 10

years on numerous boats. From successfully winning major events

on Six Pack, an L34 (later called Webber Wentzel Bowens), the J-122

Naledi, to very successfully campaigning the 40-foot racing yacht

Gumption (later branded Crocs), and Vineta (the RP49), Patrick and his

team have won just about every regatta and offshore event in South

Africa multiple times. PH

OT

OG

Ra

PH

S t

re

vor

wil

kiN

s

“ Extensive experimenting has resulted in a much larger suit of sails, but the results speak for themselves” – Patrick Holloway

3 0 w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

unveIlIng vulcanBy Hylton HaleIRC racing in the past has tended to favour the heavier displaced boats

in the 40-foot range. This starts to even out towards the grand prix

racers as you get over 50 feet, especially in the case of the TP52s,

which have enjoyed particular success under IRC. However, recently

some out-and-out racers in the 40-foot range have started showing

better form when converted or designed around IRC. For example, the

all-new Carkeek 40, McConaghy 38, Farr 400 and the Ker 40 (not quite

an out-and-out racer but still worthy of mention here) are all competi-

tive under IRC – but they are also very pricey to import.

This prompted my partner and me to look around for a 40-foot

racer that we could convert to IRC and, hopefully, be competitive. The

brief for us was simple: we are both Hobie Tiger sailors who enjoy the

thrills and spills of F18 racing and we wanted to bring this fun element

to our keelboat racing. With the demise of the GP42 as the Med Cup

boat in 2010, coupled with the GP42’s Association not really transiting

itself into a measurement fleet (mainly due to the owners focusing on

the SOTO 40 as the replacement boat in the Med Cup), we considered

this boat a viable option.

With the help of Rob Sharp (of David Abromowitz and Associates),

we started our search for a suitable GP42 that suited our budget. After

hundreds of emails and thorough research, we finally narrowed our

search down to two boats, both successful with overall wins in the Med

Cup circuit, and both having been packed away at the end of their

campaigns. In the end it was the shipping costs that decided the boat

for us – the boat we chose was the most convenient one to ship to Cape

Town, ex Valencia instead of Lanzerote in the Canaries.

In South Africa, the GP42 is relatively unknown, but the interesting

fact about the little sister of the TP52 is that all the successful GPs

were designed by Cape Town yacht designer, Shaun Carkeek and his

former partner Marcelino Botin. Shaun was also responsible for the

designs of the successful TP52s in the Med Cup circuit as well as two

Volvo Ocean race campaigns in Puma’s Il Mostro (2009/10 edition) and

Team Emirates New Zealand’s Camper.

At the time of writing this piece, our GP42, now renamed Vulcan

has just been launched and we are about to go on sea trials. The only

modification we have made for now is the addition of a 1.6 metre

bowsprit and we will drop the use of spi poles. Some interesting facts

about Vulcan:

LOA 12.8 metres

DSPW 4.2 tons

Spinnaker sail area 185 square metres

earnIng her racIng strIpesBy Patrick HollowayA new British boat on the start line, DHL Speed of Yellow, owned by

David Munro and skippered by Patrick Holloway, is causing a lot of talk

and predictions in the IRC Division. She is a standard production J133

cruiser-racer built in France, but is heavier than the standard boat due

to having had an unfortunate grounding soon after launching that

required her to be shipped back to France and rebuilt.

The 43-foot yacht had been shipped to Cape Town from the UK for

the Cape to Rio Race – but instead of returning her to the UK from Rio,

the decision was taken to bring her back to South Africa.

Jacana, as she is registered, was in need of some work and, in

particular, racing sails. DHL came to the rescue by way of a branding

agreement for the boat. The boat was re-named Speed of Yellow and

launched in October 2011. She’s difficult to miss in her bright yellow

livery out in Table Bay.

A great deal of research and experimenting has resulted in the

yacht having a suit of much larger sails than she had when she first

arrived in South Africa, but her results speak for themselves: fourth

in the Spring Regatta; line honours and first overall on IRC and PHRF

in the Double Cape Race; first in the Harken Round Robben Island;

fourth in the Crocs Summer Regatta; and third in the IRC division in

the Midsummer Fling Regatta.

The core crew of Patrick, Erik Potgieter, Gary Dix, Jan Clavaux

and John and Tim Jones have been sailing together for the last 10

years on numerous boats. From successfully winning major events

on Six Pack, an L34 (later called Webber Wentzel Bowens), the J-122

Naledi, to very successfully campaigning the 40-foot racing yacht

Gumption (later branded Crocs), and Vineta (the RP49), Patrick and his

team have won just about every regatta and offshore event in South

Africa multiple times. PH

OT

OG

Ra

PH

S t

re

vor

wil

kiN

s

“ Extensive experimenting has resulted in a much larger suit of sails, but the results speak for themselves” – Patrick Holloway

3 1w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A


gettIng to grIps wIth unleashed by James BeaumontSince taking over Unleashed at the end of a very successful campaign,

we have undergone a complete electronic and cosmetic refit and

embarked on an incredibly steep learning curve. Given that Unleashed

is crewed by a completely amateur crew with only a couple of us with

any experience, this has been an interesting ride. Our primary objective

is always to have fun, but at the same time to conduct the campaign

as professionally as possible and to improve every time we sail.

Needless to say we also aim to keep the boat and sails in one piece

and managed the whole of last season without any breakages.

Unleashed was essentially built as an offshore boat and so we will

be optimising her for offshore and not for cans racing. All who have

sailed her will testify to the fact that she takes everything (and more)

to sail her to her rating, and then you still need favourable conditions.

Basically she loves to reach in medium to strong air and then she can

sail to (and away) from her rating – not so much in all other conditions.

She is easy to sail competently but tricky to sail fast, but no matter how

you sail her she is always fun.

We are planning to do as many offshore events as possible so

we are installing a full interior to aid our long-distance rating. We are

planning to enter the next Rio race but the trades don’t quite get up to

the strengths where Unleashed revels on the point of optimal sail for

a South Atlantic crossing so we are going to have to play around with

the sail configurations and rating to try to get the boat into a

reasonably competitive state for that race – it’s going to be tough.

the ongoIng corum “refIt”By Jannie Reuvers and Tony Strutt Corum was originally a top Philippe Briand IOR design built by

Beneteau for the French Admiral’s Cup team in collaboration with

Chris O’Nial, an international expert in making boats out of composite

materials. Launched in 1987, she was way ahead of her time and

garnered top international race results.

In 1989 Andrew Louw bought her, and Jan Reuvers skippered her

until 1992. During this time, she continued to add to her wins locally.

But in 1995, the boat was mothballed and spent 13 years in a shed in

Blackheath, Cape Town.

In 2008, the boat was given to a team of former Corum sailors

(Jan Reuvers, Geoff Grylls and Tony Strutt) who planned to repaint and

touch up soft spots, fit a new engine and go sailing. However, as time

went by, the project grew into a full on rebuild.

Eventually only the hull and rudder remained the same – Corum

had a new carbon mast and carbon boom, a new keel transverse floor

and girders, and a new keel. The mast was moved aft to increase the

J measurement, and a new engine and instruments were installed.

A full set of state-of-the-art racing sails were made by Quantum Sails

in collaboration with its international design team. All the headsails

and the main sail are Quantum Fusion M Membrane sails built in

Quantum Cape Town’s high-tech manufacturing plant. The fibre layout

is carbon, Technora and Twaron laminated into a Mylar skin. Quantum

sails in Cape Town is the only membrane manufacturing facility in

Africa and exports these sails to all racing syndicates worldwide.

Du Toit Yacht Design was commissioned to do all the naval

architectural designs and modifications. This rebuild project lasted

about two years.

A new basic interior was fitted, but it appears that this has not

favoured the hull factor much and, going forward, more interior

modules may need to be added.

Incredibly, with this 20-year-old ex-grand prix boat, the rating has

hardly been affected. It would be in the interests of IRC management

to look at these calculations closely to encourage more people to

undertake the conversion from old IOR boats to competitive IRC boats.

At present the boat is being sailed by a bunch of mates and

former Wizard crew who are finally starting to get the hang of her.

future offshore champBy Dale KushnerA brand new Jeanneau Sunfast 3200 was launched at

Royal Cape Yacht Club in January 2012. The boat’s name is

YOLO, which stands for You Only Live Once, reflecting the

philosophy of my crew and I when it comes to our yachting.

Why the Sunfast 3200? I was looking for a boat that

could be sailed short-handed or fully crewed; was capable

of good daily runs, with good accommodation below; that

offered a nice, easy sail and that was fun to cruise; but was

still competitive and easy to maintain. All of this within 32

feet, a size that I felt was appropriate for the sailing and

crew availability here. In the end, there were various

options, but none fitted the requirements better then the

Sunfast 3200, a proven offshore boat overseas. The boat

was designed with short-handed trans-ocean races in mind.

Since the boat’s arrival, she has been fully commis-

sioned, with proper sea trials and testing of equipment.

YOLO has been fitted with sails built with the most

advanced sail technology in South Africa. She is ideal for

local and offshore racing, with a focus on medium- and

long-distance racing. It is the intention to enter YOLO in all

of South Africa’s premier offshore events. She is crewed by

enthusiastic regulars.

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a3 2

Spectacular as it may be, the Cape of Storms is probably more

famed for its wrecks than for its inviting sailing venues.

Against the fi erce winds that can make sailing challenging

in any season, the diversity and strength of the Cape’s marine

industry comes as some surprise.

Scattered through Cape Town’s industrial zones, the industry is

vibrant, refl ecting determination, vision and a passion for sailing

yachts. Certainly for delegates of the International Council of Marine

Industries Association meeting recently in Cape Town, it was an

eye-opener. After visits to some of the local boatyards and lofts building

sails and masts, delegates from countries around the globe were clearly

impressed. “You don’t expect to fi nd facilities as excellent as this at the

foot of Africa,” said Finnish delegate Kim Orthen.

“That is leading-edge technology,” said Orthen of mast-builders

Southern Spars. Indeed, the spar-builders have invested considerably

in both their plant and the advanced carbon equipment over the last

decade, says director Nigel Clack. The fi rm builds masts for the 40-

to 50-foot race-boat market in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Now part

of the Auckland-based international group, they build both alloy and the

increasingly high-tech carbon spars – the latter growing to over 60

percent of production. Clack concedes that the market has been diffi cult

of late. “The mid-market sector has been tough, but we are seeing small

signs of growth in Asia and the US.”

For the sail-makers, demand has been relatively stable: “We

export over 70 percent of our production – mainly to Europe and the

West Indies,” say Geoff Meek of North Sails, an affiliate of a leading

north American loft. A substantial component of their exports is

racing sails. Even in the current tough economic times, demand is firm.

Although Meek says “things are not as hectic as they were during

those crazy years a while back”.

Rival sail loft Quantum Sail Design explores a slightly different

market, with an emphasis on catamaran sails and sails for mega-

yachts. Owner Jan Reuvers took the loft into the US-based Quantum

stable after a visit there in 1998, and has since invested strongly in the

group’s technology for the construction of fi lament-reinforced

laminated cloth. All but a minor percentage of production is for export,

and the loft scored a coveted Best Exporter Award in 2011.

For boat builders, the mainstay of the export drive has been the

extraordinary rise of popularity of cruising catamarans in the last two

decades, and has been led by the production yard of Robertson and

Caine. Starting in 1991, the yard initially focused on custom race

yachts but switched to cruising catamarans to supply leading US

charter company The Moorings. Gaining reputation for quality, and

a number of design awards in the process, they were soon also supply-

ing Sunsail, and forged a close relationship with Tui Marine, now the

holding company for both charter operations. Their success has been

BOOMTIMEDespite tough economic times, the South African boat-building industry is alive and well, especially in the Cape. By Alex Petersen

The Open Ocean 550 Sailing Catamaran, designed by

Anton du Toit and built by Two Oceans Marine.

