Royal Cape Yacht Club hosted the annual Mykonos Offshore Regatta this weekend, the biggest offshore race in Africa. 2023 marks the 33rd anniversary of this race with 65 boats having sailed just over 60 nautical miles from Cape Town to Club Mykonos, in Saldanha Bay on the West Coast.
The boats were thrilled that it was finally a downwind sail to Club Mykonos in Langebaan. The racers departed from RCYC on Friday 24th February in a South Easter of 16 knots, guiding the fleet with their spinnakers up the whole way to the finish line. The first boats came in after 5 and a half hours, with the last boats arriving after 12 hours of sailing. Only a few boats out of the 65 starters finished after dark, making it the first time in a very long time that all racers were in their moorings by 22h00.
The Cape 31’s took overall line honours with Nitro 31 skippered by Mike Hayton and David Rae first, Orion DYP with Davey James finishing second, and MB Racing with Bjorn Geiger hot on its heels.
The regatta is broken up into two races – an exciting Pursuit Race on Saturday, evens out the competitive field on a handicap basis. The 21 nautical mile pursuit race starts at Club Mykonos, veers off to the mark off Schaapen Island, then into Saldanha Bay through the mussel beds, via North Bay and then around Jutten Island, back round the mark at Schaapen island and finishing on an exciting run to Club Mykonos.
Royal Cape Yacht Club GM Toni Mainprize concludes: “The race is widely supported by yacht clubs from around the country, even as far afield as the Vaal dam. We invite and encourage other Clubs to join in one of the best regatta weekends this country has to offer sailors. By offering complimentary moorings at RCYC for the week before the event, and Club Mykonos offering complimentary moorings for a week after the event, using a magnificent coastline for one race, using a perfect bay for racing on the second day, and topped off with a great party hosted by the generous Club Mykonos, everyone wants to take part. To go there and get ‘the’ t-shirt is never done just one, the t-shirts are too good”.
Source : Sail World
