31 North has partnered with Sailing Inc as an Authorized Sales Agent for the Cape 31 in the US. The Class will have their US debut at The Southernmost Regatta in Key West this coming January. Overall 2022 31 Race Circuit Champion “Squirt” now bought by Sailing Inc will be there for demo and charter to compete against the other six Cape 31s already registered.
The Cape 31 is an affordable high-performance 31 foot race boat. The boat was masterminded by Lord Irvine Laidlaw, designed by Mark Mills and is now built by licensed boat builder Cape Performance Sailing Ltd. Teams usually sail 7 up on this latest generation race boat.
For over 45 years, Sailing Inc., owned by Rob and Abby Ruhlman, has been representing the best brands in the marine industry. By providing a single source for high-quality boats, sails, rigging, hardware and marine services Sailing Inc. is a complete platform for both racing and cruising boats.
The key to this boat’s success already is that it has proven itself as not only a great one design boat, but also as a competitive boat under multiple handicap systems. The team at 31 North brought the first boat into the UK in 2019 and have built an awesome class and made the boat competitive under IRC. Having now sold over 40 boats, Sailing Inc are excited to help bring the fleet to the US. The boat has had some impressive results over the last few years in a host of UK and European IRC events, Caribbean CSA events and US ORR/ORC Events including becoming 2022 UK IRC National Champion!
Sailing Inc are also working closely with the Cape 31 Class on kicking off the US Circuit. The US class will leverage the success of the Cape 31 Class in Europe and build upon it for a thriving one-design fleet. Focused not only on close, competitive racing, but also a fun and entertaining environment off the water, the US class will seek to become a destination for all levels of sailor. After learning lessons from other successful one-design classes, the Cape 31 US Class expects to adopt many of the key features - individual and class-level coaching, regattas with great socializing after racing, a fleet with avid sailors of both genders and more.
The launch event for the Cape 31 US Class will be at the Southernmost Regatta on Thursday January 19th. If you are interested in attending and learning more about the Cape 31 and the class get in touch with Martin Kullman @ 727-560-0164 for more information or to schedule a demo sail.