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a3 2

Spectacular as it may be, the Cape of Storms is probably more

famed for its wrecks than for its inviting sailing venues.

Against the fi erce winds that can make sailing challenging

in any season, the diversity and strength of the Cape’s marine

industry comes as some surprise.

Scattered through Cape Town’s industrial zones, the industry is

vibrant, refl ecting determination, vision and a passion for sailing

yachts. Certainly for delegates of the International Council of Marine

Industries Association meeting recently in Cape Town, it was an

eye-opener. After visits to some of the local boatyards and lofts building

sails and masts, delegates from countries around the globe were clearly

impressed. “You don’t expect to fi nd facilities as excellent as this at the

foot of Africa,” said Finnish delegate Kim Orthen.

“That is leading-edge technology,” said Orthen of mast-builders

Southern Spars. Indeed, the spar-builders have invested considerably

in both their plant and the advanced carbon equipment over the last

decade, says director Nigel Clack. The fi rm builds masts for the 40-

to 50-foot race-boat market in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Now part

of the Auckland-based international group, they build both alloy and the

increasingly high-tech carbon spars – the latter growing to over 60

percent of production. Clack concedes that the market has been diffi cult

of late. “The mid-market sector has been tough, but we are seeing small

signs of growth in Asia and the US.”

For the sail-makers, demand has been relatively stable: “We

export over 70 percent of our production – mainly to Europe and the

West Indies,” say Geoff Meek of North Sails, an affiliate of a leading

north American loft. A substantial component of their exports is

racing sails. Even in the current tough economic times, demand is firm.

Although Meek says “things are not as hectic as they were during

those crazy years a while back”.

Rival sail loft Quantum Sail Design explores a slightly different

market, with an emphasis on catamaran sails and sails for mega-

yachts. Owner Jan Reuvers took the loft into the US-based Quantum

stable after a visit there in 1998, and has since invested strongly in the

group’s technology for the construction of fi lament-reinforced

laminated cloth. All but a minor percentage of production is for export,

and the loft scored a coveted Best Exporter Award in 2011.

For boat builders, the mainstay of the export drive has been the

extraordinary rise of popularity of cruising catamarans in the last two

decades, and has been led by the production yard of Robertson and

Caine. Starting in 1991, the yard initially focused on custom race

yachts but switched to cruising catamarans to supply leading US

charter company The Moorings. Gaining reputation for quality, and

a number of design awards in the process, they were soon also supply-

ing Sunsail, and forged a close relationship with Tui Marine, now the

holding company for both charter operations. Their success has been

BOOMTIMEDespite tough economic times, the South African boat-building industry is alive and well, especially in the Cape. By Alex Petersen

The Open Ocean 550 Sailing Catamaran, designed by

Anton du Toit and built by Two Oceans Marine.

The Leopard 44 built by Robertson and Caine in Cape Town.

meteoric. Due to launch their thousandth boat this year, Robertson

and Caine cats are now found at all of the world’s popular cruising

grounds including the Med, the Caribbean, Australia, Asia, Tahiti and

the Indian Ocean islands, with the Seychelles particularly attractive

to South Africans.

Advances in design and production techniques over the last 15

years have made cats both safer and faster, says Peter Robertson, the

yard’s liaison director in Florida. The yard launches two or three

catamarans a week, and is currently the leading catamaran exporter

to the US market. May saw the launch their latest model, a sleek

48-footer, the design from naval architects Simonis and Voogd.

A plethora of smaller local yards are also producing fine catama-

rans. The South African boats, says Craig Middleton of Quantum Sails,

tend to be of more rugged construction, a view endorsed by designer

Alex Simonis. “It’s more labour-intensive. There’s more lamination by

hand, an aspect that gets lost when production is more automated.”

Boat builders here are clearly aware of the seas their boats may

encounter just on their home shores.

Tough boats are the speciality of perhaps the Cape’s most unique

yard, Jacobs Brothers in Grassy Park. Fuad Jacobs has been in the

business for 30 years since he and his artisan brothers first built

a steel, then an alloy, 45-footer for family use. It soon led to outside

orders. Producing tough alloy cruising yachts, the yard has built

a steady stream of rugged boats for clients around the world. All the

business, says Fuad, has been by word of mouth. He is currently

finishing off a 49-foot Simonis-Voogd design that includes a bow-

thruster for Dutch clients.

Success in the niche industry is tough, even precarious, and a

number of firms have folded in recent years. Two Oceans Marine CEO

Mark Delaney notes that with a volatile rand, boatbuilding requires

stringent financial management. “Yachts are a big-ticket item, and

capital-intensive, so inherently there is risk,” he says. Over two decades

the yard has built a strong market for custom sport-fishing and sailing

yachts locally and in Angola and Mozambique.

But the real surprise of the industry, producing Fabergé quality,

is Southern Wind Shipyard, tucked away in a quiet corner in Athlone

Industria. The brainchild of Italian entrepeneur Willie Persico, the

yard has produced some of the leading contenders in the world of

luxury super-yachts for two decades. These boats are works of

elegance and craftsmanship that turn heads in the most exclusive

marinas of the Med and the Caribbean. A keen sailor, Persico takes

an intense interest in the yard’s products. A recent offering is Cape Arrow, a 100-footer designed by world leaders Farr Yacht Design, with

interiors by renowned Italian stylists Nauta. The yacht, incidentally,

is a finalist in the prestigious Showboat Design Awards to be held in

Monaco. Better than this is hard to find.

3 3w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

S a I Lr c y cL o c a L

Southern Wind Shipyard in Epping Industria built the exquisite 110ft Thalima.

Almagores II, the brand new Southern Wind 102 DS – a Farr/Nauta design.

3 4 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

L o c a LS a I L

r c y c

44-foot design for Dehler Yachts won the European Boat of the Year

award. More recently Simonis-Voogd have designed for Far Eastern

Boats in Shanghai, and at the Shanghai boatshow in April launched

a 36-catamaran for the local Chinese market.

Also earning accolades in the catamaran design arena is Cape

Town-based Anton Du Toit, whose initial skills were, incredibly,

self-taught. An experienced and passionate sailor, when extended

cruising as a teenager hampered his chances of university, Du Toit relied

on libraries. “If you can read, you can learn anything,” he says. He

worked with Angelo Lavranos for three years, later moving to the

in-house design team at Southern Wind. He established Du Toit Yacht

Design in 2001, and in 2007 was awarded the Disa South African Design

Excellence Award.

The latest arrival is Shaun Carkeek, who is currently opening an

office here in addition to his Barcelona practice. After matriculating at

Rondebosch, Carkeek dallied with architecture at UCT before deciding

yacht design would be more exciting. Phil Southwell suggested

Southampton, where Carkeek met Marcellino Botin, with whom he later

formed a design partnership in Santander when they graduated in 1994.

The Botin-Carkeek partnership has included some considerable success

on the hot European TP52 circuit, including a TP52 design for Spain’s

Prince Felipe, and also their first Volvo 70, the Puma entry in the last

Volvo Race. “Designing a Volvo 70 was a huge learning curve,” says

Carkeek, who notes that computers now enable an incredible synthesis

of information from tank and wind-tunnel tests, so skilled programmers

are essential to his practice.

E The South African Boatbuilders Export Council www.sabbex.co.za E The Marine Industry Association of South Africa [email protected]

Designs of the timesIf South African boatbuilders are still healthy in these tough times, it

is also due to those eccentric characters the designers, who bring so

much panache to projects. Essentially idea people, they are invariably

full of enthusiasm.

It was Angelo Lavranos, fresh from the New York office of Olin

Stephens, the doyen of America’s Cup designers, who introduced

“modern” designs to South Africa in the Seventies. First with the L26,

of which a staggering 90 boats were built, followed by the L34 and

Holiday 34, with 45 of each produced, putting one-class fleet racing

firmly on our map. By virtue of numbers, the L26 is still the class in

which the Lipton Cup is contended. Among Lavranos’s many race

designs attracting international attention was Allied Bank, the boat in

which renowned South Africa yachtsman John Martin contended the

BOC race. Now living in New Zealand, many of his cat designs are built

by Cape yards.

Also producing striking yachts is Phil Southwell, whose designs

included the Sovereign 54. With a centre-cockpit and cabins for guests

and aft berths and cockpit for the working crew, his designs offered a

new approach to owner-chartering. His catamaran designs include the

popular Island Spirit, and the Maverick 40. Phil is based in Cape Town.

A further impetus to racing came when Alex Simonis from Holland

set up office in 1989. Joined by compatriot Maarten Voogd the pair have

designed some stunning racing designs, including Broomstick a 70-foot

IMS design that won the Cape to Rio Race in 1993. They have since

produced a number of international award-winning catamaran designs

for Robertson and Caine, and, in the race arena, the winning Nicorette

designs in the Sydney-Hobart Race in 2000 and 2004. Innovation is key

in their designs, including lifting keels, numerous design features on

catamarans, foils on power cats, and, more recently, the use of a

wing-sail on a 60-foot all carbon monohull, increasing sail efficiency by

20 percent. While Simonis remains Cape-based, Voogd is now based in

the Netherlands to liase with production yards in Europe. In 2007 their

3 4 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

L o c a LS a I L

r c y c

44-foot design for Dehler Yachts won the European Boat of the Year

award. More recently Simonis-Voogd have designed for Far Eastern

Boats in Shanghai, and at the Shanghai boatshow in April launched

a 36-catamaran for the local Chinese market.

Also earning accolades in the catamaran design arena is Cape

Town-based Anton Du Toit, whose initial skills were, incredibly,

self-taught. An experienced and passionate sailor, when extended

cruising as a teenager hampered his chances of university, Du Toit relied

on libraries. “If you can read, you can learn anything,” he says. He

worked with Angelo Lavranos for three years, later moving to the

in-house design team at Southern Wind. He established Du Toit Yacht

Design in 2001, and in 2007 was awarded the Disa South African Design

Excellence Award.

The latest arrival is Shaun Carkeek, who is currently opening an

office here in addition to his Barcelona practice. After matriculating at

Rondebosch, Carkeek dallied with architecture at UCT before deciding

yacht design would be more exciting. Phil Southwell suggested

Southampton, where Carkeek met Marcellino Botin, with whom he later

formed a design partnership in Santander when they graduated in 1994.

The Botin-Carkeek partnership has included some considerable success

on the hot European TP52 circuit, including a TP52 design for Spain’s

Prince Felipe, and also their first Volvo 70, the Puma entry in the last

Volvo Race. “Designing a Volvo 70 was a huge learning curve,” says

Carkeek, who notes that computers now enable an incredible synthesis

of information from tank and wind-tunnel tests, so skilled programmers

are essential to his practice.

E The South African Boatbuilders Export Council www.sabbex.co.za E The Marine Industry Association of South Africa [email protected]

Designs of the timesIf South African boatbuilders are still healthy in these tough times, it

is also due to those eccentric characters the designers, who bring so

much panache to projects. Essentially idea people, they are invariably

full of enthusiasm.

