media coverage so far of the race (thank you Trevor Wilkins)

Day 3 Handicap positions

what Dale and Ian are sailing through!!!

YOLO position report 10am (SA time) 7 January 2014

S 33deg 47,22

E 10deg 38,00

Conservative night.. very wet on deck still. ALL GOOD ABOARD. Currently sailing in 23-30knots.

day 2 Handicap positions...

Cape to Rio race headquarters update 2pm 6/1/2014

"RCYC General Manager, Marcus Reuter, boarded SAS Islandwana last night as they set sail for the fleet to assist yacht Bille. Communications with SAS Islandwana have been constant and accurate and the report from Marcus were “Islandwana crew have been so professional”. The majority of the fleet were still suffering rough sea conditions last night with poor visibility and a lot of rain this morning.  The current situation on the following yachts: BILLE – All crew of have now been transferred to SAS Islandwana. Two reported injured crew, the skipper with broken ribs and one crew member with lacerations. Both have been tended to by a medical doctor and all are stable and now sleeping.Then navy managed to clear all damaged rigging and have the left the vessel to return to later. Once crew were secured, SAS Islandwana immediately left the area to go to assist yacht AVA. AVA – We have just had a report from SAS Islandwana that they have spotted yacht in very poor visibility. AVA sailing without power and communications but all well on board. SAS Islandwana now on their way to yacht Isla. ISLA reported late last night they were taking on water in the engine compartment and had an electrical fire. They have had a container vessel Bosun, standing by for assistance since early this morning. All is under control and although they originally took the decision to sail back to port now Smit Madura is on station with yacht Isla possibly to tow them back to port. BLACK CAT – NSRI Station 3 are on route to tow her back to shore due to no steerage from a broken rudder. INDABA – On it’s way back to port with on injured crew member. PEEKAY safely in harbour at Yachtport. DO DO, AVOCET, AVANTI & FTI Flyer – are currently heading back to shore. Tranquillo are only able to receive calls, otherwise all well.

update from DALE 2.30pm SA time (6/1/2014)

dale just phoned via satellite phone..both him and Ian ok.."very strong winds and bad seas..taking it conservatively @ present"

media coverage today, 6 January 2014

6 January 2014 position report 9am(South African time)

Our POSITION THIS AM IS: S32 40,72 E14 09.33 Lots of wind.. had 50 across the deck this am.. had surfs doing 20knots. taking it more conservative, running before it with a J4 up. Very wet on deck, with a confused sea state.

Update 8pm SA time 5 January 2013..

A terrible last 36 hours.. Thank goodness dale contacted his wife (me) @ 8.30am south African time....him and Ian are fine but very tired, still battling with huge swells.. Report from Cape 2 Rio Race HQ 20:00 Sunday 5th January 2013 Note: MRCC is Marine Rescue Coordination Centre EPIRB is an Electronic Position Indication Radio Beacon The fleet experienced stormy conditions on their first night, with reports of 40 to 60 knts of wind and swells of 6 metres. Many yachts experienced difficulties with the conditions but most are coming through the worst part. The current situation on the following yachts: • BLACK CAT has reported a broken rudder and is proceeding back to Cape Town, one crew has a sprained ankle and all are well. • PEEKAY have reported sail problems and are proceeding to Saldanha Bay, crew all well. • EXPLORA have reported engine flooded but all well and will attend to the problem in calmer conditions. • ISLA, have reported both engines inoperable, but generator working, PEEKAY have reported receiving a PAN-PAN from ISLA. We have had communication from them to say that all is well. • BILLE reported earlier today mainsail problems and that they were proceeding back to Cape Town for repairs. At 15:00 a report was received that the boat was demasted and there were a number of serious injuries on board. Sadly the yacht reported a fatality of one crew member. MRCC have activated all their agencies and we are in constant communication with the vessel. Race HQ sent the nearest vessel Genevieve Too to yacht Bille and they are currently standing close by to offer assistance. • Ava reported in this morning saying that they were having battery power problems. At 16:18 an EPIRB was activated from Ava and we have received no communication from this vessel since then. MRCC have activated all agencies even though the yacht appears to on course from the XtraLink tracking system. • DoDo reported in at 19:30 this evening to say that they have lost steering and engine power but are hove to and will do repairs to resume racing. The naval frigate, Islandwana, has been mustered with medical crew and will be departing this evening to attend to yacht BIlle and Ava. As more information becomes available we will be updating the website and releasing further statements. The Race Committee at this sad time offer our condolences to the family members of the deceased and the crew.

