February 2006

When the Heineken Cape to Bahia race set sail from Table Bay in the shadows of the majestic Table Mountain on 4 January 2006, it was history in the making. Not only was single-handed and double-handed entries allowed to participate in this classic blue water epic for the first time, but a new route was also on the cards.

For the first time in the illustrious 31-year history of the race, the fleet embarked on the 3380 nautical mile Atlantic voyage heading for the sizzling city of Salvador, capital of the state Bahia in Brazil. The decision to take the race to a new finishing port was met with great enthusiasm as was evident in the 29 entries lining up on the starting line. The first South Atlantic race was sailed in 1971 from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro. Later there were also races to Punte del Este in Uruguay, before going back to Rio again. In the true spirit of exploration and adventure, the 11th race for the South Atlantic Trophy will finish in a new port at the Centro Nautico de Bahia (CENAB) in Salvador.

According to Teddy Kuttel, president of race organizers Royal Cape Yacht Club, the new route offered new challenges and excitement in keeping with the spirit of this great ocean crossing. ?We expected that the new route will make the race slightly shorter and even more attractive for participants, who want to continue cruising the Caribbean. The normally consistent sailing conditions into Salvador will hopefully allow for an exciting finish and a fitting climax to the race. CENAB also has superb yachting facilities specifically tailored for a race of this calibre and is currently the premier destination for international yacht races such as the Mini Transat, Clipper Race and Route de Rhum,” mentioned Kuttel prior to race start.

Some of South Africa’s most renowned sailors took to the water, including around-alone sailors John Martin and his five naval crewmembers (MTU Fascination of Power) and JJ Provoyeur, who took up the challenge double-handed with Anthony Spillebeen on Devonvale Broadreach. 80-year old trans-Atlantic veteran Gawie Fagan and his crew of three took on the challenge for handicap honours on the 9 metre Royal Cape One Design, Suidoos 2. Fagan made history during the 1982 race when he scored a handicap victory over a highly competitive fleet on the 40-feet Suidoos. In 2003, Fagan returned on the 29-foot Suidoos 2 and again threatened for handicap honours.

However, this time 80-year old Fagan did not carry the honour of sailing the smallest yacht in the fleet. Two mini-Transats Federico (skippered by Argentinian Rodrigo Cella) and Brittain’s Richard Smurthwaite on Crean became the smallest ever craft to participate in the crossing in their 6.5metre boats. Already several have entered and it is expected that a race within a race will develop in this single-handed class.

Lipton Cup veteran Rob Meek skippered the UK entry Windsong with Gauteng navigator Wolf Seitz, the former handicap winner on his yacht Baleka, on board. All eyes were however on the superfast Asian racer Hi-Fidelity, which owner Eddie de Villiers bought specifically for the race to challenge the line honours record of 12 days 16 hours 49 minutes and 41 seconds, set by the 75-foot American maxi Zephyrus during the 2000 Cape to Rio race.

The Cape Doctor once again ensured a blistering send-off with winds pumping up to 40 knots, which guaranteed a bumpy first night on the water. Less than 24 hours later, disaster struck when Hi-Fidelity had to return to shore after hitting a whale. Despite desperate attempts to repair the rudder and heading back to race again, Hi-Fidelity saw her hopes of line honours glory crash when the leak started again.

Within the first days of the race, the Brazilian multi-hull Adrenalina Pura co-skippered by owner Georg Ehrensperger and Donald Wright showed her class by flying at average speeds sometimes exceeding 14 knots to her home port of Salvador. Fagan also quickly stamped his authority on the race and proved his vast experience as he led the rest of the fleet on handicap for the next 9 days. Down the ranks a ding-dong battle was fought between top contenders Windsong (Rob Meek), Polo Sport Gumption (Nicholas Mace), AutoAtlantic Thunderchild (Glen & Rhett Goldswain), Devonvale Broadreach (Provoyeur/Spillebeen) and MTU Fascination of Power (John Martin).

Then the dreaded South Atlantic high pressure system struck and frustrations rose as the majority of the fleet got stuck in virtually windless conditions and became better acquainted with the term “going nowhere slowly”. Adrenalina Pura was one of the lucky few to escape the ever-widening system by heading due west and sailing over the top of the high into Salvador in a record-shattering time of 10 days 8 hours and 1 minute, taking over five days off the previous record.

Owner and skipper Georg Ehrensperger admitted to having an absolutely incredible and lucky race. “We had the best sailing on the first night of the race when the boat reached a top speed of 27 knots. Our wind never slackened and we had no problems on board. We literally just had the best weather ever,” said Ehrensperger shortly after his arrival. Ehrensperger played a huge role in persuading local organisers and the Bahian authorities to bring the race to its new finishing port of Salvador. “This might actually be my last South Atlantic race, although the boat might be back to defend her record. I would, however, very much like to stay involved in the organisational side of the race. I think this is an absolutely amazing and exciting race. It has huge potential to grow and I’d like to play a part in that,” mentioned Ehrensperger.

Ten days into the race, the lull took its toll and Windsong’s tactics of a more northerly route started paying off when they overtook Fagan in the handicap race. The super-light, hi-tech 37 feet Reichel Pugh design was always going to be a threat and clung tenaciously to their lead to eventually take both line honours and handicap honours in the mono-hull class with a crossing time of 20 days 15 hours and 46 minutes. With this stellar performance, Meek and his crew joined the illustrious company of previous double-winners Kees Bruynzeel’s Stormy (1973) and the American maxi Zephyrus (2000), the only two boats to have achieved this remarkable feat in the 35-year history of the South Atlantic race.

Gauteng businessman Nicholas Mace looked momentarily if he could challenge Windsong’s lead as he took the most northerly course of all and maintained fast speeds as the rest of the fleet slowed down dramatically. However, a mechanical and instrument failure caused him valuable time and they had to settle for a credible second place finishing a mere 23 hours after Windsong.

Fagan tenaciously fought off all other contenders to keep his podium position on handicap. John Martin on the navy yacht MTU Fascination of Power finished fourth with the German entry Mamelie fifth and double-handed entry Devonvale Broadreach in sixth place on handicap in the mono-hull class.

The Australian Neville Stanford on Blithe Spirit finished second in the multi-hull class and the quadriplegic skipper Russell Vollmer fulfilled a lifelong ambition to complete a South Atlantic crossing and ended in third place on Omnimed Segue.

Appropriately the two mini-Transats finished only 18 hours apart with Smuthwaite on Crean pipping Cella to the post during the final days of the race. Both single-handed sailors said that the race was exhausting, but they might return in bigger boats.

Except for Hi-Fidelity, the rest of the fleet safely completed the crossing before the official cut-off time on 4 February. Competitors all agreed that the new route was definitely a great attraction and that the warm hospitality in Bahia and the CENAB specifically would be enough to lure them back.

“Having a world-class brand like Heineken associated with the race for the South Atlantic Trophy enabled the Heineken Cape-to-Bahia to successfully achieve a new brand position and reach new audiences. Special thanks go to them for their partnership and support, which bodes well for the growth of the event in the years to come. WORLDSPORT was privileged to work with Heineken, Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the Race Committee and the participating skippers and sailors to make the event a high-profile success,” mentioned Chris Haber, Director: Media & Marketing of event organisers WORLDSPORT.