UCT to Rio 2017 powered by B&G

Take the leave, make the time, stop with your excuses, enter!
Definitely the adventure of a lifetime! 🙌🇧🇷️
Let's hear from any University Yacht Clubs planning to enter...
UCT Yacht Club Wits Yacht Club Stellenbosch University UKZN students TuksSport Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT)

27|09|2018

Two Iconic Cities
The Vast Atlantic in Betweeen
The Adventure of a Lifetime Awaits!

Please share and post this in your Yacht Club!

🙌🙌🙌

Extremely stoked and honoured to be awarded the UCT Sport Performance of the Year 2017 Trophy last week Friday at the annual UCT Sports Awards.
A big thank you to UCT Sport for a brilliant evening and De Bruin Photography for the happy pictures!
Alex Lehtinen Peter Marsh Matt Whitehead Murray Willcocks Mikhayla Bader Tim Marsh

We were honoured to be invited to the ACE Expedition reception last night and are very proud of the small role we could play in this amazing expedition.

We would like to thank Dr Frederick Paulsen for his support and belief in our campaign.

Tune into METRO FM today at 12:20 to catch Mikhayla's reflection on the race, what it took, what it meant and what's coming up in the future 🙌

Metro FM Listen Live | Metro FM http://www.metrofm.co.za/digital/player/1.0/metrofm/index.html?tab=w

On the 27th of January we celebrated at the glamorously official Cape 2 Rio Yacht Race prize giving hosted by the Iate Club de Rio de Janeiro. The evening was very special as we joined in the festivities of all the teams and their journeys to this point.

On the evening we were awarded the Telescope Trophy Youth Award, Line Honours for IRC Div. 2, 1st to Cross the Meridian in IRC Div. 2 and overall winners of IRC Div. 2 🌟

We were very aware once again than none of this would have been possible without the support of our friends and families and of course our remarkably generous sponsors:
B&G, Seascape Marine Service, Yanmar Global, UCT Sport, University Of Cape Town Department Of Oceanography, Diving & Yachting Services CC, Helly Hansen, South African Weather Service, Fredrick Paulsen and ACE, Atlantic Yachting, Dynamic Elements and the many others who contributed. We are more grateful than we could put into words.

After the race we were completely engulfed in the sights, sounds, colours and caipirinhas of Rio! Definitely the best place to celebrate 💃

Crossing the finish line 18 days after leaving Cape Town was in an anti-climatic 0 knots of wind and an extremely frustrating final hours to get in. However we were welcomed by the iconic Sugar Loaf mountain and Christ the Redeemer as well as extremely proud and happy parents. The feeling of having finished the race safely and in a position we could be proud of was overwhelmingly surreal. Solid land appreciation, a few cold beers and a big breakfast followed :)

18 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes and 3 seconds it took us to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The first few days were typically rough as we made our way up the African coast before turning west into the champagne sailing conditions of the Atlantic. It was physically challenging but magically rewarding as we spent day after day completely immersed in nature and pushing the boat and ourselves to the limit.

And they're in! Welcome home you legends 🙌🏼 stinky, soaked to the bone and hungry but safe and sound and happy to be here 🇿🇦 keep an eye out for a few of their stories coming soon!

Peter Marsh Alberto Falanga Alex Lehtinen Tim Marsh

The departure day finally arrived, 1 January 2017 and the V & A Waterfront dock buzzed with excitement of the boats, teams, families and followers of the second start of the 2017 Cape 2 Rio Yacht Race.

After an intensive 6 weeks of preparing the boat, the time finally came for us to give our final goodbye hugs, try reassure our parents and families and savour the last moments on land. Each of us pumping with adrenaline - a combination of nerves, excitement, exhaustion and the occasion feeling rather surreal after it all. We each fluttered around doing last minute things until it was our turn to parade in front of the gathered crowds of friends, families, supporters and even general public.

Once we were out there, it was incredibly relieving to know our to-do lists were done (or at least there was nothing we could do about it) and now it was time to actually sail. The start ho**er went at 12h00 UTC in about 25knots of classic Cape Town summer South Easter. Considering we had not had time to put any of our new kites up before the start, never mind practice a gybe, we were quite tense. However, we felt fast and confident off the start and the relief of what we had already achieved ignited an excitement that saw us through our first kite hoist and gybe faultlessly.

Next stop: Rio!

On the 9th of December we hosted our sponsors, families, biggest supporters and most passionately following friends to join us for our official farewell function. It was an evening that wonderfully celebrated the amount of work that we had done and the task we had ahead of us. It was a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge and thank each sponsor and individual who had made the journey possible.

A very big thank you goes out to the Willcocks family for hosting the evening at their lovely home and filling everyone's tummies for the night. To Spier Wine Farm for providing the much enjoyed wine for the evening - a grateful thanks! And to Drifter Brewing Company for a keg of their delicious local craft beer - it really get the evening going and we thank you for your support. Lastly, to the very talented Karla Weihe for these great pictures that captured our excitement and managed to make us look better than just salty sailors.

This also meant there was no turning back and was the first time everything felt extremely real.