Day 1 handicap positions

5 January 2013 position report 9.54am (south African time) S 33 16.973 E017 05. 872 Busy night, winds gusting to 38 knots Busy catching up with rest.

From the Cape to Rio official website - "So ... a beautiful day on the Cape 2 Rio start line, a very light South westerly of 10 knots so a reaching start was set up by the race officer Doug Alison. Mark 1 was laid off Granger Bay, Mark 2 off Milnerton and Mark 3 off Blouberg. The IRC 1 and 2 fleets set off at 14:00, 26 boats in the fleet, and the CAT class with 9 CATS set off at 14:10. A huge spectator fleet on the water which was great to see, and they behaved themselves beautifully. The competitors are heading into some rough weather tomorrow, follow their progress on the tracker website http://www.xtra-track.com/cape2rio2014."

today the Cape To Rio Race got off to a wonderful start. with close to 1000 people packing the Royal Cape Yacht Club, the atmosphere was amazing. after a few words from Dale and vice-commodore Ray Matthews, the padre performed the traditional blessing of the fleet. A minute's silence was held in memory of Rob Meek who passed away tragically early on New Year's day.. 36 yachts are now @ sea at the beginning of their life changing trans atlantic crossing..

READY AND WAITING

Yolo is ready and waiting for the Start which will take place at 2pm(SA local Time) on Saturday 4th January 2014. She is now fully stocked, food, water etc.. There is an interesting weather pattern forming in the first part of the South Atlantic. This could prove problematic over the first few days as it will be anything from 40knots.. to light fickle head winds.. as the system moves. Hopefully Yolo will position correctly.. but it would seem that the Faster boats might be able to position themselves ahead of this system.

YOLO BAck in water -17th December 2013

With strong South Easters and the cranes not functioning, Yolo braved her relaunch. After a new prop and a bottom job to a racing finish, it was time to go back in the water. Once launched, supposed to check the prop but with 40knots gusts very difficult so just motored to the newly allocated race mooring in front of the clubhouse.

XTRA-LINK Sponsors YOLO

Xtra-Link has again come aboard as Communications sponsor on Yolo. Xtra-Link has a long relationship with this team spanning back to 2005. On Board Yolo will be a Sailor FBB250 Terminal which supplies voice and high speed internet connection to enable to the team to download the latest weather information. In addition to this they will be carrying a Satellite ISATPHONE.

YOLO out of water for PREP

On Monday the 9th December Yolo was craned out of the water for maintainance. The following to be undertaken: -Clean bottom -Sand down bottom -Respray Antifouling, to maintain race finish. -Apply Sponsor decals on Boat. -Replace Anodes. -Replace PRop *1 *1 Yolo has a Folding Prop. IN light of the long race, the decision was taken to order a specialized Gori RACING folding prop which have the best underwater dynamics while under sail of any prop. The Prop Should arrive on yes.. Friday the 13th December.. to be fitted Soon Afterwards. The Intended date to return to the water is: 17th December.. At this point the boat will move to the event mooring space and be cleaned and thereafter the loading of the boat will begin as she would be ready for the event.

Final Wed Nite Race of the Series 4th December 2013

A Southerly wind blowing with strong gusts just prior to the start with Yolo opting for a conservative approach as we were light on the rail. A mediocre start was had and a drag to Paarden Island followed by a reach to Milnerton. Unfortunately Yolo had a boat covering her wind the whole leg and so was unable to break free.. On the next leg Yolo sailed Rhumb line for number 8 which had her in range of the faster boats. With a short beat to the finish, not much opportunity to make up. Yolo rounded just behind two Class three boats so opted to tack in order to have a clear line.. and witht he Southerlies there were shifts so would hopefully make up some distance. Yolo played the shifts to the finish, catching up enough time to place her third in the Race and 1st Overall in the Series. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Sarel and Owen. Boat Performed well.

