Cape 31 Gold Cup at Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez

Cape 31 Gold Cup at Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez - Day 2

by Tor Tomlinson Cheney 15 Oct 22:07 PDT 12-17 October 2026

Eker Süzme Take Command as Khumbu and G-Spot Claim Bullets

Turkey's Eker Süzme lead the first Cape 31 Gold Cup after the second day of racing in Saint-Tropez, closing a three-race day with a win to open a ten-point lead in the record 28-boat fleet

Cape 31 Gold Cup in Saint-Tropez Day 2 - photo © Sailing Energy

Three races were completed in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez on Thursday. The breeze was around 10 knots for the start of the first race of the day and built to 12-14 knots by the finish, with a little more wind for the second race.

The day began with a busy start, with a number of boats over the line, including opening-race winners Hatari, who had to go back. Guy Gillon's Khumbu made a great start, led at the top mark from the left side of the course and were locked in a tight battle with Eker Süzme all the way round. Khumbu held on to win by a small margin, with Eker Süzme second and Black Battalion third. There were strong performances too from new team lil'Desna, who finished fifth. Hatari did an amazing job to recover from their restart and climb back to sixth.

G-Spot led at the top mark of race 3 and led the whole way round for an outstanding wire-to-wire win. K-Force Junior took second and Lennard van Oeveren's Motions finished third to win the race for the Corinthian (1 Pro) division, with Give Me Five also having a great race in sixth. Behind them there were close battles throughout the fleet, not least between the overnight top three of Hatari, Eker Süzme and Khumbu.

Eker Süzme answered in style in race 4, taking the bullet ahead of Black Pearl, with Alessandro Rombelli's Stig, the Cape 31 Mediterranean Circuit champions, third.

That win, on a 2-2-7-1 scoreline, leaves Eker Süzme on 12 points, ten clear of Marcus Brennecke's Hatari on 22, while Khumbu complete the provisional podium in third on 25 points. Django are fourth on 27 and K-Force Junior complete the top five on 33, level on points with Stig.

Cape 31 Gold Cup in Saint-Tropez Day 2 - photo © Sailing Energy

Sam Gilmour, sailing with Eker Süzme, said:

"It was an awesome day for us. We had three races we're pretty pleased with, in 10 to 18 knots, which is just perfect for these boats. We knew it was going to be chaos on quite a short course, so our goal was to stay out of traffic and keep our own space. With a big fleet everyone arrives at the top mark at the same time, so you really have to fight for every metre, but it's a lot more fun. We'll take it one race at a time. Hatari are always up there and Stig are having a good event, so we're keeping an eye on them."

Cape 31 Gold Cup in Saint-Tropez Day 2 - photo © Sailing Energy

In the Corinthian division, Motions' third place in race 3 has carried them to the top on 49 points, ahead of Andrea Castrucci's Chisum on 60 and Outrage by Sériès on 69.

Racing continues on Friday 16 October.

Results after Day 2:

Pos	Bow No	Boat Name	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1	50	Eker Süzme	2	2	7	1	12
2	83	Hatari	1	6	9	6	22
3	7	Khumbu	6	1	10	8	25
4	82	Django	7	4	4	12	27
5	67	K‑Force jr	12	14	2	5	33
6	76	Stig	5	20	5	3	33
7	69	Black Seal 2	10	12	12	4	38
8	59	GSpot	11	8	1	19	39
9	27	Black Star	3	10	16	15	44
10	65	Stella Maris	15	7	17	9	48
11	63	Black Battalion	9	3	11	26	49
12	38	Motions	13	22	3	11	49
13	56	La Pericolosa	26	11	8	7	52
14	17	Gecko d’or	8	9	23	18	58
15	5	GIVE ME FIVE	24	16	6	13	59
16	58	Chisum	4	15	21	20	60
17	31	lil`Desna	25	5	14	17	61
18	42	Black Pearl	18	23	20	2	63
19	2	Outrage by Sériès	16	19	24	10	69
20	33	Terrible Joy	17	21	13	21	72
21	41	Jubilee	19	13	18	22	72
22	80	Kalantis	23	17	22	14	76
23	53	Akheilos	20	25	19	16	80
24	21	H.E.A.T	27	24	15	23	89
25	66	halbtrocken 3.1	21	18	25	25	89
26	78	Milkwave	14	27	26	24	91
27	77	Firstings	22	26	DNF	DNC	106
28	51	Chocolate	UKN	UKN	DNC	DNC	116