After a break of four years, yacht race entries have started flooding in after the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) revived the St Helena yacht race to the unique island.
Sailors are preparing to race to one of the most remote islands in the world after St Helena Tourism earlier this year asked the RCYC to organise a yacht race to their island, which RCYC very eagerly accepted.
The Governor’s Cup, raced for biannually since 1996, gave the race its title until 2014. Then, to the great dismay of many blue-water sailing enthusiasts, both South African and St Helenian, the event was put on hold.
Even though the race constituted a major highlight since its conception, logistical issues and waning entries unfortunately eventually discouraged the organising clubs from continuing the popular race.
When news broke that an airfield was built on the island last year, many a sailor's ear pricked up. Suddenly, the time it takes to reach the island or return to Cape Town is no longer an issue.
Weekly flights with SA Airlink nowadays make visiting St Helena easy and convenient, and the island is experiencing a steadily increasing influx of tourists since.
To date, 16 boats have entered the Cape to St Helena, the most exciting and longest yacht race on the local 2018/19 sailing calendar.
Starting in Cape Town on December 26, the crews will celebrate New Year on board their boats.
St Helena, which is one of the most remote islands in the world and famous for harbouring Napoleon in exile until his death, is an extremely attractive sailing destination for a multitude of reasons.
The recently added benefit of family members being able to fly out to the island as well as sailors returning home by air travel, a huge and welcome change, meant yacht entries started flooding in.
The picturesque South Atlantic island of St Helena, which is situated about 2 000km west of Namibia/Angola and 4 000km east of Rio de Janeiro and has only been accessible via sea until last year, is preparing a hero’s welcome for participating sailors, who are expected to arrive from about January 5.
St Helena Tourism and the St Helena Yacht Club have arranged numerous social and cultural activities for the visitors to ensure they experience an authentic taste of what the exquisite island offers.