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SA boat wins Cape to Rio

Johannesburg - The City of Cape Town yacht was declared the overall winner of the Cape to Rio yacht race announced in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.

Gerry Hegie, skipper of the winning boat on handicap, said the victory was the culmination of some gritty determination building up to the race, beginning from Cape Town’s Table Bay on January 15.

“The hard work has paid off despite all the negativity. We were not favoured before the race because we didn’t have a track history, but we put a lot of work into the boat, particularly where it would improve its performance." said Hegie.

“We ran the numbers around the IRC to optimise the yacht for this downwind race and also studied weather systems, downloaded weather files each day and worked through optimum courses. We took the boat apart and then reassembled it so we had peace of mind that we could push the boat to the very limit.” said Hegie. The boat completed the race in record-breaking time, securing Hegie and his six-man crew the prestigious South Atlantic Trophy, which will be handed over at a function at the Rio Yacht Club on Sunday evening.

“It helped having Duncan Matthews and Michael Robb there from the beginning until two weeks before the race when the Brazilians came on board. Apart from not being able to take a shower this race was a total jol,” said Hegie.

Hegie, who is sailing City of Cape Town back to South Africa on Tuesday, said it would be rewarding to see sailing receiving the same sort of profile that cricket gets in South Africa. Line honours winner Christ Frost, who smashed the record for the quickest crossing from Cape Town to Rio, arriving in just under 16 days, said the race had been a positive experience.

“Clearly it is an iconic race, the premier event on the SA circuit and a must do for any serious offshore yachtsman. It was great fun." said Frost.

"Line honours was the goal that we set out to do and we achieved it.” said Fost.

Another notable performance in this year’s race was the Robinson family and their 35ft Simonis Ciao Bella, which finished second on handicap. Ciao Bella’s crossing was a remarkable all-family affair which captured a following both in South Africa and abroad. At one stage skipper Mike Robinson and wife Gill, sons Ricky, 23, Brennan, 22, Ryan, 14, daughters Kathryn, 25, Michaela, 10 and nephew Bradley, 19 were only three nautical miles behind City of Cape Town on handicap.

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