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Cape 31 Race Circuit Round 1 at the International Paint Poole Regatta

by Tor Tomlinson 9 May 2022 02:09 PDT 30 April - 2 May 2022
Cape 31 Race Circuit Round 1 at the 2022 Poole Regatta © James Tomlinson

Round 1 of the 31 Race Circuit began this weekend with 11 boats heading to Poole Regatta. It kicked off with a North Sails training day on the Friday afternoon after the teams had delivered their boats along the coast.

North Sails experts Ben Saxton led the day with Ruaridh Wright and designer Matias Sabate running racing and David Howlett, British Sailing Team coach providing expert coaching. Practice starts, practice racing and helpful tips from the coaches was the vibe of the afternoon before heading in to ready the Cape 31's for racing and heading to the competitors drinks reception.

The eleven strong Cape 31 fleet completed 4 windward leeward races on Saturday in light conditions. The breeze built slightly during the day with the final race seeing 7-9 knots.

Race 1 took place in quite light winds - the Race Committee did well to start on time. A clear divide in strategy saw half the Cape 31 fleet take port and the other starboard tack, the fleet came back together closely at the top mark, with both groups converging perfectly for the run back down the course. A significant drop in the already light wind resulted in a shortened race and a pause to wait for things to pick up.

A steady sea breeze soon kicked in and despite a significant shift from east to west challenging the race officers and a lumpy swell, this made for great racing as the breeze built and shifted during each of the three remaining races.

Shotgunn took the first two wins of the season winning the pin and sailing off into clean breeze. With Harlequin and Fanatic also taking race wins it was great to see a mix of boats at the top. Third to eighth were separated by only four points - testament to how close the racing was in the four races we had. Had there been another day of racing it would have been very easy for the table to be split.

Unfortunately the fleet had no racing on Sunday due to light winds and a building tide. Monday was also called off due to a tragic accident involving one of the sailors at Poole Regatta. Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of the sailor involved.

Michael Wilson and Vince Hayter's 'Shotgunn' lived up to its name bagging two firsts and a third to seal victory for the regatta, whilst a consistently creditable performance from the Bartholomew's 'Tokoloshe' placed the team second.

Congratulations to Shotgunn on winning Round 1 of the Cape 31 Race Circuit and their second regatta on the water - great to see new teams at the top of the table. Second place was taken by Tokoloshe who sailed a very consistent 4,4,3,2 closely followed by Harlequin sailed by Bertie Bickett for this weekend. First to third all new boats that have been delivered in the last few months.

Overall Results:

PosBoatSail NoHelmClubR1R2R3R4Pts
1stShotgunnGBR 3114XMichael Wilson/Vince HayterIsle of Man YC11‑835
2ndTokoloshe 4GBR 312XMichael BartholomewRoyal Cape YC‑44329
3rdHarlequinGBR 3113XJonathan GoodwinRYS‑761411
4thFanaticGBR 318XJohnny Cooper 38‑9112
5thJubileeGBR 3110XTony DickinRSrnYC‑834613
6thShort EchoGBR 317XBarry SampsonItchenor SC‑925714
7thSardonyx XGBR 319XWilliam EdwardsRTYC672‑915
8thKataBaticGBR 314XLance AdamsISC55‑6515
9thNiftyGBR 316XRoger BowdenRSrnYC2‑10101022
10thJiraffeGBR 315XSimon PerryRYS RSrnYC‑1097824
11thSquirtGBR 311Peters familyRYS (DNC)DNCDNCDNC36

Less than three weeks to go until Round 2 at the RORC Vice Admiral's Cup. With five new boats arriving this week (four into Ireland) the class will have 14+ boats on the startline for round 2.

See full results at www.cape31uk.com

Cape 31 Race Circuit Dates:

  • Round 2 - RORC Vice Admirals Cup
  • Round 3 - Royal Southern June Regatta
  • Round 4 - Cowes Week
  • Round 5 - Royal Thames Invitational
  • Round 6 - RYS Cape 31 Nationals

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