It was Angelo Lavranos, fresh from the New York office of Olin

Stephens, the doyen of America’s Cup designers, who introduced

“modern” designs to South Africa in the Seventies. First with the L26,

of which a staggering 90 boats were built, followed by the L34 and

Holiday 34, with 45 of each produced, putting one-class fleet racing

firmly on our map. By virtue of numbers, the L26 is still the class in

which the Lipton Cup is contended. Among Lavranos’s many race

designs attracting international attention was Allied Bank, the boat in

which renowned South Africa yachtsman John Martin contended the

BOC race. Now living in New Zealand, many of his cat designs are built

by Cape yards.

Also producing striking yachts is Phil Southwell, whose designs

included the Sovereign 54. With a centre-cockpit and cabins for guests

and aft berths and cockpit for the working crew, his designs offered a

new approach to owner-chartering. His catamaran designs include the

popular Island Spirit, and the Maverick 40. Phil is based in Cape Town.

A further impetus to racing came when Alex Simonis from Holland

set up office in 1989. Joined by compatriot Maarten Voogd the pair have

designed some stunning racing designs, including Broomstick a 70-foot

IMS design that won the Cape to Rio Race in 1993. They have since

produced a number of international award-winning catamaran designs

for Robertson and Caine, and, in the race arena, the winning Nicorette

designs in the Sydney-Hobart Race in 2000 and 2004. Innovation is key

in their designs, including lifting keels, numerous design features on

catamarans, foils on power cats, and, more recently, the use of a

wing-sail on a 60-foot all carbon monohull, increasing sail efficiency by

20 percent. While Simonis remains Cape-based, Voogd is now based in

the Netherlands to liase with production yards in Europe. In 2007 their

The Cape has a concentration of yacht designers

– essentially ideas people, they bring

panache and excitement to

projects

This picture: Designed by Anton du Toit and built by Scape Yachts, the Scape 51 Day Sailing Catamaran, Quality Time, is used as a charter boat

in the Caribbean and in the Med.Below: Angelo Lavranos’s designs have won races around the world, including records in the BOC Round the World Race with Allied Bank

sailed by John Martin.

We have taken smoke and smell out of our new D1 and

D2 marine diesels. Particle emissions are down 50% and

overall emissions comply with the world’s most stringent

regulations. And the redesigned combustion chambers also

contributes to lower noise.

To get it cleaner and quieter, you need to hoist sails.

ONLY SAILingIS CLEANER

D1/D2-SERIES: 12-75 HP.ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE VOLVO PENTA GREEN COMMITMENT.

























Taking approximately nine months to complete, and crossing

six of the seven oceans, we knew that when the world’s

premier offshore sailing race came to town there would be

a big show – but not without considerable input and assis-

tance from the yachties at the Royal Cape Yacht Club.

Some of you may recall an incredibly windy In-Port Race in the

2005 Volvo Ocean Race. You may also remember that there was no

In-Port Race in Cape Town in 2008. So it was with a great deal of

anticipation that RCYC was approached to assist with the 2011/12 race.

Rear Commodore of Sailing, Hylton Hale, had already done most of the

groundwork but invited me to assist with the marshalling. It was an

opportunity I could not refuse.

PREPARING OURSELVESRegarding that In-Port Race, a member of the 2005 organising

committee, RCYC’s Tony Fox (now immigrated to Sydney) commented:

“On the start boat, approaching the fi rst warning signal, there was two

to three knots abeam Robben Island. We called the mark boat at

Paarden Eiland to propose a postponement, having unrolled the AP.

Their reply was that they couldn’t talk, they had 35 knots and were

trying to rescue someone!” That day saw lots of action, breakages, and

even running aground at the wing mark off Milnerton, as the first-

generation VO70’s struggled to manoeuvre their canting keels on the

short course gybe. Ironically, a number of the marshalling rigid-hulled

infl atable boats (RIBs) in that event also ran into trouble and needed to

be rescued. It was a diffi cult event. Tony recalls that the detailed

information and instructions – like the need to lay 55 anchored marks to

defi ne the racetrack (but only after the race offi cer had decided the

exact course axis) – only fi ltered down very late. There were not enough

mark-laying boats available, and too many ill-prepared marshal boats.

Other issues like who was paying for what, and how was the money

going to be reimbursed lingered, even after the show had left town

– potentially exposing the club to unwanted expenses. To this end we

needed a proper start yacht and umpire RIBs; marshals who understand

sailing; and to involve the Navy’s resources if possible. We needed strong

support from the sailing fl ag offi cer and sailing offi ce.

3 6 w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

Now in its eleventh edition, the Volvo Ocean Race came to Cape Town for the eighth time in its history. By Luke Scott

Prevailing spirit

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Taking approximately nine months to complete, and crossing

six of the seven oceans, we knew that when the world’s

premier offshore sailing race came to town there would be

a big show – but not without considerable input and assis-

tance from the yachties at the Royal Cape Yacht Club.

Some of you may recall an incredibly windy In-Port Race in the

2005 Volvo Ocean Race. You may also remember that there was no

In-Port Race in Cape Town in 2008. So it was with a great deal of

anticipation that RCYC was approached to assist with the 2011/12 race.

Rear Commodore of Sailing, Hylton Hale, had already done most of the

groundwork but invited me to assist with the marshalling. It was an

opportunity I could not refuse.

PREPARING OURSELVESRegarding that In-Port Race, a member of the 2005 organising

committee, RCYC’s Tony Fox (now immigrated to Sydney) commented:

“On the start boat, approaching the fi rst warning signal, there was two

to three knots abeam Robben Island. We called the mark boat at

Paarden Eiland to propose a postponement, having unrolled the AP.

Their reply was that they couldn’t talk, they had 35 knots and were

trying to rescue someone!” That day saw lots of action, breakages, and

even running aground at the wing mark off Milnerton, as the first-

generation VO70’s struggled to manoeuvre their canting keels on the

short course gybe. Ironically, a number of the marshalling rigid-hulled

infl atable boats (RIBs) in that event also ran into trouble and needed to

be rescued. It was a diffi cult event. Tony recalls that the detailed

information and instructions – like the need to lay 55 anchored marks to

defi ne the racetrack (but only after the race offi cer had decided the

exact course axis) – only fi ltered down very late. There were not enough

mark-laying boats available, and too many ill-prepared marshal boats.

Other issues like who was paying for what, and how was the money

going to be reimbursed lingered, even after the show had left town

– potentially exposing the club to unwanted expenses. To this end we

needed a proper start yacht and umpire RIBs; marshals who understand

sailing; and to involve the Navy’s resources if possible. We needed strong

support from the sailing fl ag offi cer and sailing offi ce.

3 6 w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

Now in its eleventh edition, the Volvo Ocean Race came to Cape Town for the eighth time in its history. By Luke Scott

Prevailing spirit

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S A I LR C Y CI n t e R n A t I o n A L

3 7w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

THE BUILD-UPThe first leg of the 2011/12 race had its fair share of drama. Yachts

Azzam and Sanya were forced out on the opening night, with the fleet

beating into a Mediterranean storm. Groupama 4 made a brave but costly

move out of Gibraltar in separating from the remaining fleet to hug the

West African shore, and became terribly unstuck in light airs. Camper had

hesitated momentarily in following them, and backtracked to chase the

others. This effectively left Puma’s Mar Mostro and Telefonica to battle it

out for line honours, until Mar Mostro lost her rig in the middle of the

South Atlantic. It took only five more days for Telefonica to reach Cape

Town, but Mar Mostro was in for an amazing logistical race for time to

make it to Cape Town in time for the In-Port Race and the start of Leg 2.

The hype was growing in the build-up to the 2011-12 V&A In-Port

Race. The three injured yachts were in a race against time to be ready…

THE BUSINESS ENDBoth the In-Port Race and the Leg 2 send-off inshore course are design

to take 45 to 60 minutes, to suit international media coverage. Providing

Main pic: Wet conditions in the Southern Ocean aboard Puma’s Mar Mostro.Top: Groupama round one of the massive marks during the Pro-Am Race.Above: Telefonica ploughs through swell in Table Bay.Below: VOR crew prepare to leave the V&A Waterfront and their Cape Town stopover for the start of Leg 2.

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[email protected]: +27 83 443 0706; +27 21 424 4665at the Royal Cape Yacht Club, Cape Town

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an excellent platform for participation, it’s the closest that spectators can

get to the action without actually being on board one of the race boats.

Many members of the yacht club were identified or came forward

to assist with the marshalling, volunteering their time, expertise and

motorcraft. The volunteer marshal fleet consisted of mostly 18 to 20ft

RIBS, with a couple of slightly larger rigid-hulled ski boats. There were

18 volunteer marshal craft in total. Race control had the use of a 45ft

Leopard Cat from TUI Marine. With a giant time clock mounted to the

deck, this was an impressive addition to the host port’s offering. The

motorised cat provided an excellent platform for the race committee. In

support, a high-powered “Pin Boat” followed the racing yachts around

the course, with the Garmin and Hylton’s Ballistic RIB as the umpire

boats. The NSRI were also involved with eight vessels on duty for

medical and rescue support.

RCYC provided Royal Cape One as the chief marshal vessel. We

had the assistance of the SA Navy, who provided four fully crewed

30-foot Namakura class harbour patrol vessels. This formed the

backbone of the marshalling structure, with the volunteer marshals

falling in under the navy vessels, in four groups, namely Alpha, Bravo,

Charlie and Delta. Each group had a designated role and area in which

to operate, lay marks and patrol. The chief marshal was free to roam

between the zones to control the spectator fleet as the race unfolded.

Armed and dangerous, well briefed, and with the fleet of four Namaku-

ras, Royal Cape One, a Leopard Cat and an assortment of rubber ducks

and ski boats, we went boldly forth to set up exclusion zones, marshal

the spectators and to enjoy the racing.

The chief marshal covered three radio channels simultaneously:

race control, marshal control, and spectator fleet control. I ran the

The competitors’ sponsors pump a massive amount into market-ing, and none were more conspicuous than Puma, who took over town for their visit. Despite their nightmarish and well document-ed dismasting towards the end of Leg 1, they sponsored a big party at the club, with a Q&A session with Mar Mostro skipper Ken Read, and a lucky draw to step aboard the boat. Club Vice Commodore Mike Peper was one of the lucky ones. On his experience aboard Mar Mostro, Mike recalls:

“Winning the trip on Mar Mostro was one of those wow moments in my life. I cancelled significant arrangements to be there. Once on board and beating at 14 knots you stand in awe of the ease at which you are moving. Then the command to hoist the big red monster with the jumping kitty cat emblazoned in the middle is given and Mar Mostro is suddenly flying off the wind at speeds in excess of 25 knots. That feeling of living on the edge, and possibly falling off, is suddenly all around and you don’t want it to stop. My respect (and envy) for the yachties who crew these wind machines around the world was lifted to new levels through this experience.”

Mar Mostro adopted by RCYC

spectator fleet channel, and was amazed by how effective it was having

the spectator fleet keep a listening watch on this channel.

WRAPPING UPWas our involvement a success? I think the answer lies with all those

who went out to enjoy the spectacle of these amazing boats.

3 9


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Puma’s Mar Mostro enjoys perfect conditions with big winds, blue oceans and warm water.

When asked for comment, the Waterfront harbourmaster, Stephen

Bentley, quipped: “Best behaved spectator fleet for many years”.

Stephen counted the spectator fleet at 136 for the In-Port Race and

154 for the Leg 2 start, excluding the race management and marshal

S A I LR C Y C I n t e R n A t I o n A L

4 0 w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

boats. Stephen commented that RCYC did a sterling job on the

marshalling, with strong leadership and good briefing to volunteer crew

on marshalling boats. He also commended the port control staff as

outstanding, by working with the race officials and keeping shipping out

of the VOR race area, despite heavy traffic, while also providing

20-minute weather and wind updates to assist the race officer. The

person responsible for marshalling the same subsequent event in Abu

Dhabi was present aboard Royal Cape One to observe and experience

our hosting, and the organisers requested our management template

to emulate in the future.

