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 Alexela ORC World Championship 2021 held in Tallinn, Estonia in August was decided in the final inshore race in 15-20 knots of wind, a win awarding the overall Class A world title to Michael Berghorn’s Mills 45 HALBTROCKEN 4.5 from Germany. “This team was really solid this week,” said Berghorn. “We worked hard, tried to minimize mistakes, and today especially learned to sail this boat fast downwind. We have a mostly amateur team, so it is especially gratifying to have the hard work everyone has put in rewarded with Gold medals.”
The offshore-oriented Halbtrocken was originally launched as “Concubine“ in Australia. She was shipped to Germany ready to race in 2020 with the Halbtrocken Sailing Team, but with the season cut short by a global pandemic, plans were put in place for the 2021 season with the ORC Worlds at the forefront.
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Held in our IC37 One Design, the 2021 running of the historic Canada’s Cup saw the Royal Canadian Yacht Club under skipper Terry McLaughlin successfully defend against the Youngstown Yacht Club. Posting a strong set of results, the performance of RCYC’s Team Defiant showed the benefit of a two boat program leading up to the Canada’s Cup in Toronto.
Representing 125 years of competition, there were many historical firsts in the 2021 Canada’s Cup: the first match race regatta in IC37s, the first opportunity for junior sailors to participate, the first time the crews were comprised of men and women, and the first time there were father daughter crew members on both boats. Broadening the base and increasing engagement in sailing is exactly what IC37 was designed to promote.
| The DK46 Hydra of Oscar Chaves won a record fifth Copa Del Rey title when they won the BMW ORC Class 1. This high profile class which included King Felipe sailing on the TP52 Aifos went down to a single point, Fernando Léon guided Hydra to four wins but their sixth on the final days 15-18kts seabreeze clinched the title. No other boat has won 5 titles at Spains most prestigious and closely fought regatta.
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