WITH big breeze, blue water and waves, Key West has long been an ideal stage to spotlight the newest grand-prix sailing toys, which now include the emerging Cape 31 One-Design class. At the Southernmost Regatta in January, five crews of these 31-footers marked its North American arrival, and the class stole the show.
The Mark Mills-designed and South African-built sportboat has gained international attention as a high-performance speedster that is competitive in all breeze conditions. "The inspiration for the Cape 31 came from renowned Scottish yacht racer Lord Irvine Laidlaw, who wanted to provide a boost to the Cape Town yachting community with a cutting-edge boat that could be built locally and offer youth sailors a compelling reason to step up to big boats," Mills says. "It needed to offer high performance across the full range of Cape Town conditions, be fun to sail and be robust-all factors that have stood the design in good stead as it expands around the world." The 31 fleet at the Southernmost Regatta was a mix of European teams en route to winter regattas in the Caribbean and a few charters arranged for potential American owners keen to try before they buy.
"I feel momentum in terms of people talking about the boat," says Dan Cheresh, of Saugatuck, Michigan, who chartered a Cape 31 for the regatta. Cheresh is past president and champion of the C&C 30 OneDesign class, another Mark Mills design. "We have the IC37 and the J/70, but I really think that a 30-foot highly technical one-design fleet is something we're missing."
At the core of the Cape 31's success is its versatile design and ability to perform across the wind range-and more importantly, at the upper end.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Spring 2023 من Sailing World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Spring 2023 من Sailing World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Tips for More Successful Epoxy Projects
That have nothing to do with epoxy mixing or application techniques
Auxiliary Rear Station Build
From past fishing experiences, I've learned that quick changes in speed and direction are often required when retrieving a hooked fish.
TARGETED PERFORMERS
Defending their title at the 420 Youth Worlds in July, Freddie Parkin and Asher Beck were on a roll-until they weren't.
BALANCE ON THE PINNACLE
The path to gender equity in the Olympics has been a long and twisted one, but when the sailors assemble in Marseille next year, we'll finally see what's been a long time coming.
SIMPLE STEPS TO CONSISTENT SPEED
Boatspeed is the magic ingredient for winning races because we can get away with bad decisions if we are fast, but we can't make good choices if we're slow.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL JIB-LEAD ADJUSTMENTS
Floating jib leads give trimmers more dynamic control of the headsail profile.
BETTER TOGETHER
Success over three decades comes down to making it meaningful.
JUSTINE THE MACHINE
This self-effacing Swiss sailor has-in her quiet and understated way become one of the stars of offshore ocean racing in recent years, whether as part of a winning crew in The Ocean Race or building her credentials as a top-class solo racer.
THE MULTITASKING MULTIHULL MOM
Competing in Olympic sailing's most challenging discipline is one thing, but doing so with a tyke in tow takes the campaign hustle to a higher level.
CONNECTED COAST TO COAST
From sunny St. Pete to historic Marblehead, the 34th edition of the Regatta Series linked sailors and friends across the country, with a few new twists.
