cape to rio yacht race winners

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Home » South Africa Makes History in Cape 2 Rio with 1st Solo Sailer and Township Crew to Complete Yacht Race

South Africa Makes History in Cape 2 Rio with 1st Solo Sailer and Township Crew to Complete Yacht Race

South African solo sailer Adrian Kuttel made history this week in the Cape 2 Rio race, along with SA skipper Sibusiso Sizatu. Kuttel is the first competitor to bravely complete the famous yacht race as a solo sailer (see more below), while Sizatu and his awesome ArchAngel teammates are the first complete crew to finish […]

South African solo sailer Adrian Kuttel made history this week in the Cape 2 Rio race, along with SA skipper Sibusiso Sizatu. Kuttel is the first competitor to bravely complete the famous yacht race as a solo sailer (see more below), while Sizatu and his awesome ArchAngel teammates are the first complete crew to finish who grew up in townships – where sailing on the wild seas was something you could only dream about.

In fact Sizatu – who used to herd the family’s livestock as a child – thought the ocean was a large lake the first time he saw it. Now he’s a role model for many young black and white aspiring yachtsmen.

In making their dream come true, the brave, resilient and hardworking team has inspired a nation. Sponsor Alexforbes said: “A tremendous journey, a gruelling test – and yet the Alexforbes ArchAngel crew have accomplished the goal!” They did it in 24 days, 7 hours, 36 minutes and 48 seconds – arriving safely in Rio – after a challenging 3,675 nautical miles – on Thursday night. Their final positions were: Line Honours: 8th; IRC: 3rd; ORC: 2nd.

Led by skipper Sizatu, the team (aged 21 to 30) – who were trained by the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) – also includes First mate Daniel Agulhas, Justin Peters, Azile Arosi and Renaldo Mohale. They come from townships in Cape Town in the Western Cape: Masiphumele, Khayelitsha, Grassy Park and Athlone.

“We are so proud of you Archangels. Congratulations on a very well sailed race, on your team spirit, on your personal achievements and representing the Royal Cape Yacht Club the RCYC Academy and Alexforbes so beautifully. Well Done!”

SA Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa said (before they set off on the race): “All were born without privilege, but with the determination, tenacity, discipline, commitment and the professional training provided by the Royal Cape Yacht Club Academy, they are making more than waves – they are making an impact. They serve as an example to all of us (and especially our youth) that with the right support, anything is possible…”

The vessel Argonaut, skippered by Charles McDonald, came in just 23 minutes after ArchAngel.

SA solo sailer Adrian Kuttel makes history

Another incredibly brave South African, Adrian Kuttel , also made sailing history with his excellent performance (on his own through stormy seas!) to provisionally win the monohull category. Kuttel sailed SOLO across the south Atlantic Ocean and in the smallest vessel in the entire fleet. Although his JPK 1030 – named Atalanta (Sentinel Ocean Explorer) – finished 61 minutes behind Michael Kavenagh’s Ray of Light (which had a full crew), Kuttel received handicap honours since he sailed the Cape2Rio single-handedly, according to Sports Club . His was the first solo entry ever into the Cape2Rio.

The admin on Atalanta’s page said: “A new World class solo winner and Crown Trophy of the Cape to Rio 2023 . His three kids Isabella, Sienna and Luke Kuttel are so proud of their daddy!”

Kuttel’s boat was named after the charity that he supports, Sentinel Ocean Alliance , in a mission to raise awareness for it. The charity creates ocean-based opportunities for the youth of SA’s coastal community… helping them become aware of the ocean, fall in love with it, and strive to protect it.

This year is the 50th Cape 2 Rio race, with 16 boats from around the world. Also taking party in the famous 6,000km race is Just Jinjer’s lead singer Ard Matthews . After a stop at St Helena, he said in a video post this weekend that their aim is to get to Brazil by the 8th or 9th of February.

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The first Cape to Rio yacht race takes place

Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau. N.B This source is from the archive.|Andre Wessel, (2013),  Flag showing cruises by South African Warships , from SA Navy,  25 November [online], Available at  navy.mil.za  [Accessed: 8 January 2009]|Morgani, B. (2008),  Sailing legend Dalling passes away , from SouthAfrica.info,  9 July [online], Available at  www.southafrica.info  [Accessed: 7 January 2008]

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Cape2rio 2023. they’re off to rio today.

January 2, 2023 585 Views

by Richard Crockett

On 13 January 1973 the second Cape to Rio yacht race started in Cape Town with 43 yachts competing, and today, 50 years later another fleet of intrepid sailors head off into the South Atlantic in their quests to win the race to Rio.

The race organisers had learnt a lot from the very first race in 1971, and had fine-tuned things considerably for their own administrative benefit as well as those of the competitors.

