Race Pure.Cape31.

The Doctor Dictates.

The Cape Doctor. The south-easterly that screams through Table Mountain passes and turns Table Bay into a washing machine. It has destroyed reputations and broken boats since the first ships rounded the Cape. It is also the finest testing ground for a performance racing yacht that exists anywhere on earth.

Mark Mills understood this. His brief: a 31-foot one-design that is genuinely quick in the Doctor, fast offshore, competitive in mixed IRC and ORC fleets, and affordable enough to build a class around. The hull that came back from his drawing board answered all four. The name was given by the place that made it.

Mark Mills.

Mark Mills Design has produced some of the most successful one-design and offshore racing yachts of the modern era. Conceived by Lord Irvine Laidlaw and designed by Mills, the Cape31 is a distillation of that expertise: a planing hull, powerful rig, low freeboard, long waterline and enough stability to carry sail in conditions that send larger boats to the dock. Strict one-design class rules mean every boat is identical — racing is decided by crew, not budget.

Strict class rules. Hull, rig and appendages unmodified. Max three professional sailors per boat. Racing decided by crew skill and tactics — not budget.

Designed to win mixed-fleet handicap racing before the one-design fleet existed. In the UK, Med and US it is beating boats 15 feet longer under IRC and ORC.

Channel crossings. Night races. Breskens to Cowes deliveries. The Cape31 is a proper offshore racer that also happens to be the fastest one-design on the Solent.

The Cape31 holds IRC and ORC ratings and is fully eligible for all RORC, ORC and IRC events worldwide. Designed to win in mixed fleets before the one-design class existed, the boat continues to beat larger, more expensive yachts on corrected time at the world's most prestigious offshore events.

IRC rating: 1.135  ·  ORC APH: 493.3. Contact the class for current certificate issuance in your region.

Standard Cape31 Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions templates are available to all regional circuits and host clubs via the Class Management System. Templates are pre-approved by the ExCom and comply with World Sailing Racing Rules.

Regatta organisers: contact the Class Secretary to access the current NOR template pack. All class-approved regattas must use the standard template. Access via CMS →

Protests relating to the Racing Rules of Sailing are heard by the regatta jury under standard RRS procedures. Class rule protests — where the application or interpretation of the Cape31 One-Design Class Rules is disputed — are escalated to the Technical Committee.

Technical Committee decisions are binding on all fleets globally from the date of publication. Contact the Class Secretary for protest guidance: secretary@cape31class.org

How the Class Runs.

The ExCom is elected by class members at the Annual General Meeting. It sets class rules, approves new fleet applications, governs measurement and maintains the International Class Constitution. Quorum is three voting members.

Circuit directors and technical officers are non-voting appointments operating under ExCom authority. They attend ExCom meetings and may speak but do not vote on class matters.

Six Circuits. One Class.

Each regional circuit operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Class Association. All one-design results count toward the International Championship. Regional class fees are remitted to the international body annually.

Precise. Tactical.

The C31 is a sensitive upwind boat. Heel angle, trim and crew positioning matter. The boat rewards sailors who are paying attention and is unforgiving of those who are not. At 62m² upwind sail area and 1,800kg displacement, the power-to-weight ratio produces a boat that moves through chop and accelerates through tacks with the feel of a much smaller boat.

In the Solent, Table Bay and the Mediterranean, the class has proven that it can hold its own — and beat — boats 15 feet longer in conditions that should theoretically favour size.

25 Knots. One-Design.

Downwind the C31 comes alive. Surfing speeds in excess of 25 knots are achievable in the right conditions. The planing hull accelerates rapidly on a gust and the asymmetric spinnaker creates a truly physical race — crew movement, timing and weight distribution separate the fast boats from the rest.

In one-design racing, where every boat is identical, this is pure sailing. No development advantage. No budget shortcut. Just the crew, the boat and the race.

Your Country.
Your Circuit.

The Cape31 class is actively seeking new fleets worldwide. Scandinavia, Japan, New Zealand and the Pacific are priority targets. Minimum three boats to form a recognised regional fleet. The class provides a Memorandum of Understanding, measurement support, class rules, NOR templates and a connection to an existing fleet mentor.