Assistant race manager, Simon Cardona, said: “The Cape Town

stopover was a great experience. The local team demonstrated their

skills in organising an event like this. The racecourse area got the best

out of the sailing, as each race day was different in the sense of wind

conditions. The marshal team showed how to work as one body and did

a great job keeping the race area clear for the regatta. The people of

Cape Town really showed their passion for sailing in welcoming the

Volvo Ocean Race to their country.”

Further than that, the race director, Jack Lloyd, was glowing in his

praise of the event. Race CEO, Knut Frostad, was extremely pleased

with the viewer ratings on the various media channels, and with the

overall marshalling and general behaviour of the spectator fleet.

RCYC Rear Commodore of Sailing Hylton Hale concluded: “This

shows that with the members of our club, RCYC has the capacity to

host and marshal a major international sailing event. Congratulations

and thanks to everyone who was involved.”

E www.volvooceanrace.com

What has been the toughest part of being a participant in the VOR?Getting used to looking after your body... Small things that happen to you when you are day sailing, for example a scratch on your finger, can become a big problem when you’re not going to be on land for a few weeks. Something like that can become infected very quickly and cause a lot of discomfort. Also the watch system can be hard at times. You don’t have a choice to have a quick 10-minute lie-in or to run a

little late. When you get woken up you have to get out of your bunk no matter what because if you don’t you will be letting the team down. Plus there is someone waiting to climb into your bunk to get his rest.

What are the daily challenges that you face? The main area of concern for everyone on the boat is to make sure that we are all safe. A win will never be worth someone’s safety. Other than that, there are so many racing challenges – from trying to get the most out of the limited weather reports we get on the boat and finding the fastest route to the finish, to making it through a rain cloud without breaking the boat. These boats are powerful and it doesn’t take a lot to get caught out with the wrong sail combination up, even though it does happen from time to time. Then it comes down to limiting the damage and just getting through the situation.

What have you been surprised by on this race? The number of people who follow the race astounds me. It’s not uncommon to be walking to the base and people recognise and stop you to wish you luck. No matter the country.

What has been the lowest and the highest point on the race for you so far? The highlight for me was getting the call to take over from Junior (Andrew Lewis). It has always been a goal of mine to be a Volvo Ocean Race sailor and that day it all fell into place. The low point so far was not being able to sail around Cape Horn. But, as I said earlier, safety must always be the number one priority. The boat wasn’t fit to do the rest of the leg with the weather forecast we had and we had to make the call. There will be other races, and I will do my utmost to make it around the Horn one day. This much I swear!

Tell us something hard-core that we don’t already know about VOR. When we were in the middle of the Southern Ocean, the closest thing to us other than the other boats was a satellite – pretty humbling stuff!

Which of your crew mates do you most admire and why?I admire the whole crew. Everyone has a different role on the boat. They are not only working in their sailing positions but they also have expertise in other areas like sails, engineer-ing, deck gear and the rig, to name just a few. We put these boats through a hell of a lot and so these areas of the boat need to be in top condition to be able to get us to the finish line. The guys on the boat are very clued up about keeping their areas in good shape and that takes a lot of hard work and a lot of sailing time and knowledge. They really are professionals.

Highs and lows as we go to print, RCYC’s Paul Willcox is sailing the Volvo Ocean Race with Team abhu Dhabi who have just won Leg 7 from Miami to Lisbon. Sail caught up with him en route.

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Team Abhu Dhabi back in the race in Table Bay.

When asked for comment, the Waterfront harbourmaster, Stephen

Bentley, quipped: “Best behaved spectator fleet for many years”.

Stephen counted the spectator fleet at 136 for the In-Port Race and

154 for the Leg 2 start, excluding the race management and marshal

S A I LR C Y C I n t e R n A t I o n A L

4 0 w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

boats. Stephen commented that RCYC did a sterling job on the

marshalling, with strong leadership and good briefing to volunteer crew

on marshalling boats. He also commended the port control staff as

outstanding, by working with the race officials and keeping shipping out

of the VOR race area, despite heavy traffic, while also providing

20-minute weather and wind updates to assist the race officer. The

person responsible for marshalling the same subsequent event in Abu

Dhabi was present aboard Royal Cape One to observe and experience

our hosting, and the organisers requested our management template

to emulate in the future.

Assistant race manager, Simon Cardona, said: “The Cape Town

stopover was a great experience. The local team demonstrated their

skills in organising an event like this. The racecourse area got the best

out of the sailing, as each race day was different in the sense of wind

conditions. The marshal team showed how to work as one body and did

a great job keeping the race area clear for the regatta. The people of

Cape Town really showed their passion for sailing in welcoming the

Volvo Ocean Race to their country.”

Further than that, the race director, Jack Lloyd, was glowing in his

praise of the event. Race CEO, Knut Frostad, was extremely pleased

with the viewer ratings on the various media channels, and with the

overall marshalling and general behaviour of the spectator fleet.

RCYC Rear Commodore of Sailing Hylton Hale concluded: “This

shows that with the members of our club, RCYC has the capacity to

host and marshal a major international sailing event. Congratulations

and thanks to everyone who was involved.”

E www.volvooceanrace.com

What has been the toughest part of being a participant in the VOR?Getting used to looking after your body... Small things that happen to you when you are day sailing, for example a scratch on your finger, can become a big problem when you’re not going to be on land for a few weeks. Something like that can become infected very quickly and cause a lot of discomfort. Also the watch system can be hard at times. You don’t have a choice to have a quick 10-minute lie-in or to run a

little late. When you get woken up you have to get out of your bunk no matter what because if you don’t you will be letting the team down. Plus there is someone waiting to climb into your bunk to get his rest.

What are the daily challenges that you face? The main area of concern for everyone on the boat is to make sure that we are all safe. A win will never be worth someone’s safety. Other than that, there are so many racing challenges – from trying to get the most out of the limited weather reports we get on the boat and finding the fastest route to the finish, to making it through a rain cloud without breaking the boat. These boats are powerful and it doesn’t take a lot to get caught out with the wrong sail combination up, even though it does happen from time to time. Then it comes down to limiting the damage and just getting through the situation.

What have you been surprised by on this race? The number of people who follow the race astounds me. It’s not uncommon to be walking to the base and people recognise and stop you to wish you luck. No matter the country.

What has been the lowest and the highest point on the race for you so far? The highlight for me was getting the call to take over from Junior (Andrew Lewis). It has always been a goal of mine to be a Volvo Ocean Race sailor and that day it all fell into place. The low point so far was not being able to sail around Cape Horn. But, as I said earlier, safety must always be the number one priority. The boat wasn’t fit to do the rest of the leg with the weather forecast we had and we had to make the call. There will be other races, and I will do my utmost to make it around the Horn one day. This much I swear!

Tell us something hard-core that we don’t already know about VOR. When we were in the middle of the Southern Ocean, the closest thing to us other than the other boats was a satellite – pretty humbling stuff!

Which of your crew mates do you most admire and why?I admire the whole crew. Everyone has a different role on the boat. They are not only working in their sailing positions but they also have expertise in other areas like sails, engineer-ing, deck gear and the rig, to name just a few. We put these boats through a hell of a lot and so these areas of the boat need to be in top condition to be able to get us to the finish line. The guys on the boat are very clued up about keeping their areas in good shape and that takes a lot of hard work and a lot of sailing time and knowledge. They really are professionals.

Highs and lows as we go to print, RCYC’s Paul Willcox is sailing the Volvo Ocean Race with Team abhu Dhabi who have just won Leg 7 from Miami to Lisbon. Sail caught up with him en route.

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Team Abhu Dhabi back in the race in Table Bay.

The huge machine that is the Volvo Ocean Race arrived at the end of November 2011 to sail inshore races and a restart for Leg 2 at the beginning of December. Before the race officials even arrived, communication with race director Jack Lloyd and Steven Bentley of the Cape Town Waterfront Marina was established. The actual race officer on the start boat was Bill O’Riley with whom we had most contact. Doug Alison was the race officer from South Africa selected to help, with myself, Shereen Smith and Jimmy Melville to assist. The race committee boat was a large motorised cat, owned by TUI Marine with a suitable flying bridge from which we could operate. This made a huge difference to operations. Volvo also brought a timekeeper who co-ordinated communications with the fleet by VHF.

On the bridge we could not see the huge IWC digital clocks placed at right angles for everyone else to see, so clocks had to be co-ordinated with these exactly, at GPS time. Everything had to be done to the second because of television time. This was not flexible so there was no time for any glitches in proceedings.

The courses had been pre-discussed, measured, plotted and evaluated in the prevailing wind. The southeaster blew as forecast so the buoys were laid as planned. The Pro-Am courses were set reaching up and down the shore so that the boats could be easily seen from the land and the Pro-Am race courses were set in a V-shape to get maximum press photo opportunity.

The practice day before went well and I was told to shout the time louder so that all could hear! The difficulty was shouting against the radio message going out to the fleet at the same time. Radio messages were sent to the fleet at certain pre-arranged times exactly so that everyone knew what was happening. Everything was very precise and done according to a prescribed schedule. The second leg start was carried out in the same manner with a short hitch around a buoy before they set to sea.

What did we learn from all of this? Proper, professional organisation so that there is no doubt in anyone’s mind who is responsible is critical. Effective communications prior to regattas are essential, starting months beforehand.

Getting the best personnel available for the job can only be done with adequate notice for jobs such as mark-laying, or timekeeping, so that efficiency is paramount – the person understands the importance and fundamentals of the job.

Proper training is essential too. Lessons learnt should be documented and this information used for improvement. Equip-ment should be well maintained in between regattas to avoid last-minute rushes like deflating buoys.

But communicating better – both on and off the water, particularly with the fleets – is paramount, so that everyone understands what is expected.

Lessons learnt By Di Hutton-Squire, VOR bridge Cape Town stopover

SUPER DECKTANKS

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Australian Made

Camper goes full tilt in the In-Port Race during the Cape Town stopover.

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a? ?

GUTS AND GLORYAfter two years of preparation and over 28 000 miles of competition, the South African team on Phesheya-Racing have crossed the fi nish line of the Global Ocean Race.By Nick Leggatt

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a? ?

GUTS AND GLORYAfter two years of preparation and over 28 000 miles of competition, the South African team on Phesheya-Racing have crossed the fi nish line of the Global Ocean Race.By Nick Leggatt

The Global Ocean Race developed out of the Portimão Global

Ocean Race, but this second edition started in Palma de

Mallorca in September 2011, and then continued to Cape

Town, Wellington, Punta del Este and Charleston, USA. The

final leg of the race took us from Charleston to Les Sables D’Olonne,

France. The fast-growing Class 40 fleet was selected as the class to be

used in the race and all boats were to be sailed double-handed,

although crews could be changed at stopovers. Something we’re most

proud of is being the only team in the race to have remained intact for

the entire circumnavigation.

Notwithstanding our two seasons of experience, racing in the

highly competitive European fleet, the Global Ocean Race has been

a steep development curve for us and pointed out many features of

modern short-handed sailing techniques that we have needed to work

on and study carefully.