YOLO Enters Cape to Rio Race 2014

YOLO Press Release: Royal Cape Yacht Club Commodore, Dale Kushner has officially lodged his personal entry in the upcoming Cape to Rio Race which is due to start on the 4th January 2014. Dale Kushner is familiar with this race having taken part in previous editions, the most recent was the 2011 Edition in which he attained 3rd place overall. This Year he will be entering and sailing the event Double handed with his long time crew member Ian Coward. This Duo have competed in almost every single Offshore event in South Africa together and have done the Double Handed South Star race in 2003 and therefore are very familiar with Double Handed Sailing. They will be sailing aboard Dale’s Jenneau Sunfast 3200 Class yacht which is aptly named YOLO (You Only Live Once). The boat is 32 feet in length making it one of the smallest boats to enter this edition of the race. Dale’s estimate of the race: It is anyone’s race, conditions, good decisions and a bit of luck being the overriding factor. This Skipper is known for being very particular in boat preparation ensuring that everything is prepped properly in order to minimise any potential gear failures that one may encounter. Their Satellite communication requirements are sponsored by their long time sponsor Xtra-Link(since 2005) PIC #1 – Dale Kushner(right) handing his entry form to Ray Matthews(Left) Cape to Rio Chairman.

Italian Ambassador's Challenge

A perfect event which the club and the Italian Consulate put a lot of effort into.. Starting with an event held at the Ambassador's residence the night before for Skippers../ THis was a high end function catered etc... with a few speeches. Saturday was a perfect day, but windy.. YOLO had two wonderful guest aboard and two more crew from Isivungu who were really great. In the harbour there was not much wind.. but around the corner in the start area it was blowing 35 knots plus.. and the difficult call by the organizers was made to cancel sailing. THis was the correct decision as there were lots of guests on the boats and the forecast was for it to get stronger(which it did) Yolo opted for a short sail.. and sailed into mid bay and then reached back to Granger Bay at good speeds a bit overpowered at times.. Dropped sails and tghen decided since it was still so early to drop anchor at Granger Bay for an hour.. and enjoy the beautiful weather on that side... followed by a motor back to the club via the V&A. Aboard Were: Dale, Ian and Siger, plus 2 guests and 2 crew from Isivungu.

Wednesday Night Race -19th November 2013

Light and fickle at the start... with it being patchy.. At the five minutes the call was made to raise the genoa. Unfortunately it was not clipped on properly, so the halyard went to the top of the mast.. Quick rush to get the bosun's chair and strap on, go up the mast, retrieve the halyard get down and clip on and hoist.. has the halyard up just as the gun went.. Alas due to the wind with the main only Yolo was still far from the start line. It took almost 2 minutes for YOLO to cross the start. IN the meantime the front boats had made a few boat lengths as they picked up the puffs etc.. Eventually breeze came through and the chase was on. YOLO rounded the first mark far behind where she should be.. On the downwind worked the puffs to try and gain... executed a good rounding at the leeward mark and then began to work all the shift on the beat again. This helps to catch up with some of the boats ahead.. IN the end, Yolo managed to pull back to a third overall. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Sarel, Jenna, Guest Steve and Owen. Boat performed well.

Double Handed Race -Sat 16th November 2013

After a very storm evening, with flooding and wind carnage in and around Cape Town, a nice 7-8knots breeze from the SW filled intot he bay with a smooth seaway. Yolo got off to a conservative start.. with the light wind, the boats with the larger sail areas managed to pull away. Once around the first mark, Yolo still struggled in the light conditions but managed to hold her own.. With next leg, the wind got lighter and with a L34 sailing through Yolo's lee.. it was time to find wind. There seemed to be more wind on the Right hand side of the course.. so Yolo worked in that direction.. getting to the wind first.. Eventually being able to tack and lay LAndfall. At this stage it seemed that Yolo would catch up and pass some boats.. As the beat progressed the boats coming in on Port got lifted and Yolo got headed.. with Yolo behind them again. In the end, no gain on this leg for Yolo.. The race ended with Yolo having one of he "not so good results" coming 5th(last) in the race.. Aboard were Dale and Ian.

