Tokoloshe on top! Round 2 Cape 31 Race Circuit - RORC Vice Admirals Cup
Round Two of the 31 Race Circuit blew it out of the water. This was the second time the class has been at the Royal Ocean Racing Club Vice Admirals Cup and after being the smallest class last year, the Cape 31 Class was the largest in the Regatta. Two new teams joined us on the start line, Anthony O’Leary’s Antix and James Howell’s Gelert.
The class had 3 days of racing, 3 windward leeward races a day, 13 teams and some very close fought battles. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. Big tides, windy day on Friday with mixed conditions on Saturday and Sunday. Gear changes, sail changes, rig changes, lots of tactical decisions and very competitive teams made for a challenging but rewarding weekend on the water. The Bartholomew’s Tokoloshe came out on top in the end but it was by no means an easy win.
Friday began with a short postponement before a solid west-south westerly of 12-14 knots. The breeze rose further up into the 20s for the latter two races which made for some awesome Cape 31 conditions that we haven’t seen for a while.
“Once the breeze built to 15-23 knots there was quite a bit of carnage, but good speeds and lots of fun, downwind in the second race we were doing 20-22 knots a lot of the time!” said Dave Bartholomew of Tokoloshe 4.
Tokoloshe started the regatta off with a strong 1,2,1. Following closely behind was Tony Dickin’s Jubilee who were enjoying their first windy day in their new boat. Tony Dickin said, “This is great fun high performance sailing, with big speeds and lots of challenges. It’s nip and tuck all the time – make one mistake and you’re three places back!”
