I couldn’t have wished for a better birthday yesterday, having been invited to join a media sail from the Royal Cape Yacht Club, to generate publicity for the Cape2Rio 2014 Yacht Race, which starts in Cape Town on 4 January.  The 14th 3000 mile Cape2Rio Yacht Race is the ‘PR opportunity of the Year’ for Cape Town, and links to the 2014 Soccer World Cup taking place in Brazil, each of the 36 yachts taking a soccer ball.

Despite my uncertainty as to whether my guest house duties would allow me to participate, my staff gave me off, and the day could not have been more perfect for a sail, with no wind, and the temperature around 30°C.  I had been invited by Wesgro’s Chief Marketing Officer Judy Lain, and she was waiting for me with a bunch of flowers!  I thanked her for choosing such a perfect day and date for the sail!  A number of media representatives were invited, and we gathered in the ‘galley‘ at the yacht club to hear more details about the race and its participants from the Race Marketer Toni Mainprize.  The pioneering spirit and human struggle in making a yacht crossing was saluted, and it was said that Cape Town seems to have turned its back on the sea, despite it surrounding us.  I personally had not sailed in years, having been a regular weekend sailor twenty years ago.  We were encouraged to come to the Yacht Club on a Wednesday afternoon, and volunteer to crew on the yachts going out to sea.  Teams from Angola, the UK, Australia, Italy, and Germany have entered the Race.

A number of representatives of the participating boats were  present, and the idea was that we interview them on the water, the owners of Isla having made their catamaran available for the media outing.  The response had been so great that Judy and other PR executives stayed on land, as the Hendersons, owners of Isla, were very strict about the total number of persons allowed on the yacht.

The 14,8 m catamaran Isla was built by its owner Ian Henderson, and sleeps eight.  He will be putting his business interests on hold for the next year, taking his wife Elskeand their two daughters of 4 and 7 years with them on the race, and they plan to travel along the east coast of South and North America thereafter.  Elske told me that they rarely get seasick now, regularly doing outings along the coast, and sleeping on the boat when they do trips away.  Elske said she volunteers to helm, as it makes her less likely to become sea sick.   She laughed, saying she is quick to delegate the food preparation when she feels queasy.  She has found homeopathic medication to counter the sea Continue reading →