The Royal Southern Yacht Club played host to Round One of the 2024 31 Race Circuit, delivering a spectacular weekend of competitive sailing that truly tested the mettle of the 17 Cape 31 teams in attendance. The German team La Pericolosa secured their second overall win in the 31 Race Circuit, the first in 2024. The Irish team Antix secured their first win of the Corinthian/1 professional division.
The weekend's racing showcased a range of weather conditions. Friday witnessed a sunny start, accompanied by 8-12 knots of breeze. The German team, La Pericolosa, claimed victory in the first race, with Chaotic in second and Khumbu Red in third. Simon Perry's Jiraffe secured the win in the second race following some Z flag penalties before also clinching the final race of the day!
Saturday's forecast mirrored Friday's conditions, but upon reaching the racecourse, it became evident that the fleet would have a little more breeze to play with. Race Officer Stuart Childerly had four races planned having seen the lighter forecast for Sunday. La Pericolosa well and truly won the day, smashing out 3 bullets and a second in the four races. Race six belonged to Julian Metherall’s Bullit, fresh in from competing at Round 2 of the MED circuit in St Tropez.
The teams were AP’d ashore on Sunday morning; once out on the race track, it took a little while for the breeze to come in. Once it did, there were race wins for Nick Phillips’ Chaotic and the 2023 Corinthian Champions Antix.
The overall champion of the regatta emerged as Christian Schwoerer's La Pericolosa, who showcased exceptional consistency throughout the competition. Discarding a twelfth-place finish, they were left with a remarkable scorecard seventeen points ahead of second place. The podium was completed by Nick Phillips' Chaotic in second place and Christian Hamilton’s brand new Khumbu Red in a well-deserved third place at their first Cape 31 regatta. In the Corinthian section, the O’Learys' Antix emerged victorious, closely followed by David Cummins’ Flurg and Charlie Whelan’s The Bodfather.
Christian Hamilton, Khumbu Red, said “Got the boat at the tail end of last year and have had a few training days since then. We’ve had a great few days, really pleased with the weekend. The fleet has been really warm and welcoming. The closeness of the racing is awesome.”
The Royal Southern Yacht Club were great hosts, with live music, Top Nosh food van and cocktails from The Patience Spirit Co. Prize Giving at the club on Sunday featured some epic prizes from Harken, Doyle Sails and Mount Gay Rum for the winners. With the conclusion of this thrilling event, all eyes are now on Round 2, set to take place in a few weeks at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in May.
Thank you to the Royal Southern Yacht Club for hosting and to our International Class Partners Doyle Sails, Quantum Sails, as well as our National Partners, North Sails, Peters and May, Harken, Mount Gay, Ocean Art, and Hamble Yacht Services.