9 boats will set off tomorrow, Sat 11th Jan to prove their skill and abilities crossing the Atlantic. The monohulls and multihulls will start 30 minutes apart, giving the “slower” monohulls a small head start of the high-speed multihull fleet. The competition is on in the multihull fleet with Giovanni Soldini’s Mod 70, Maserati and South African Craig Sutherland’s 80ft French trimaran, Love Water racing neck to neck to break the transatlantic record of just over 10 days.
The magnificent Maserati Mod 70 showing her pace in Table Bay. Giovanni Soldini and his crew hope to break their transatlantic record of 10 days in the Cape to Rio yacht race. They start on 11th Jan. #maseratimod70 #maserati #cape2rio2020 #recordbreaker
Posted by SAIL+Leisuremag on Saturday, 4 January 2020
The #Sail4good initiative has encouraged the 2020 entrants to support a charity of their choice. Most teams have taken up the challenge and are encouraging their supporters and sponsors to get involved and give back. You can get involved by donating here.
A good example of this initiative is seen with LoveWater and their link to the WWF to tackle marine plastic pollution.
The 80-foot, French trimaran includes crew members Craig Sutherland, Ken Venn, Mike Clarke, Phil Lambrecht, Rick Garratt, Mike Minkley, Antoine Rabaste and Brian Thompson. They have set two goals – to break the previous Cape to Rio record set by rival Maserati on their Volvo 70 in the 2014 edition of the race, and to promote environmental awareness around the impact of plastic pollution on marine life while doing so.
Follow Love Water’s progress at https://my.yb.tl/lovewater and the social media channels of both #LoveWater and WWF South Africa.
Young, diverse team Zulu Girl ready for the challenge:Zulu Girl powered by Mazi Asset Managment have put diversity and adventure at the top of their racing game for this years Cape to Rio Yacht Race. Led by skipper Siyanda Vato, this young and dynamic team of sailors has been working hard to get ready for the race of a lifetime. Their goal is to place in the top of the fleet and they are ready to take on the Cape to Rio Yacht Race 2020.
Zulu Girl Racing’s objective is to be highly competitive in the race, and to be an inspiration for young South Africans to show that a crew of young, diverse South African sailors can compete with the world’s best in this 3500 nautical mile transatlantic ocean race.
The crew members include Siya Vato (skipper), Marlon Jones (driver & trimmer), Yonela Mkaza (crew boss), Joweal Klaas (sail expert & foredeck), Rudi Van Velzen (boat captain & engineer) and Pete Marsh.
Start Programme Saturday 11 January 2020
10h00 – Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony at Royal Cape Yacht Club.
11h30 Fleet Departure to Quay 6 in V&A Waterfront
The VIP spectator boat, “SetSea”and the media boat will depart RCYC and lead the fleet to the V&A Waterfront.
12h00 Public sail-past and fleet farewell at Quay 6 in the V&A
The Noon Gun will signal the start of the public farewell procession of the fleet and their departure for the race start in Table Bay.
13h00 Last yacht leaves the V&A Waterfront
All yachts proceed to the start area in Table Bay.
13h50 Race start warning signal
14h00 Start 2 for Monohulls
14h30 Start 2 for Multihulls
Spectator boats are welcome to enjoy the start on the water, but must please keep well clear and monitor race communications on radio channel VHF06 whilst in the bay. Please also keep a listening watch on channel VHF14 for any communication from Port Control. Marshal boats have pink flags – please follow their instructions.
The official Virtual Regatta Game and of course links to all the photos of the first start can be found on the Cape 2 Rio 2020 Website.