Wed Nite -13th November 2013

A comfortable SW of around 12 knots.. A reasonable start, could have been better, Yolo rounding the mark for the downwind.. in good company.. On the downwind struggled for speed with the boats with Yolo at the rounding pulling away and boats from behind able to catch up and Pass Yolo.. At the Leeward mark, Yolo managed to get on the inside of Freedom and set herself up for the beat.. At this time, Regardless was well ahead.. Yolo then had to try and make distance with the boats around her.. with a few tacks to look for more breeze Yolo was able to pull away.. in the end, ending the race 2nd on corrected time. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Sarel, Jenna.. and Our Guests the OC of the HMS Richmond Robert Pedre and his Girlfriend Emily.

Wed Nite -6th November 2013

Another coldish day in Cape Town.. Not abnormal for this time of the year, when one does get a bout of this type of weather from time to time. Perfect North Western blowing. Around 14-16knots with a nice big sea running. Yolo had a ACE of a start.. getting ahead and being able to stay ahead for the first leg.. with a Simonis 35 catching up and a Old IOR One tonner catching up, but Yolo still managed to round weather mark first. On the downwind, Yolo poled out the jib, while the two mentioned boats were in kite class. The Simonis 35 quickly overhauled Yolo and the other boat took a bit longer to get their kite up but still managed to pass though Yolo's lee before the leeward mark but took it very wide allowing Yolo an opening. The beat was quite bumpy, with the two boats sailing "neck and neck" with a big boat sailing over Yolo forcing her to tack away.. Coming into the Mark the IOR boat came in on port and tacked in the two boat lenth makr and forced Yolo to avoid collision. Yolo immediately called protest and flew the flag. the other boat then honourably did they 720 and then raised their kite.. even with the 720 they were able to finish the race well ahead of Yolo. In all a great race in nice sea conditions. Yolo won her class on corrected time. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Sarel and Jenna(Who has not been sailing with us for a long while)

Wednesday Nite Race 30th October 2013

Late October, one would expect warmer conditions but the day presented NW and W breeze.. Just before the start it started raining and was cold.. with squalls on the water reaching 30knots... Yolo only had 5 aboard so there was concern about being too light on the rail, so the decision was finally taken for the J4.. Good start was had which had Yolo ahead of the faster boats at the first two marks, sailing a beat type angle and a fetch. Thereafter the downwind from NO:2 to Milnerton has Yolo with Poled out J4 messing about with a Spinnaker Class boat... hanging in there as we were taking their breeze and the were pushing us up... this cost us(and them) eventually we saw the gap and gybed away.. rounding a bit behind where we should have been. In the meantime the winds had lightened and there was a sloppy sea.. so after the rounding Yolo struggled for height/speed and power. Suffering for the remainder of the race except in the puffs. The rest of the fleet had opted for larger sails.. so we had made the wrong call and it cost us. Yolo came 4th on corrected time. Everyone enjoyed the race and the different conditions we sailed in. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Sarel and newbie Jason. It was Ian's birthday aboard.

RISK SA- Sat 26th October 2013

This Risk SA is a new concept.. put together by RCYC and Risk SA involving teams made up of insurance companies or related to insurance industry paired up to racing crew on yachts where they can compete against each other. this is a high level event, starting with a Black tie event on the Friday evening and culminating with the prize giving on the Saturday evening.. which took place as a full banquet type event. kudos to Risk SA and the RCYC team. Now back to the Race. The weather was not as predicted, with 25-35knots actually blowing.. with Safety being the name of the game.. most boats opted to be conservative with crews who had little or no experience in sailing. Yolo opted for the conservative route, hoisting a J4 and put a reef in the mainsail.. With the reef in the mainsail, downwind performance would have been hindered as other boats had full mains.. and in fact hoisted their largest jibs for those legs.. Yolo started with an average start, opting to stay out the fray, Hark was the first mark which could be laid on one tack.. after which the Coke can was next. Yolo poled the foresail out.. and work downwind.. but lost some ground due to the smaller main.. on the upwind managed to pick up a place or two.. but not enough to make sufficient time up.. IN fact from the middle of the downwind there was probably no change in overall positions from then to the actual finish on corrected time.. The rest of the race was pretty much standard. Those aboard Yolo had a great time.. and enjoyed a great day on the water. Yolo had a great time, no problems aboard.. Aboard were: dale, Ian and Sieger from the regular crew, plus 5 great people from One financial services..