The circumnavigation started with six entries. Phillippa and I were

sailing aboard the oldest boat in the fleet, the proto-type Marc Lombard

designed first-generation Akilaria Phesheya-Racing. Ranged against us

were two near sisterships: Marco Naninni’s Financial Crisis and Nico

Budel’s Sec.Hayai. Conrad Colman was sailing the updated second

generation Akilaria RC2 design, Cessna Citation; while Ross and

Campbell Field entered the Verdier designed Tyker 40, Buckley Systems; and Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron raced the Finot

designed Pogo 40S2, Campagne de France.

Leg 1, from Palma to Cape Town was been the longest in terms

of time, if not miles, and included a wide variety of conditions, from the

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ra

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south of Tristan da Cunha. In these conditions we suffered a few gear

failures, including a broken prodder (bowsprit) and a destroyed mast head

A2 spinnaker, which, together, provided us with a challenge to maintain

boat speed and we arrived in Cape Town in fifth place.

Leg 2 was the first full Southern Ocean leg of the race and the

infamous Roaring Forties certainly lived up to their reputation. The start

of the leg was delayed due to the southeaster putting on a stronger than

usual display in Cape Town, and even once we got going it was not long

before Sec.Hayai was forced to turn back with a broken mast, leaving five

boats to continue on towards New Zealand. The Class 40 design really

proved itself on this leg as we battled a couple of fierce gales in the high

latitudes and it became clear that the level of competition had gone up a

notch as we pushed the boats to their limits. The Class 40s are capable

of speeds well in excess of 20 knots under spinnaker while on autopilot,

even in the most trying downwind conditions, but the boats need to be

very finely balanced and trimmed in order to achieve this performance

and techniques for reefing and changing headsails need to be carefully

developed and managed. We finished Leg 2 in fourth place.

Leg 3, from Wellington to Punta del Este, started at the end of

January with a 10-day beat into a fierce easterly wind. Once again the

yachts proved themselves to be excellent sea boats but gradually the

conditions took their toll on the crews and soon Buckley Systems retired

when Ross Field injured his back as the boat crashed violently over a

steep wave. Campagne de France followed suit shortly afterwards as

there was no let-up in the extreme conditions.

Aboard Phesheya-Racing we were forced to heave-to as first one,

and then the other, autopilot stopped working in the huge seas thrown up

by the remnants of a tropical cyclone that had spun out of the South

Pacific and into the Southern Ocean. Hours of working in the heaving

stern of the boat in pitch darkness eventually resulted in one working

autopilot being developed from the two broken ones and we continued

racing behind Cessna Citation and Financial Crisis. Rounding Cape

Horn was a highlight in our circumnavigation with Phillippa becoming the

first South African woman to skipper a round-the-world racing yacht past

the famous landmark. In the end we took third place in Leg 3.

Leg 4 was similar in some ways to the first leg, going from the

Variables, through the south-east trade winds, the Doldrums and the

north-east trade winds before crossing the Gulf Stream to finish in

Charleston. For this leg we were rejoined by Sec.Hayai with her new

Southern Spars rig. The completion on this leg was the closest of the

race with all the boats finishing within 72 hours of each other, and the

three first-generation Akilarias barely a day apart. We crossed the finish

line in fourth place but scored third after Sec.Hayai was penalised for a

crew change in the middle of the leg.

The final leg was back across the North Atlantic with its springtime

depressions and fast downwind sailing for the fleet before we return to

Europe. We crossed the finish line off Les Sables d’Olonne on 9 June,

securing third position overall, after 30 000 miles and 168 days of racing.

The race has been a fantastic experience for us and we would like

to thank the members of Royal Cape Yacht Club for all the support that

we’ve received, helping to make this possible. We hope that our exploits

have not only been entertaining but that they will inspire future round-

the-world short-handed campaigns.

E www.globaloceanrace.com

“Hours of working in the heaving stern of the boat in

pitch darkness eventually resulted in one working

autopilot being developed from the two broken ones and we continued racing”

– Nick Leggatt

4 4 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

I n t e r n a t I o n a LS a I L

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south of Tristan da Cunha. In these conditions we suffered a few gear

failures, including a broken prodder (bowsprit) and a destroyed mast head

A2 spinnaker, which, together, provided us with a challenge to maintain

boat speed and we arrived in Cape Town in fifth place.

Leg 2 was the first full Southern Ocean leg of the race and the

infamous Roaring Forties certainly lived up to their reputation. The start

of the leg was delayed due to the southeaster putting on a stronger than

usual display in Cape Town, and even once we got going it was not long

before Sec.Hayai was forced to turn back with a broken mast, leaving five

boats to continue on towards New Zealand. The Class 40 design really

proved itself on this leg as we battled a couple of fierce gales in the high

latitudes and it became clear that the level of competition had gone up a

notch as we pushed the boats to their limits. The Class 40s are capable

of speeds well in excess of 20 knots under spinnaker while on autopilot,

even in the most trying downwind conditions, but the boats need to be

very finely balanced and trimmed in order to achieve this performance

and techniques for reefing and changing headsails need to be carefully

developed and managed. We finished Leg 2 in fourth place.

Leg 3, from Wellington to Punta del Este, started at the end of

January with a 10-day beat into a fierce easterly wind. Once again the

yachts proved themselves to be excellent sea boats but gradually the

conditions took their toll on the crews and soon Buckley Systems retired

when Ross Field injured his back as the boat crashed violently over a

steep wave. Campagne de France followed suit shortly afterwards as

there was no let-up in the extreme conditions.

Aboard Phesheya-Racing we were forced to heave-to as first one,

and then the other, autopilot stopped working in the huge seas thrown up

by the remnants of a tropical cyclone that had spun out of the South

Pacific and into the Southern Ocean. Hours of working in the heaving

stern of the boat in pitch darkness eventually resulted in one working

autopilot being developed from the two broken ones and we continued

racing behind Cessna Citation and Financial Crisis. Rounding Cape

Horn was a highlight in our circumnavigation with Phillippa becoming the

first South African woman to skipper a round-the-world racing yacht past

the famous landmark. In the end we took third place in Leg 3.

Leg 4 was similar in some ways to the first leg, going from the

Variables, through the south-east trade winds, the Doldrums and the

north-east trade winds before crossing the Gulf Stream to finish in

Charleston. For this leg we were rejoined by Sec.Hayai with her new

Southern Spars rig. The completion on this leg was the closest of the

race with all the boats finishing within 72 hours of each other, and the

three first-generation Akilarias barely a day apart. We crossed the finish

line in fourth place but scored third after Sec.Hayai was penalised for a

crew change in the middle of the leg.

The final leg was back across the North Atlantic with its springtime

depressions and fast downwind sailing for the fleet before we return to

Europe. We crossed the finish line off Les Sables d’Olonne on 9 June,

securing third position overall, after 30 000 miles and 168 days of racing.

The race has been a fantastic experience for us and we would like

to thank the members of Royal Cape Yacht Club for all the support that

we’ve received, helping to make this possible. We hope that our exploits

have not only been entertaining but that they will inspire future round-

the-world short-handed campaigns.

E www.globaloceanrace.com

“Hours of working in the heaving stern of the boat in

pitch darkness eventually resulted in one working

autopilot being developed from the two broken ones and we continued racing”

– Nick Leggatt

Cape Town’s Adrian Kuttel, 41, won Leg 3 of the Global Ocean Race as co-skipper to 28-year-old Kiwi Conrad Colman on Cessna Citation. Below are his best and worst experiences of their gruelling Southern Ocean passage from Wellington, New Zealand to Punta del Este in Uruguay. By Di Meek

WORST The unnerving and totally surreal experience of being becalmed 18 days into the leg at 54S in uncharacteris-tically mirror-like seas for the Furious Fifties. We were helpless as our nearest opponents, Financial Crisis, bore down and stole our lead. Even worse, my fi ngertips had become quite badly infected from mopping up diesel. In desperation and with clenched jaw, I lanced each nail with the sharp knife blade of my trusy, but rusty, Leatherman and squeezed out the gunk – it was a doubly painful time for me.

BEST My fi rst ever rounding of legendary Cape Horn at 56S. We were neck and neck with Financial Crisis with 70-knot winds and conditions just shy of cataclysmic forecast. We gambled on gunning it to outpace the storm. I had fi ve hours at the helm topping boat speeds of 20 knots in breaking waves and 60-knot gales. Soaked and almost hypother-mic, I only went below after a wall of water washed me clear across the cockpit. We rounded in pitch darkness on 22 February as the worst of the storm blasted in. It was a lifetime highlight for me.

Highs and lows

Left: South African duo and RCYC members Nick and Phillippa on their four-year-old Akilaria Class 40, Phesheya-Racing.Above: Cessna Citation in the Southern Ocean during Leg 3, with RCYC’s Adrian Kuttel co-skippering with Kiwi Conrad Colman. Cessna Citation fi nished in fi rst position in the Global Ocean Race.

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w w w. r c y c . c o . z a? ?

TAKING ON THE WORLDRoyal Cape Yacht Club was honoured to be invited to the prestigious New York Yacht Club Invitational Regatta. By John Martin & Dave Hudson

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a? ?

TAKING ON THE WORLDRoyal Cape Yacht Club was honoured to be invited to the prestigious New York Yacht Club Invitational Regatta. By John Martin & Dave Hudson

Twenty-two clubs from 16 countries were represented at the

New York Yacht Club Invitational Regatta, with each team

sailing a Swan 42, designed to the NYYC specifi cations as

their one design for the coming years.

The RCYC team was extremely well received and cared for by the

NYYC, initially in the written communication, as well as on arrival. The

team was selected by publicised criteria – primarily based on being able

to pay their own way, as well as on their sailing experience. The only

exception, at my insistence was the inclusion of Wadi Xayimpi from

Izivunguvungu as bowman.

A trip to the NYYC in Newport, USA, including the charter of a

Swan 42, is an expensive exercise. RCYC donated some funds and

African Access Holdings, a wholly black-owned empowerment

company, was the naming right sponsor, with Puma South Africa

supplying all the team apparel. The vital main sponsorship was in

recognition of our contribution to development sailing. African Access

Holdings strive to give all South African’s the opportunity to participate

at the highest levels in sport.

And of the highest level this regatta certainly was. It’s not often

that you get to a regatta that’s been thoroughly hyped up in advance, to

fi nd that the reality by far exceeds the promise. But the NYYC and their

event organising committee achieved just that.

The quality of the boats, the standard of race management, and

the shoreside facilities and entertainment were superb. And in spite of

its reputation as a yacht club with strong traditions of formality, the

NYYC Flag Offi cers, members and staff could not have made us more

welcome and at home in their club (although once or twice we were

asked to change out of jeans or slip-slops, these being too casual attire

for the formal and traditional clubhouse).

As far as the actual sailing went, the crew had to work hard to get

to know the Swan 42, and what it takes to sail it fast. Before the fi rst

race we had three days of practice racing to get to grips with the ‘42,

and this was invaluable. However, most of the fl eet had far more

experience with the boats and initially we were well off pace.

4 7w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

S a I Lr c y cI N T E r N a T I o N a L

Opposite page: RCYC’s entry in the NYYC Invitational Regatta. This page, top to bottom: The majestic New York Yacht Club seen from the water; the fl eet does a sail past to the NYYC Commo-dore; the fl eet runs down to the bottom mark.

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4 8 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

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Communication is keyFrom the day RCYC entered the NYYC Invitational Cup, the club and the team members received formal and detailed communication, which set the tone for the regatta. Invitations and letters were sent to us traditionally via the post on distinctive, elegant stationery. The high standards and professionalism of the event were immedi-ately clear and the team knew what was expected of them at all times.