For me the biggest change was that Ilha da Trindade became a mark of the course as in the previous race the fleet was spread so far across the ocean that it was impossible for the SA Navy Guardship to keep tabs on everyone. By making these islands a course mark, the fleet concertinaed as they approached the island and set course for the final leg to Rio. This was in the days prior to GPS, electronic navigation and satellite tracking. Today we know exactly where each yacht is almost instantly.

A highlights of that race was ‘Stormy’, skippered by the “old man of the sea” Kees Bruynzeel, taking both line and handicap honours, and acknowledging victory as “the crowning achievement of my yachting career”.

The German yacht ‘HIC III’ broke her mast very shortly after the start. She quickly secured a new mast and returned to the race days later.

The biggest scandal of the race was the stowaway aboard ‘Albatross II’ which was skippered by Richard Edwards. When Edwards discovered his “green-eyed problem”, his girlfriend, aboard, he decided to only declare her presence at the finish.

The final highlight was the favourite for line honours, ‘Ondine’, skippered by Huey Long, retiring after taking too southerly a course, and running out of wind. He retired with grace and promised to return in 1976 – a promise he kept.

From the heady days of the first race in 1971 of 69 entries to the massive 128 starters in 1976, this year the race is tame and far more compact in comparison.

As in every race there is always an eclectic range of yachts and crew, all with very different goals and dreams to fulfill. Some simply want to have the experience of crossing an ocean and take things casually, while others set out with the intention of winning and push hard 24-hours a day from start to finish.

For the landlubbers reading this, ocean racing is a non-stop 24-hour slog day in and day out, with the night watches being even more important than those during daylight hours. The reason is that fatigue, night blindness and a relaxed attitude can prevail at night, making the hours of darkness achieve less in terms of distance sailed compared to daylight hours. Oh, and no, they don’t drop the anchor at night and sleep!

Napoleon Bonaparte is alleged to have said that an army marches on its stomach. It’s true, as while the crew may not be getting their 10 000 steps every day, every muscle in their bodies is constantly moving as they trim the sails, steer the boat or just go about their daily routines. So the role of the cook is vitally important as those bodies need feeding – constantly. A good cook will keep morale up by keeping their charges well fed and well watered, especially with that late night hot drink or early morning coffee at the change of watch.

Talking of watches, each skipper has a system they prefer and stick to. The most common though, is four hour watches during the night and 6 hour watches during the day. This gives the off watch every second night of just a single watch – and believe me, it’s always well appreciated. However, when the chips are down or a sail needs changing, it’s “all hands on deck” whether off watch or not.

There are just 17 yachts celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Cape to Rio Race.

There are several yachts capable of winning this race on handicap, and the winner will come from the crew who drive their boat the hardest and fastest throughout the race. Yachst such as ‘Alexforbes Archangel’, ‘Audaz’, ‘Cool Ideas Nemesis’, DHL Me2me’, ‘Ray of Light’, ‘Sterna’ and ‘Translated 9′ are all in with a shout for bragging rights of winning the 2023 Cape2Rio race.

My sentimental favourite is ‘Alexforbes Archangel’, and not because they are a black team of sailors from disadvantaged backgrounds, but simply because this entire crew has the experience, ability, knowledge and level-headedness to perform to a high level and take the race by the scruff of the neck and win.

The team is skippered by Sibusiso Sizatu (30) who is backed up by Daniel Agulhas (29) as first mate, with Renaldo Tshepo Mohale (29), Thando Mntambo (23), Azile Arosi (22) and Justin Peters (21) as the balance of crew.

Plus, they have put an inordinate amount of quality time in to their preparations, as mental as well as physical preparation is required to successfully race a yacht across and ocean.

This is acknowledged by Sibusiso Sizatu who said “you mentally pace yourself to spend a long time out at sea. We know we are in for the long haul – between 24 and 27 days.”

A testament to their ability is the fact that all crew members have their basic skipper’s ticket, with three having passed the written and practical exams for their offshore skipper’s certificate of competence. They have also completed courses in personal survival techniques, while Justin Peters and Sibu Sizatu completed a diesel mechanic course enabling them to work on the boat in the case of engine failure.”

The bottom line is that this is a well prepared team.

Line honours should, on paper, be taken by ‘Translated 9′ which at 65-foot long is the biggest boat in the fleet, although there are some multihull which could make the quickest passage and snatch line honours, with ‘Aventureiro 4′ leading that challenge.

There is a lone singlehanded entry from Adrian Kuttel who will be sailing ‘Atalanta’, a hot modern racer. While he won’t have the luxury of crew to assist him, he has put in an inordinate amount of physical training to prepare for the race. Who knows, he may well surprise many at the finish line!

Going along at a leisurely pace will be ‘The Impossible Machine (TIM)’ which is owned by Ard Matthews, one of South Africa’s most prized singers, song writers and award-winning artists who will be competing in his first ocean race.

