Cape to Rio Race – Start

4 January 2014

A light westerly was forecast, with this materialising as the fog lifted over Table Bay. The start was set off green point, with a short leg to a laid mark, before boats bore away and set their spinnakers to a mark off Milnerton and then Blouberg. Maserati led the fleet to the first mark closely followed by Scarlett Runner and Explora. Downwind saw Scarlett Runner able to sail lower, and with a slightly better VMG. When the boats rounded the Milnerton Mark, it was Scarlett Runner a few lengths ahead of Maserati.

Once the procession was over, almost all the boats turned due west in search of the predicted Southerly that should arrive early this morning (Sunday). Maserati is leading the charge, they are furthest North and furthest west. Scarlett Runner is positioned strongly to hook into the southerly shortly after.

There was a plethora of spectator boats to wish the fleet farewell, which was great to see. There is some great support for the guys heading out to race, so watch this space for regular updates and see how the race unfolds.

Follow the fleet on the race tracker via this link:  http://www.xtra-track.com/cape2rio2014

Have a look at the great pics Trevor Wilkins took of the start at:

https://plus.google.com/photos/117086593120942909819/albums/5965038560566442689?authkey=CIvyu-jC_Iu9xgE