Organisation to a TThe levels of organisation at this event were exceptional. NYYC’s seemingly effortless hospitality, for example, included two huge marquees on the lower grounds of the club. One was used solely for events – the welcom-ing and lobster dinners, various cocktail functions and prizegiving. The other marquee was our daily base-camp, which included a fanwear store, shoe store for sponsor Sperry Docksiders, and endless cups of real cappuccinos and espressos were available on tap gratis-vry. After sailing, cups of hot soup and toasted cheese sandwiches were served.

Comfy outdoor furniture was set up for teams’ relaxation purposes. It was also our-after sailing watering hole.

On the RCYC team’s side, organisation also had to be fine tuned. This included organising a house big enough for a crew of 12 plus a few partners (we stayed in what was originally a carriage house, built in 1876); organising transport for the group (two big Chrysler Voyagers); grocery shopping and laundry for the team; plus planning meals and making sandwiches with the correct filling daily for each crew member. To this end, the team was extremely thankful for the efficient skills of Deidre Mace.

Prepare for all eventualitiesWhen RCYC put a team together, the club knew we had a group of top sailors for our team but we also knew that we needed a reliable and capable reserve. On the flight over to New York, Nic Baigrie, our bowman, picked up an airborne virus that settled in his kneecap. Besides the pain, this landed him in hospital for a few surgeries and he

was put on strong antibiotics. Sadly, his dream to compete in this regatta came to an abrupt end. In stepped Wadi Xayimpi, our willing reserve. With his capabilities, charm and sense of humour, he soon won over the organisers and many of the competitors too.

Upholding traditionThe team felt privileged to be part of the club’s traditions. Every day at the same time the American flag was raised on the tall mast on the main jetty. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing, took off their caps and remained silent for the time it took to raise the flag, at which time a cannon was fired to mark the occasion. Every evening at sunset the same routine was followed to take the flag down.

Dress the partWhen the NYYC says smart, they mean smart. Cocktail dresses with heels were de rigueur for the ladies and jacket and tie for the men. And when they say no jeans in the clubhouse this means in the regatta marquees’ too (as I found out soon enough).

Lessons learnt By Ingrid Hale

Apart from a disastrous OCS in Race 1 and a serious collision with

an out of control port tack boat in Race 4 (they were disqualified by the

jury and handed a rather nasty invoice by the organisers), we had a tidy

series, becoming more competitive day by day. The RCYC team came

together well – the mood on board was calm and businesslike, and the

guys were highly motivated and a pleasure to race with. When the

weather changed, with temperatures plummeting overnight, the race

committee decided to send the fleet racing offshore for the first time.

We headed out to sea extremely grateful for our Puma foul weather

gear (although the Italians looked slick on shore in their Prada-

sponsored outfits, we doubt they had the technical kit to enjoy the icy

offshore conditions).

Although the wrong RCYC (the Royal Canadian Yacht Club) won

the Cup this time, we represented our club well and were compliment-

ed by both the race officials and the jury for our good sportsmanship.

We finished seventeenth overall.

I feel desperately sorry for Nic Baigrie, our Lipton Cup winning

bowman, who spent a lonely eight days in a NY hospital with a very

serious knee infection, and, having had the considerable expense of

getting to the USA, was unable to race with us.

As unlucky as it was for Nic, his misfortune gave young Wadi, our

team reserve, yet another great opportunity when we asked him to take

Nic’s place on the bow. While Wadi doesn’t have Nic’s experience on

boats of this size, he did a great job. It was the thirteenth major

international event I have sailed with Wadi in my crew and, as always,

he was a hit with everyone – the organisers, the media and our

competitors – and a great young ambassador for Izivunguvungu,

RaceAhead, RCYC and South Africa.

We learnt so much from the event – NYYC was exceptionally well

prepared and professional, and we are thrilled to say that RCYC has

been invited back for the next NYYC Invitational Regatta.

Above: The RCYC team, kitted out in Puma technical wear and sponsored by African Access, sail to the finish.Below: The RCYC team from left to right – Hylton Hale, Martin Lamprecht, Gary Sindler, Carl Richter, Dave Hudson, Nic Baigrie, Wadi Xayimpi, boat rep Yahoo, Gui Verhoevert, Nicholas Mace and Colin Whitehead.

4 8 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

I N T E r N a T I o N a LS a I L

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Communication is keyFrom the day RCYC entered the NYYC Invitational Cup, the club and the team members received formal and detailed communication, which set the tone for the regatta. Invitations and letters were sent to us traditionally via the post on distinctive, elegant stationery. The high standards and professionalism of the event were immedi-ately clear and the team knew what was expected of them at all times.

Organisation to a TThe levels of organisation at this event were exceptional. NYYC’s seemingly effortless hospitality, for example, included two huge marquees on the lower grounds of the club. One was used solely for events – the welcom-ing and lobster dinners, various cocktail functions and prizegiving. The other marquee was our daily base-camp, which included a fanwear store, shoe store for sponsor Sperry Docksiders, and endless cups of real cappuccinos and espressos were available on tap gratis-vry. After sailing, cups of hot soup and toasted cheese sandwiches were served.

Comfy outdoor furniture was set up for teams’ relaxation purposes. It was also our-after sailing watering hole.

On the RCYC team’s side, organisation also had to be fine tuned. This included organising a house big enough for a crew of 12 plus a few partners (we stayed in what was originally a carriage house, built in 1876); organising transport for the group (two big Chrysler Voyagers); grocery shopping and laundry for the team; plus planning meals and making sandwiches with the correct filling daily for each crew member. To this end, the team was extremely thankful for the efficient skills of Deidre Mace.

Prepare for all eventualitiesWhen RCYC put a team together, the club knew we had a group of top sailors for our team but we also knew that we needed a reliable and capable reserve. On the flight over to New York, Nic Baigrie, our bowman, picked up an airborne virus that settled in his kneecap. Besides the pain, this landed him in hospital for a few surgeries and he

was put on strong antibiotics. Sadly, his dream to compete in this regatta came to an abrupt end. In stepped Wadi Xayimpi, our willing reserve. With his capabilities, charm and sense of humour, he soon won over the organisers and many of the competitors too.

Upholding traditionThe team felt privileged to be part of the club’s traditions. Every day at the same time the American flag was raised on the tall mast on the main jetty. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing, took off their caps and remained silent for the time it took to raise the flag, at which time a cannon was fired to mark the occasion. Every evening at sunset the same routine was followed to take the flag down.

Dress the partWhen the NYYC says smart, they mean smart. Cocktail dresses with heels were de rigueur for the ladies and jacket and tie for the men. And when they say no jeans in the clubhouse this means in the regatta marquees’ too (as I found out soon enough).

Lessons learnt By Ingrid Hale

Apart from a disastrous OCS in Race 1 and a serious collision with

an out of control port tack boat in Race 4 (they were disqualified by the

jury and handed a rather nasty invoice by the organisers), we had a tidy

series, becoming more competitive day by day. The RCYC team came

together well – the mood on board was calm and businesslike, and the

guys were highly motivated and a pleasure to race with. When the

weather changed, with temperatures plummeting overnight, the race

committee decided to send the fleet racing offshore for the first time.

We headed out to sea extremely grateful for our Puma foul weather

gear (although the Italians looked slick on shore in their Prada-

sponsored outfits, we doubt they had the technical kit to enjoy the icy

offshore conditions).

Although the wrong RCYC (the Royal Canadian Yacht Club) won

the Cup this time, we represented our club well and were compliment-

ed by both the race officials and the jury for our good sportsmanship.

We finished seventeenth overall.

I feel desperately sorry for Nic Baigrie, our Lipton Cup winning

bowman, who spent a lonely eight days in a NY hospital with a very

serious knee infection, and, having had the considerable expense of

getting to the USA, was unable to race with us.

As unlucky as it was for Nic, his misfortune gave young Wadi, our

team reserve, yet another great opportunity when we asked him to take

Nic’s place on the bow. While Wadi doesn’t have Nic’s experience on

boats of this size, he did a great job. It was the thirteenth major

international event I have sailed with Wadi in my crew and, as always,

he was a hit with everyone – the organisers, the media and our

competitors – and a great young ambassador for Izivunguvungu,

RaceAhead, RCYC and South Africa.

We learnt so much from the event – NYYC was exceptionally well

prepared and professional, and we are thrilled to say that RCYC has

been invited back for the next NYYC Invitational Regatta.

Above: The RCYC team, kitted out in Puma technical wear and sponsored by African Access, sail to the finish.Below: The RCYC team from left to right – Hylton Hale, Martin Lamprecht, Gary Sindler, Carl Richter, Dave Hudson, Nic Baigrie, Wadi Xayimpi, boat rep Yahoo, Gui Verhoevert, Nicholas Mace and Colin Whitehead.

From Beginners to Yachtmaster Ocean, Start your Sailing Career or Upgrade your Quali� cations.

Sailing from Club Mykonos, Langebaan & Theory at Royal Cape Yacht Club.

www.yachtmaster.co.za [email protected]/Fax: +27 (0)21 788 1009 Mobile: +27 (0)82 088 7186

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To view or download current and back issues,go to: www.issuu.com/sailrcyc

SAIL ROYAL CAPE YACHT CLUBSAIL

WWW.RCYC.CO.ZA

Local &international sailing

Improve your IRC rating

Cruise the Cape

Royal Capers abroad

2009/2010 Racing SeasonAll the excitement from this season’s top regattas



SAIL

WWW.RCYC.CO.ZA

2010/11 Racing

Season



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+27 21 689 2704 | [email protected] | www.leopardcatamarans.com

PERFORMANCE COMFORT STYLE INNOVATION VERSATILITY

2010 Boat of the YearBest Multihull Cruiser

Best Overall ImportLeopard 38

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2007 Boat of the Year Best Multihull Cruiser

Leopard 46

2005 Boat of the YearBest Multihull 40’ and Under

Best Overall ImportLeopard 40

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00_Cover_RCYC.indd 1 7/6/11 1:17:02 PM

w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A5 0

Mike Bartholomew and his crew on Tokoloshe won Cowes Week

Class 1 in 2011 and continued winning this year with the fi rst series in

UK, the Easter Red Funnel regatta. Skipper and owner Mike races with a

well oiled and highly organised team which includes his son David, who

is the “boat Captain” and prepares Tokoloshe faultlessly. He is the

upwind trimmer and crew boss. Charles Nankin is the main trim-

mer. Both David and Charles grew up sailing at ZVYC and RCYC.

Many of the young RSA sailors who spend time or live in the UK

race on Tokoloshe so typically they will have a crew of 12 with about

seven from South Africa.

Hi-Fidelity, owned by Eddie de Villiers, represented RCYC at Les

Voiles de St Tropez, fi rst run 26 years ago as La Nioulargue. Every year,

racing yachts get together in St Tropez in the south of France for the last

big boat regatta of the season. This attracts the top boats from all over

to race in fi ve IRC classes, the Wally class and the Classic Boat Class.

Hi-Fidelity was racing in class 3. Hi-Fidelity is a Hugh Welbourne

designed yacht, 46-foot in length, that has recently undergone a major

refi t in South Africa with the intention to race in Europe. This regatta was

her debut on the scene. The crew was made up mostly of RCYC

members, with the balance being made up of a few Italian guys.

