Cape Town Crusaders

We were very fortunate to have visited the Cape Town Boat Show this year, and according to the organisers it was a far cry from first show, held just four years ago. Although a large percentage of the boats built in South Africa are exported, there is a strong boating following and indeed an important boating heritage in the south-west South African city. In fact, the Royal Cape Yacht Club, where the boat show was held this year, is one of the biggest yacht clubs in the southern hemisphere, boasting a membership in excess of 3000. Boating has understandably been part of the South African culture since the port town was established in 1652. Cape Town is still a bustling working port and, like all modern ports, it boasts a fabulous shopping and eatery precinct based on the old dock areas around Victoria Basin. I spent hours soaking up the history while checking out the shops, visiting the maritime museum, watching the local artists, and having a feed of fresh seafood in one of the many restaurants on the dock. But back to the boat show. South Africa builds and exports yachts, RIBs, powerboats, and above all, catamarans. In terms of yachts, not many currently come to these shores; however, we have tested the Fast 42 in these pages, and while over there we also saw its competition, the Leisure 42 - an example of which will compete in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race this year after sailing out from South Africa on its own bottom. Another yacht that has done well on the international market is the beautiful Shearwater 45 cruiser. We visited the Acheson Rossa Custom Yachts factory and were impressed by the company's versatility. Under construction at the time was a Shearwater, a 60ft lightweight cat and a lovely Richel Pugh 37 carbon race yacht. We were invited to go for a sail in the midweek twilight on the first of the 37s out of Acheson Rossa, and although we didn't have much wind (in fact, it dropped out completely) we did get a bit of a sail in the early part of the race. The 37 is a real lightweight flyer, but it's surprisingly easy to sail. We had a full crew onboard and half of us had nothing to do. Hopefully with a couple more boats on the way, Acheson Rossa can get some exposure for them and export a few. Cats seem to be the big thing out of SA at the moment, and the giant Moorings charter company is now buying many of its cats from the Robertson and Caine company in Cape Town. In fact, we understand that Robertson and Caine has supplied in excess of 260 cats to Moorings in the 40–47ft range. Although around 95 per cent of the Robertson and Caine boats end up in either the US or Caribbean, there are a couple here in Australia and, according to the manufacturers, there could be more coming. Watch this space. We went for a sail on a Jaguar 36 from Charter Cats, SA in Durban, which was on its delivery trip from Durban to Florida, USA - a trip of some 8000nm. According to skipper Ian Engelbrecht, it would take 50 days of solid sailing. Ian has done the trip around 27 times and is more than happy with the cats at sea. That's quite a rap, but then they're paying his bills... I found the Jaguar to be a well-equipped boat that was cost-effective, though lacking a bit in fit and finish when compared to the European boats. The Cape Town Boat Show is not the biggest exhibition in the world, but what it lacks, for the moment, in physical size, it makes up for in enthusiasm. I didn't get to talk to all of the 110 exhibitors there, but the ones I did get to chat with - and there were many - all had the same positive and excited attitude to the industry in SA. Inexpensive labour costs and a buoyant industry mean that everything from sails (Quantum and North Sails have big manufacturing facilities there and export all over the world) to big custom-built yachts and cats can be made very cost effectively. It's not widely known that many of our RIBs and sea kayaks come out of South Africa, and I dare say that we'll see more in the future. South Africa is a go-ahead place for the marine industry, and I'm certainly looking forward to next year's Cape Town Boat Show. TEAM SHOSHOLOZAWhile in South Africa, I had the chance to meet up with a few of the South African America's Cup crew from Team Shosholoza. What surprised and inspired me about these guys was their attitude to the whole America's Cup experience. One of the most enthusiastic and animated was Manuel Mendes - the technical co-ordinator for the team. Manuel's eyes light up when he talks of the team and its hopes and aspirations for the Cup: "We're not expecting to win," he says. "We're there to put South Africa on the map as a sailing nation. We have the spirit and the enthusiasm to do well, and we won't be disgraced - we'll be proud of our achievements whatever they are." The team is currently campaigning a second-hand boat in Spain, but we can confirm that a second boat is under construction in Cape Town. The boat has been designed by Jason Ker - an up-and-coming designer from England who has been widely tipped to take over the cutting-edge design of America's Cup boats from the more established designers. Skipper is Geoff Meek - a world champion South African yachtsman who was the alternate skipper for the British team in their pre-America's Cup trials in Freemantle in 1987. As a skipper and helmsman, Meek has won many international big-boat yacht-racing championships over the years. He has also won every major offshore regatta in South Africa and holds the record of 20 Table Bay Race Week championship titles. He has been South African Yachtsman of the Year five times, and has been awarded SA Colours for yachting six times. He has also been awarded the State President's Sports Merit Award. It has always been Meek's dream to skipper a South African Challenge in the America's Cup. He is 51 years old.

Cape Town Crusaders

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