WED NITE RACE- 16th October 2013

Nice South Easter on the Bay. Winds were mostly in the upper teens. Flat Water.. Bit chilly. YOLO took the conservative start... and race for Paarden Island Mark, getting there as second boat.. On the downwind were challenged my the Farr 38 Freedom which kept trying to climb over Yolo..In the end, Yolo managed to have the inside at the Milnerton Rounding.. and did a good rounding. Freedom struggled to get set up quickly.. which allowed Yolo the additional distance. Thereafter Yolo and Freedom sailed in different breeze to the Harken mark. with Freedom in slightly lighter but lifted so they were able to point higher and make it in one go, with Yolo in a bit more breeze but more of a header which required two more tacks to make the mark. Once round it was off to Number 8 and then the finish. We held our own.. the only boat finishing ahead of our start was Scarlet Sun who was sailing the spinnaker class which they won.. Yolo won it's class on handicap. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sarel, Sieger, Tony and a new recruit for the boat..Jason.

Double Handed Race -12th October 2013

Although Yolo has entered only one race in the series to date and missed 2, thereby taking Yolo out of the final running.. Yolo was back at the start line. A SW wind at the start at around 17knots. Yolo got a good start and made for the first Mark, Landfall. There was a SW swell running.. with the winds gusting at times just over 20 at times.. Yolo rounded 4th, behind the faster boats. the J13.3 and us hoisted kites.. and Yolo blasted, reaching good speeds while catching the swells.. the top wind on the down wind was 30 for a moment. While we were thinking about the gybe, the spinnaker halyard slipped in the spinlock, so we thought it prudent to just drop the kite, which was just as well as we had over standed the mark and once Yolo had gybed, it was a tight two sail reach for the leeward mark. Due to getting the angles wrong, some of the boats without spinnaker passed us.. but just ahead at the mark. In the Mark zone, the winds had abated to around 12 knots... with chop, we decided to work on keeping up the speed rather then the height which the others seemed more focussed on... so we were able to sail through the others very quickly and get ahead.. as the winds started to come back, we started to play the many shifts with Yolo putting in many tacks to make her way to windward. Yolo Can first on corrected time. Aboard were Dale and Ian.

WED NITE -9th October 2013

First Wednesday night of the Season... A great turn out on the water... with just under 50 yachts. This is good for so early in the season. Winds varied between around 14-23knots.. with drifting conditions on he start line. YOLO got a good start, made for Paarden Island Mark, keeping the speeds up and working in the shifts on the beat. Yolo reached the weather mark just ahead of the fleet. NExt Mark was Minerton, the faster boats catching up and Necessity passing. Rounded the leeward mark and almost immediately tacked as there were shifts and we felt we could almost lay Paarden Island again. Necessity did not tack and did the full leg to the beach.. which cost them on the next leg. We managed to just pip them to Paarden Island because of this.. and off to the finish.. Necessity was in the process of passing, far to weather when we all ran into a drifting zone just off the finish mark.. with the whole fleet bunching up on the mark.. eventually we managed to drift across the line. We still managed to win the race by 1 second.. the first few positions were all separated by seconds. It was a good first race for the season and been a while since Yolo was on the water. Aboard were: Ian, Dale, Sieger, Sarel and Tony.

More D Hander Pic -Taken by Marc Bloch

DOUBLE HANDED RACE -Sat 17th Aug 2013

After heavy rains and winter squally weather... Racing still took place. Conditions were cold with winds between 18-30knots on the water with a big sea running and murky water around the Milnerton mark. On Yolo we decided to opt for a full main and a J4, Getting a good start, perhaps a bit high on the line but plenty of speed.. then off to Landfall... slowly falling back on the bigger boats. Big seas at Landfall. NExt to Minerton which was a downwind-DDW. we opted to go left first which the big boats went the other way.. we might have had a bit more breeze as we ended up with about the same distance behind Tenacity with Jacana having pulled away nicely on this leg as they used their kite. Nice windy beat to Number 8 albeit we lot a bit on this leg as we settled down.. then off to Woodbridge. We broke our kicker shackle(the one that is on the mast collar fitting) on the gybe.. we made a temp repair and finished the race. the most enjoyable leg was the final leg from Number 8 to the finish at Number 10. The angle was perfect for a fast flat sail. It was a great day on the water, everyone was pleased to have been out there(those that braved it) We can second in our class. Aboard were: Dale and Ian.