‘The Impossible Machine (TIM)’ was formerly known as The Howard Davis, and under that name did several races to Rio, so maybe there is a special groove in the water which she will follow!

Despite the small entry, this is a quality fleet, and a very open race which is difficult to call.

The race will be tracked by YB Tracking (https://www.ybtracking.com) With positions updated every few hours. It’s a great way to follow the race closely, with good sailing info supplied by the satellite trackers.

The race website is: https://cape2riorace.com/

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• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Cape to Rio Race

• January 5, 2003

A fleet of 11 yachts left Cape Town yesterday for the first start of the of SAP Cape to Rio race

The fleet of 11 yachts, which left Cape Town yesterday during the first start of the SAP Cape to Rio yacht race, made good progress overnight. British entry Safari CTW, skippered by David Tideswell, covered the longest distance of 130 kilometres.

Robin Green on the small Miura Julie III averaged 5.13 knots to sail 123 kilometres. The Brazilian entry Acalantis became the first victim of the race when they had to pull into Velddrift along the West Coast after crew member Rodolfo Carrera sustained serious injuries to his hand.

Three fingers were cut to the bone and he was admitted to Vredenburg Hospital where he had to receive several stitches and painkillers. A very disappointed Carrera was driven back to Cape Town and was due to leave for Milan on Sunday night. Acalantis will continue her journey to Rio.

Suidoos 2 and Cumin Thru both failed to report in on Sunday morning and may run the risk of a time penalty. Suidoos 2, the smallest boat in the fleet, showed her mettle by taking an early lead after the start in a strong Southeaster. 77-year old Gawie Fagan is considered a strong contender for handicap honour in the monohull class.

In the meantime, the crew of another line honours contender in the monohull class Morning Glory is racing against the clock. The freighting agents today announced a delay in the arrival of the container ship carrying the yacht. She is now expected to arrive in Cape Town on Monday and will be launched on Tuesday – five days before the second start of the race on Saturday, 11 January 2003.

CAPE2RIO 2023 UPDATE

Update on the 2023 Cape to Rio entries, by Liesl King

The Cape2Rio 2023 committee is delighted to have seven confirmed entries 18 months from the start of the race. To date a further 12 enquiries have been received with interest coming from as far afield as New Zealand and Morocco.

“This is viewed as healthy, and we continue to push for more and more foreign entries. Please support the committee in promoting the race at every level”, said race director Anthony Spillebeen.

The confirmed entries include the newly launched monohull Black Pearl , a new IRC optimised water ballasted Botin56.  In Cape2Rio 2017  the team won overall Handicap honours and lifted the South Atlantic Race Trophy with an earlier Black Pearl.

The multihull Aventureiro 4 , an Outremer 51 belonging to Johan “Hans” Hutzler spearheaded the Brazilian entries, followed shortly thereafter by Marcio Lima’s Delta 465, which will be launched in 2022. Lima and his crew will be representing Clube dos Jangadeiros, located in Porto Alegre, South Brazil

The 1976 entrant Criloa , an Impala 35, is set to return for Cape2Rio 2023 with an all-female crew led by Carina Magri Seixas. Commissioned in 1973, Criloa will be celebrating her 50 th birthday in 2023 and this celebration has been part of the inspiration behind this entry.

Local entries include RCYC member Adrian Kuttel’s JPK 1030 named Sentinel Ocean Explorer , which he will be sailing in the single handed division of Cape2Rio Race 2023. The yacht is named after the charity, Sentinel Ocean Alliance, which he has been instrumental in supporting.

Another local entry is the gorgeous 40’ Gaff Cutter Bahari , belonging to husband-and-wife team of Brenton and Kim Chauncey. Bahari is the first cruising entry and after reaching Rio, the Chaunceys aim to cruise to Ilha Grande and then onwards to the Caribbean and the Med.

Lastly but certainly not least is the very exciting RCYC Academy entry that will be crewed by graduates of the Club’s in-house Sailing Academy. The Academy crew will sail on board Gryphon a Simonis 40-footer led by Skipper Sibusiso Sizatu.  The current crew list includes Olympic Sailor, Asenathi Jim and a talented group of sailors in Joweal Klaase, Thando Mntambo, Azile Arosi and Daniel Agulhas.

The three reserves are Justine Peters, Lebogang January and Ovayo Myira and the Campaign Manager is Academy Director Lindani Mchunu, RSA representative on the World Sailing Trust, supported by long time Cape2Rio stalwart Bruce Tedder.

“As a organising committee we look to continually position the Cape2Rio Race alongside some of the great ocean races of the world, a Southern Hemisphere event which takes place at the height of the European winter, a logical and pleasant way to enjoy some sun and warm water sailing after the traditional Summer circuit of the Mediterranean”, concluded Spillebeen.

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