RCYC’s Lord Irvine Laidlaw, the owner of Cape Fling in Cape Town, was

also competing in the IRC one class aboard Highland Fling, and had

South Africans Mike Giles and Jan Dekker as part of his crew. With over

300 boats competing, the parade of awesome racing machines was

something quite incredible! Hi-Fidelity fi nished third in her class and

Highland Fling won Class 1. The crew on Hi-Fidelity fl ew the RCYC

Burgee as well as the South African fl ag high.

asenathi Jim and Roger Hudson have been competing on ISAF’s

Sailing World Cup circuit since May 2011, racing in Holland, Finland,

Norway, Germany, UK, Australia, USA, Spain and France. Asenathi is the

fi rst African helmsman from southern Africa ever to have made an

impact at this level. The duo have moved rapidly up the ISAF World

Rankings, qualifying for a Gold Fleet fi nal in the fourth leg of the World

Cup circuit in France in April, and then earning themselves a place on the

South African Olympic team at the World Championships in Barcelona in

May. Keep an eye on this duo at the London Olympics in July.

adrian Kuttel and co-skipper Kiwi Conrad Coleman won the 6 000

nautical mile, third leg of the Global Ocean Race 2011/12 on Cessna Citation. For Adrian, getting there took months of physical and mental

preparation: a rigorous gym programme and hours of working through

various scenarios at sea to cope with the stress of exhaustion, lack of

sleep, homesickness, and the physical discomfort of constantly being

wet, icy cold, hungry and dehydrated.

Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire completed the Global

Ocean Race in June this year, fi nishing third overall and being the only

team to stay intact for the entire 168 days of racing over 30 000 miles.

Rick Nankin sailed the Scottish Series and the IRC Nationals overseas

as trimmer on Mike Bartholomews’ King 40 Tokoloshe in 2011. They

were fi rst in IRC Class 1 in Scotland but “not as hot” in IRC’s – the

standard was brilliant at that regatta and, although the result was short

of expectations, it was still a good performance fi nishing fi fth.

Tony Norris was based in China at McConaghy Boats for eight months

last year, training Chinese workers in composite boat building, including

Pre-preg, Infusion and Vacuum bagging processes. With eight years of

boat-building to his name, starting with the build of America’s Cup boat

Shosholoza, he project managed the building of the moulds and the

large components for the fi rst two MC2 60 high-performance cruising

catamarans. Made up of a port hull, port chine, bridge deck, starboard

chine, starboard hull, port deck, starboard deck and coach roof, Tony

and his team were required to make moulds for each of the compo-

nents. Now back in Cape Town, Tony has just built a bow sprit for the

GP42 Vulcan powered by Puma.

Paul Willcox was selected for Volvo Ocean Race’s Abhu Dhabi team in

2011. He trained with the team in Abu Dhabi and Cascais, Portugal in

2011. This year he replaced Andrew Lewis on his fi rst ever leg of the

VOR from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand and Auckland to

Itajai, Brazil, then on to Miami, Florida. He is a permanent member of

the team as helmsman/trimmer. The VOR ends in Galway, early July.

SAIL BLAZINGKeep track of our Royal Capers abroad

w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A5 0

Mike Bartholomew and his crew on Tokoloshe won Cowes Week

Class 1 in 2011 and continued winning this year with the fi rst series in

UK, the Easter Red Funnel regatta. Skipper and owner Mike races with a

well oiled and highly organised team which includes his son David, who

is the “boat Captain” and prepares Tokoloshe faultlessly. He is the

upwind trimmer and crew boss. Charles Nankin is the main trim-

mer. Both David and Charles grew up sailing at ZVYC and RCYC.

Many of the young RSA sailors who spend time or live in the UK

race on Tokoloshe so typically they will have a crew of 12 with about

seven from South Africa.

Hi-Fidelity, owned by Eddie de Villiers, represented RCYC at Les

Voiles de St Tropez, fi rst run 26 years ago as La Nioulargue. Every year,

racing yachts get together in St Tropez in the south of France for the last

big boat regatta of the season. This attracts the top boats from all over

to race in fi ve IRC classes, the Wally class and the Classic Boat Class.

Hi-Fidelity was racing in class 3. Hi-Fidelity is a Hugh Welbourne

designed yacht, 46-foot in length, that has recently undergone a major

refi t in South Africa with the intention to race in Europe. This regatta was

her debut on the scene. The crew was made up mostly of RCYC

members, with the balance being made up of a few Italian guys.

RCYC’s Lord Irvine Laidlaw, the owner of Cape Fling in Cape Town, was

also competing in the IRC one class aboard Highland Fling, and had

South Africans Mike Giles and Jan Dekker as part of his crew. With over

300 boats competing, the parade of awesome racing machines was

something quite incredible! Hi-Fidelity fi nished third in her class and

Highland Fling won Class 1. The crew on Hi-Fidelity fl ew the RCYC

Burgee as well as the South African fl ag high.

asenathi Jim and Roger Hudson have been competing on ISAF’s

Sailing World Cup circuit since May 2011, racing in Holland, Finland,

Norway, Germany, UK, Australia, USA, Spain and France. Asenathi is the

fi rst African helmsman from southern Africa ever to have made an

impact at this level. The duo have moved rapidly up the ISAF World

Rankings, qualifying for a Gold Fleet fi nal in the fourth leg of the World

Cup circuit in France in April, and then earning themselves a place on the

South African Olympic team at the World Championships in Barcelona in

May. Keep an eye on this duo at the London Olympics in July.

adrian Kuttel and co-skipper Kiwi Conrad Coleman won the 6 000

nautical mile, third leg of the Global Ocean Race 2011/12 on Cessna Citation. For Adrian, getting there took months of physical and mental

preparation: a rigorous gym programme and hours of working through

various scenarios at sea to cope with the stress of exhaustion, lack of

sleep, homesickness, and the physical discomfort of constantly being

wet, icy cold, hungry and dehydrated.

Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire completed the Global

Ocean Race in June this year, fi nishing third overall and being the only

team to stay intact for the entire 168 days of racing over 30 000 miles.

Rick Nankin sailed the Scottish Series and the IRC Nationals overseas

as trimmer on Mike Bartholomews’ King 40 Tokoloshe in 2011. They

were fi rst in IRC Class 1 in Scotland but “not as hot” in IRC’s – the

standard was brilliant at that regatta and, although the result was short

of expectations, it was still a good performance fi nishing fi fth.

Tony Norris was based in China at McConaghy Boats for eight months

last year, training Chinese workers in composite boat building, including

Pre-preg, Infusion and Vacuum bagging processes. With eight years of

boat-building to his name, starting with the build of America’s Cup boat

Shosholoza, he project managed the building of the moulds and the

large components for the fi rst two MC2 60 high-performance cruising

catamarans. Made up of a port hull, port chine, bridge deck, starboard

chine, starboard hull, port deck, starboard deck and coach roof, Tony

and his team were required to make moulds for each of the compo-

nents. Now back in Cape Town, Tony has just built a bow sprit for the

GP42 Vulcan powered by Puma.

Paul Willcox was selected for Volvo Ocean Race’s Abhu Dhabi team in

2011. He trained with the team in Abu Dhabi and Cascais, Portugal in

2011. This year he replaced Andrew Lewis on his fi rst ever leg of the

VOR from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand and Auckland to

Itajai, Brazil, then on to Miami, Florida. He is a permanent member of

the team as helmsman/trimmer. The VOR ends in Galway, early July.

SAIL BLAZINGKeep track of our Royal Capers abroad


5 1w w w. R C Y C . C o . z A

Ray van der Linde has been working at Chinese boatyard Hudson

Yachts and Marine since February. He is running the painting pro-

gramme for three gunboats (60ft high-performance cruisers), which

includes everything from the faring and priming to set-up and then final

painting. He is also doing all the cosmetic clear carbon work, from

laminating the cosmetic layer through to clear coating the finished

product. After painting he will be involved with the running rigging,

ropework, and final sea trials. The boats are full carbon with a full

interior using honeycomb core panels and veneer to save weight. The

sails are all Quantum and the mast package comes from Marstrom.

Previous high-tech gunboats have all been known to fly hulls. The boats

in the Hudson boatyard are the first in the new series, with the first boat

expected to launch in the next few months. The pre-decessor was the

gunboat 66. The yard’s plan is for Ray, and a fellow Kiwi, to train the

local Chinese guys how to work with the materials, teach them the

techniques and processes. PH

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Clockwise from left: Mike Bartholomew and his crew on Tokoloshe; Team Abhu Dhabi; Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire did South Africa and RCYC proud at the Global Ocean Race; Adrian Kuttel on Cessna Citation; Asenathi and Roger celebrate their results at the Barcelona World Championships, which secured their place on the SA Olympic team.

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a5 2

DAY JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBERMON 1

TUE 2

WED 1 3

THU 2 4 1

FRI 3 5 2 Yachtport Overnight

SAT 4 IRC & Club Winter Series

1 6 Opening Cruise 3 Yachtport Overnight 1 Flag Officer's Team Race

SUN 1 MSC Week 5 2 7 4 2

MON 2 MSC Week 6 3 8 5 3

TUE 3 MSC Week 7 4 9 6 4

WED 4 MSC Week 8 5 10 Puma Twilight 1 7 Puma Twilight 5 5 Puma Twilight 9 – Prizegiving

THU 5 MSC Week 9 Women's Day 6 11 8 6

FRI 6 MSC Week 10 7 12 Cape Town Boat Show 9 7

SAT 7 11 L26 Western Cape Champs FBYC

8 IRC & Club Winter Series

13 Cape Town Boat Show 10 Lion Of Africa Ladies Day Race

8 Dassen Island Rally

SUN 8 12 L26 Western Cape Champs FBYC

9 14 Cape Town Boat Show 11 9 Dassen Island Rally

MON 9 13 10 15 12 10

TUE 10 14 11 16 13 11

WED 11 15 12 17 Puma Twilight 2 14 Puma Twilight 6 12

THU 12 16 13 18 15 13

FRI 13 Winter Youth Regatta 17 14 19 16 14

SAT 14 Winter Youth Regatta 18 15 Double Cape Challenge RCYC – FBYC

20 Harken Round Robben Island Pursuit

17 Kling Double Handed 4 – Prizegiving


SUN 15 Winter Youth Regatta 19 Lipton Cup FBYC 16 21 18 16 Crocs Summer Regatta Day of Reconciliation

MON 16 20 Lipton Cup FBYC 17 22 19 17 Crocs Summer Regatta Public Holiday

TUE 17 21 Lipton Cup FBYC 18 23 20 18

WED 18 22 Lipton Cup FBYC 19 24 Puma Twilight 3 21 Puma Twilight 7 19

THU 19 23 Lipton Cup FBYC 20 25 22 20

FRI 20 24 Lipton Cup FBYC 21 26 23 21

SAT 21 Kling Double Handed 1 25 Kling Double Handed 2 22 Spring Regatta FBYC 27 Kling Double Handed 3 24 Legal Eagles Race 22

SUN 22 26 23 Spring Regatta FBYC 28 25 23

MON 23 27 24 Spring Regatta FBYC Heritage Day

29 26 24

TUE 24 28 25 30 27 25 Christmas Day

WED 25 29 26 31 Puma Twilight 4 28 Puma Twilight 8 26 Boxing Day

THU 26 30 27 29 27

FRI 27 31 28 30 28


29 Double Cape Challenge FBYC – RCYC

29

SUN 29 30 30

MON 30 31

TUE 31

RCYC RaCing CalendaR 2012/2013Short-handed seriesFun PR eventsTwilight Series

Club championships RCYC rating/IRC

Offshore eventsMain regattas – Western Cape circuit

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a5 2

DAY JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBERMON 1

TUE 2

WED 1 3

THU 2 4 1

FRI 3 5 2 Yachtport Overnight


1 6 Opening Cruise 3 Yachtport Overnight 1 Flag Officer's Team Race

SUN 1 MSC Week 5 2 7 4 2

MON 2 MSC Week 6 3 8 5 3

TUE 3 MSC Week 7 4 9 6 4

WED 4 MSC Week 8 5 10 Puma Twilight 1 7 Puma Twilight 5 5 Puma Twilight 9 – Prizegiving

