Tag: Cape 31
Mark Mills was named Yacht Designer of the Year, and the Cape 31 was named Asian Sailing Yacht of the Year 30’-45’, at the 2024 Asian Marine & Boating Awards held during the Shanghai International Boat Show. Collected on Mills’ behalf by Luke Greene of Enterprise Ireland, this second Designer of the Year Award for Mills is an honour reflecting our involvement over 20 years in Asian Racing. Even more exciting is the award for the Cape 31, with the fifth boat inbound to Hong Kong it ensures solid fleet racing in Asia in the worlds most exciting One Design Class is now a reality! Photo: Guy Nowell
The first Cape 31 in France, Peter Dubens’ North Star 2 set an unbeatable pace by dominating their 27-boat IRC D class with a scoresheet of 3,1,1,1,1 in perfect St Tropez conditions at Frances most significant IRC event, Les Voiles de St. Tropez. As a result they were awarded the IRC Sword for outstanding IRC performance amongst all 140 competitors in the modern fleet.
North sailmaker Sam Richmond who was sailing on board said, “Fast, fun racing – big smiles all round. We had a bit of luck with courses and conditions but sailed very cleanly against some super competitive IRC boats.” North Star 2’s owner Peter Dubens who controls the North Technology Group of companies including North Sails and Southern Spars brought his Cape 31 to France just to race at Les Voiles, before joining Cape 31 One Design events around the world.
The third annual Cape 31 Invitational 2020 showcased the fabulous sailing venue of Cape Town, the Royal Cape Yacht Club, and the Cape 31 Class, providing the opportunity for the Cape Town fleet to compete against foreign teams as a way to spread the word worldwide. With 10 boats on the start line Niall Dowlings’ Irish visitors Arabella started Day 1 well, with four races sailed in westerly breeze between 10 and 14 knots with a flat sea. By the end of the day however at the top Gerry Hegie and his Seascape Yanmar team led from Nitro, both on 13 points.
Saturday saw four more races sailed initially in lighter conditions, with Tony Norris on TNT Racing starting with two bullets, chased by Nitro, Seascape, and Arabella all posting strong results as the breeze filled. However the Cape Doctor arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning, leading to the final day of racing being cancelled and crowning TNT Racing champions for the second year running.
From helmsman and owner Bjorn Geiger “The max speed we recorded on that reach was 23.5 knots with wind gusts up to 46 knots. Not as fast as we have been in the past but still a healthy speed.”
Rotate around to see Table Mountain and watch the breeze build!
The Cape31 Training Regatta took place in Cape Town November 23-25, with professional coaching and drone footage provided with the assistance of TNT owner Dr. Tina Plattner. This was very beneficial for those taking part,a nd produced some fabulous footage!