Year 3 -19 July 2026 – Another Day out in Cape Town -South Africa

It was another grey day when we woke and there was some drizzle. We had breakfast and Jenny went off to the Methodist Church for the Sunday service and to say hello to some people she knew.

I went into the shopping area to find some maps as I will be planning a week when my son Alex comes out shortly. I passed Woolworths and found some of the nice wines we have had recently which was good.

We decided to go and visit the Royal Cape Yacht Club which was about 1.6m away. We thought we would walk but the phone stated there was no walking route as it was in a restricted area. We therefore had no alternative but to get an Uber. This enabled us to get through the barrier and to the club.

The Royal Cape Yacht Club is one of South Africa’s most active and oldest yacht clubs. Located in Cape Town, the Club plays host to many important national sailing events, including South Africa’s premier ocean yacht race, the internationally renowned Cape to Rio.

Founded in 1905 as the Table Bay Yacht Club, and after merging with the Alfred Rowing Club, the name was later changed to the Cape Yacht Club in January 1914. In March 1914, the newly named Cape Yacht Club applied for a Royal Warrant via the South African Governor-General, Viscount Gladstone. In reply, the Governor-General informed the Club that His Majesty King George V was "graciously pleased to approve the title Royal to the Cape Yacht Club".

In June, Viscount Gladstone further approved a recommendation that the RCYC be issued with an Admiralty Warrant, authorising the use of the plain Blue Ensign, however the First World War suspended such Warrants. In April 1920, the authorisation was again recommended, with the Club committee agreeing to adopt the Blue Ensign defaced with the club coat of arms. To fly a Blue Ensign was, and still is, considered a great honour and a privilege for a yacht club, certifying British maritime guardianship. Admiralty Warrants were later suspended once again during the Second World War, along with wider South African yachting.

In 1960, a successful referendum had called for South Africa to become a republic, which was constituted in 1961 and in which South Africa also left the British Commonwealth. As legal and heraldic changes occurred, the RCYC relinquished its Admiralty Warrant, although the Club decided to keep its Royal Warrant. The RCYC’s defaced Blue Ensign was flown from the flagstaff at the Clubhouse until 1966, being replaced by the South African national flag.

The RCYC hosts and organises numerous sailing events, including the Lipton Challenge Cup and South Africa’s premier ocean yacht race, the Cape to Rio. First undertaken in 1971, the Cape to Rio is the leading South African ocean yacht race and is internationally popular.  Held roughly every three years, the Cape to Rio is the only transatlantic race in the Southern Hemisphere and covers nearly 4,000 miles of the South Atlantic Ocean. Although traditionally finishing at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, two other locations in Brazil and Uruguay have also previously been used.

Lipton Challenge Cup

Established in 1909, Sir Thomas Lipton donated the Challenge Cup to the then Table Bay Yacht Club so as to foster and encourage yachting in South Africa. The Cup remains an annual inter-club contest that is offshore during the months of July and August, involving three ‘traditional courses’. The winning club defends the Cup the following year on its home waters. Today, the Lipton Challenge Cup is widely seen as the domestic trophy most South African sailors would most like to win.

The Cape Town Race Week, the Mykonos and West Coast Offshore Races, Cape to St Helena, Round Robben Island, and the Cape 31 Regatta, among others, are hosted by the Royal Cape Yacht Club.

For the 2007 America’s Cup qualifying competition, the Louis Vuitton Cup, Team Shosholoza represented the RCYC as their entry, finishing seventh. Given the Club’s favourable location on the southern tip of Africa, the RCYC has been a feature of many international races, such as the Whitbread Race, the BT Global Challenge, the Volvo Race and the Hong Kong Challenge.

In 2025 there was a Royal visit at Club by Princess Anne amidst the celebration of the Club’s 120 years existence.

The Clubhouse was quite modern and is to the right of the major dock area. They were welcoming and allowed us into their bar and restaurant Taste of The Seas. There was a real fire going (yes it is that cold) and we had a very enjoyable lunch overlooking the marina they have there. In addition as a bonus the TV showed then England France game which was uplifting to see.

The issue with being moored there is that it is quite a way into town and you cannot just walk to a restaurant or bar.

Once we had lunch new caught a cab back and decided to stay in. We thought about going out to watch the World Cup final but we decided against it.

It had been an enjoyable, relaxing day.     

 The picture of the day is of a group of singers we had seen the day before in the Company Gardens. It is that African beat and sound which is so iconic.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

I am now on the way to Durban and will then head for Cape Town and then on to St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. 

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com