THU 5 MSC Week 9 Women's Day 6 11 8 6

FRI 6 MSC Week 10 7 12 Cape Town Boat Show 9 7

SAT 7 11 L26 Western Cape Champs FBYC

8 IRC & Club Winter Series

13 Cape Town Boat Show 10 Lion Of Africa Ladies Day Race

8 Dassen Island Rally

SUN 8 12 L26 Western Cape Champs FBYC

9 14 Cape Town Boat Show 11 9 Dassen Island Rally

MON 9 13 10 15 12 10

TUE 10 14 11 16 13 11

WED 11 15 12 17 Puma Twilight 2 14 Puma Twilight 6 12

THU 12 16 13 18 15 13

FRI 13 Winter Youth Regatta 17 14 19 16 14

SAT 14 Winter Youth Regatta 18 15 Double Cape Challenge RCYC – FBYC

20 Harken Round Robben Island Pursuit

17 Kling Double Handed 4 – Prizegiving


SUN 15 Winter Youth Regatta 19 Lipton Cup FBYC 16 21 18 16 Crocs Summer Regatta Day of Reconciliation

MON 16 20 Lipton Cup FBYC 17 22 19 17 Crocs Summer Regatta Public Holiday

TUE 17 21 Lipton Cup FBYC 18 23 20 18

WED 18 22 Lipton Cup FBYC 19 24 Puma Twilight 3 21 Puma Twilight 7 19

THU 19 23 Lipton Cup FBYC 20 25 22 20

FRI 20 24 Lipton Cup FBYC 21 26 23 21

SAT 21 Kling Double Handed 1 25 Kling Double Handed 2 22 Spring Regatta FBYC 27 Kling Double Handed 3 24 Legal Eagles Race 22

SUN 22 26 23 Spring Regatta FBYC 28 25 23

MON 23 27 24 Spring Regatta FBYC Heritage Day

29 26 24

TUE 24 28 25 30 27 25 Christmas Day

WED 25 29 26 31 Puma Twilight 4 28 Puma Twilight 8 26 Boxing Day

THU 26 30 27 29 27

FRI 27 31 28 30 28


29 Double Cape Challenge FBYC – RCYC

29

SUN 29 30 30

MON 30 31

TUE 31

RCYC RaCing CalendaR 2012/2013Short-handed seriesFun PR eventsTwilight Series

Club championships RCYC rating/IRC

Offshore eventsMain regattas – Western Cape circuit

w w w. r c y c . c o . z a 5 3

S A I LR C Y CC A L e n d A R

DAY JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNEMON 1 Family Day

TUE 1 New Year’s Day 2

WED 2 3 1 Workers’ Day

THU 3 4 2

FRI 4 1 Midsummer Fling Regatta

1 5 3

SAT 5 2 Midsummer Fling Regatta

2 Champagne IRC & Club Bay Race

6 Seniors Race 4 Esprit d Corps - Simon’s Town

1

SUN 6 3 Midsummer Fling Regatta

3 7 5 2

MON 7 4 4 8 6 3

TUE 8 5 5 9 7 4

WED 9 6 Puma Twilight 5 6 Puma Twilight 9 – Prizegiving

10 8 5

THU 10 7 7 11 9 6

FRI 11 8 8 12 10 7

SAT 12 Club Bay Race 9 Double Handed 2 9 Double Handed 3 13 Double Handed 4 11 Champagne IRC & Club Bay Race

8 Portugal Day Bay Race

SUN 13 10 10 Argus Cycle Tour 14 12 9

MON 14 11 11 15 13 10

TUE 15 12 12 16 14 11

WED 16 Puma Twilight 1 13 Puma Twilight 6 13 17 15 12

THU 17 14 14 18 16 13

FRI 18 15 15 19 17 14

SAT 19 Harken Round Robben Island R 2

16 16 Club Bay Race 20 Champagne IRC & Club Bay Race

18 PPS Inter Professional Challenge

15 Gordons Bay Gaul Regatta

SUN 20 17 17 21 19 16 Gordons Bay Gaul Regatta

MON 21 18 18 22 20 17 Gordons Bay Gaul Regatta

TUE 22 19 19 23 21 18

WED 23 Puma Twilight 2 20 Puma Twilight 7 20 24 22 19

THU 24 21 21 Human Rights Day 25 23 20

FRI 25 22 Mykonos Offshore 22 26 24 21

SAT 26 Double Handed 1 23 Mykonos Offshore 23 27 Freedom Day 25 Double Handed 5 22 Double Handed 6

SUN 27 24 24 28 26 23

MON 28 25 25 29 27 24

TUE 29 26 26 30 28 25

WED 30 Puma Twilight 3 27 Puma Twilight 8 27 29 26

THU 31 Puma Twilight 4 28 28 30 27

FRI 29 Good Friday 31 28

SAT 30 29

SUN 31 30

MON

TUES

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Please note that this racing programme is provisional and was correct at time of going to print.

This calendar is available to download from www.rcyc.co.za.

5 4 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

Royal Capers know how to kick back and relax on and off the waterseen at sea

1 26

9 10171514

16

1. Team Docksafe. 2. Top right: Consul Leon Naidoo, Commodore John Martin with Consul General George Mony-emangene at the New York Invitational Cup. 3. Gert Bam, Director Sports and Recreation, City of Cape Town, Mayor of Cape Town, Mrs Patricia de Lille and John Martin at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race. 4. Newly launched GP42, Vulcan, slips into the mooring on launch day. 5. Gerry Hegie celebrates his twenty-sixth birthday after a Wednesday night race. 6. Toni Mainprize, sailing events manager at RCYC, during the Volvo Ocean Race. 7. Oliver van der Pitte packing kites aboard Docksafe. 8. Crew aboard After You racing to the finish off Club Mykonos. 9. Alex Monat cruises past the fleet of Volvo 70’s at the V&A Waterfront. 10. Thunderchild anchored at Clifton fourth beach – a typical summer’s day outing in Cape Town. 11. Speed of Yellow working hard for a win. 12. Our sailing waters with Table Mountain as backdrop. 13. The RCYC pennant flying during the Midsummer Fling Regatta. 14. New York Invitational team mates Carl Richter and Wadi Xayimpi. 15. Gijs van Harten, 92, at the helm of yacht Lobelia. 16. View from the press boat during racing at the New York Invitational Cup, Newport, Rhode Island. 17. Girls racing during the Lion of Africa Ladies Day Race. 18. “Frenchie” sailed from Cape Town to Club Mykonos, Langebaan, in his custom-built craft. 19. CEO, Volvo Ocean Race, Knut Frostad, Rear Commodore Sailing, Hylton Hale and Publishing Editor-in-Chief of RCYC’s Sail, at the start of Leg 2 of the VOR in Cape Town. 20. Vice Commodore, Mike Peper, aboard his boat Storm.

5 4 w w w. r c y c . c o . z a

Royal Capers know how to kick back and relax on and off the waterseen at sea

1 26

9 10171514

16

1. Team Docksafe. 2. Top right: Consul Leon Naidoo, Commodore John Martin with Consul General George Mony-emangene at the New York Invitational Cup. 3. Gert Bam, Director Sports and Recreation, City of Cape Town, Mayor of Cape Town, Mrs Patricia de Lille and John Martin at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race. 4. Newly launched GP42, Vulcan, slips into the mooring on launch day. 5. Gerry Hegie celebrates his twenty-sixth birthday after a Wednesday night race. 6. Toni Mainprize, sailing events manager at RCYC, during the Volvo Ocean Race. 7. Oliver van der Pitte packing kites aboard Docksafe. 8. Crew aboard After You racing to the finish off Club Mykonos. 9. Alex Monat cruises past the fleet of Volvo 70’s at the V&A Waterfront. 10. Thunderchild anchored at Clifton fourth beach – a typical summer’s day outing in Cape Town. 11. Speed of Yellow working hard for a win. 12. Our sailing waters with Table Mountain as backdrop. 13. The RCYC pennant flying during the Midsummer Fling Regatta. 14. New York Invitational team mates Carl Richter and Wadi Xayimpi. 15. Gijs van Harten, 92, at the helm of yacht Lobelia. 16. View from the press boat during racing at the New York Invitational Cup, Newport, Rhode Island. 17. Girls racing during the Lion of Africa Ladies Day Race. 18. “Frenchie” sailed from Cape Town to Club Mykonos, Langebaan, in his custom-built craft. 19. CEO, Volvo Ocean Race, Knut Frostad, Rear Commodore Sailing, Hylton Hale and Publishing Editor-in-Chief of RCYC’s Sail, at the start of Leg 2 of the VOR in Cape Town. 20. Vice Commodore, Mike Peper, aboard his boat Storm.

5 5

s o c i a l s c e n e


s a i lr c y c

3 4 5

7 8

11

12 13

19

18

20

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W W W. R C Y C . C O . Z A5 6

A N N O U N C E M E N TS A I L

R C Y C

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The Royal Cape Yacht Club is proud to announce the start date

for the iconic Cape to Rio Yacht Race as 4 January 2014. This

follows the re-establishment of the race in 2011 when there

were 17 entries from six nations.

Table Bay’s yachting boom was started by the fi rst Trans-Atlantic

Race from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro in 1971, which changed RCYC

from a club with a small membership of around 300 to the present

fi gure of 3 000. Largely due to the success of South African sailor Bruce

Dalling in the 1968 South Atlantic Single-handed Yacht Race, the

Springbok Ocean Racing Trust, together with Clube do Rio de Janeiro

and in conjunction with the Cruising Association of South Africa,

organised this fi rst Cape to Rio. The organisers expected a fl eet of 10 to

15 yachts but 69 entries were received!

With Brazil as hosts of the World Cup later in the year and the

extraordinary Rio Carnival taking place – the 2014 race promises to be a

massive event. It will once again be hosted by the Iate Clube do Rio de

Janeiro. As chairman of the organising committee, I expect a fl eet of

at least 50 yachts.

To date interest has been shown from various quarters including

Angola, Monaco, the Oyster Class Association, the navies of South

Africa, India, Brazil and Britain, and obviously the RCYC’s IRC racing

fl eet, which has been notably bolstered in the last two to three years.

Another big consideration for the organising committee is how to

accommodate the highly successful Class 40 boats from Europe – dis-

cussions are ongoing in this regard.

The race is open to monohulls in the IRC Division 1 and 2 fl eets, as

well as cruising multi-hull and monohull yachts. Yachts may either be

double-handed entries or a crew of four or more. The course will be

from the start line in Cape Town directly to the fi nish line in Rio de

Janeiro. For safety reasons there is limiting latitude of 37° 07’S. The

title sponsor will be announced as soon as negotiations are concluded.

We look forward to welcoming both local and international entrants to

the Mother City and to RCYC, often referred to as “The Tavern of the

Seas” for its warm hospitality.

For further information and the notice of race, please go to the

RCYC website www.rcyc.co.za.

TALE OF TWO CITIESExcitement is already mounting for the 2014 Cape to Rio Yacht Race – the longest continent-to-continent yacht race in the southern hemisphere. By John Martin

CAPE TOWN OFFICE: +2721 200 1825 | [email protected]

View the entire Leopard range onlinewww.leopardcatamarans.com

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SAIL Magazine Vol 3

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