DOUBLE HANDED RACE-Sat 22nd June 2013

A Chilly S/SE wind of around 11-14knots at the start line.. 20 boats still made it out for the race.Yolo got a good start with clean winds... made for Paarden Eiland, Rounded just behind the bigger boats and immedfiately hoisted the kite. After settling down, gybed in around 15knots of breeze and made ofr Deyang Family Mark. There was a huge swell running SW to NW.. with us trying to punch into it.. with kite up.. which made it difficult to go too deep and kept the kite collapsing as we hit the swells. Eventually we gybed and made for the mark on Stb tack.. with a neat drop just before the mark. It was then a beat back to Number 10.. Although the breeze was seldom above 14 the swells would catch the boat at angles and make her heel excessively.. on the opposite tack the swell would be behind allowing short surfs on the beat.. nice technical stuff. Towards Number 10 the breeze increased to late teens with a few gusts just on 20. ONce Round Number 10, kite went up again..Albeit the boat in our class ahead and behind us chose not to use the kite.. We did two gybes on the downwind... with another neat drop at the leeward.. and a beat to Paarden Eiland. We read the wind well on the beat... NEaring Paarden Eiland it looked quite tight for the final leg so we prepped and hoisted the Code Zero once be began this leg.. It was a good race. We came second on corrected time and first overall for the series. Aboard Were: Dale and Ian. Boat performed well.

Saturday 15th June 2013

The plan was to do a social sail. Winds were very light. In the end it was decided to motor out to watch the youth regatta and thereafter a motor through the Waterfront. A good opportunity to be aboard and consider some of the little jobs that will need attention should YOLO enter the Cape to Rio Race. Aboard Were: Dale and Ian.

Portugal Day Race -8th June 2013

Conditions were Probbably best described as SW, with shifts ont he left side of the bay. lumpy seas.. conditions from around 12 knots with gusts of around 25knots.. This was a pursuit race, we got off the line nice and fast.. and sailed to a laid mark jusst past Moullie Point Light, the seas were lumpy and condtions light at stages giving the benifit to the longer waterline yachts.. Once around the weather mark, we hoisted our kite and made for Woodbridge mark, in the early part of the leg we were able to pick up a few surfs from the swells, but unfortunately we snagged some kelp on the way, which took us some time to clear. The rest of the race was quite mundane with us being chased by the larger boats and us trying to overtake the smaller boats.. In the end we came 10th over the line and third in our class. It was a great race, well attended given the conditions. The boat performed well. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, MArk D, Sarel, Sieger and guest John O Conner.

LAZY SUNDAY -20th May 2013

With the crew committed for most of the weekend, it was decided to do a social sail on the Sunday.. With no wind on the Sunday YOLO ended up anchored at Granger Bay for the afternoon in flat conditions. Very pleasant with a nice warm windless winters day. Aboard were: Ian, Sieger and Dale.

Summer Series -11 MAy 2013

Last Race of the series. Nice breeze, SW 9-11knots. We started alone at the bridge hit on a Port start and promptly were able to clear the rest of the fleet who started on Starboard.. This start basically set it up for the rest of the race. It was a pleasant beat to a laid mark just past Granger Bay. Small shifts which we could take advantage of. Around the mark, we hoisted out light kite and worked our way downwind. Unfortunately we had one of the halyards on the inside of the forestay, but no big issue in the light breeze. Around the breakwater we hotted up.. At the Kling mark we gybed dropped kite and gybed around and made for numbr 4 which involved one tack to lay it.. then around, kite up and to the finish. We were fortunate with our start which allowed us to make some distance.. which took the pressure off for the rest of the race.. We came first in our class and first for the series in our class. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger with guest: Marc Block.