CAPE TO THE STAGE

With a flourishing fleet in Europe, the newest sportboat class debuted in Key West to show what all the buzz is about.

- LUCAS MASIELLO

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.