Record 28-Boat Fleet From 12 Nations Set for First Cape 31 Gold Cup

By Sailing Times Newsroom·15 September 2026·2 min read

Twenty-eight teams from 12 nations are set for the first-ever Cape 31 Gold Cup, the largest fleet the class has ever assembled. The entry breaks the previous record of 26 boats, set at the 2023 UK National Championship in Lymington, and brings together crews from France, Great Britain, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, Monaco, the Netherlands, Türkiye, Italy, Hungary, Austria and Portugal.

Hosted by Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, the event runs October 12-17, with racing across four days from the 14th. It’s the first standalone international championship the Cape 31 class has held, rather than folding its title into a national or European series.

Among the favourites: Stig, winner of the 2025 European Championship in Palma; La Pericolosa, the 2024 European Champions out of Sanremo; and Khumbu, fresh off winning the 2026 UK National Championship. All three line up against a fleet organisers describe as reflecting the class’s international growth well beyond its UK roots.

“I am incredibly proud to be part of the cutting-edge Cape 31 one-design class, and to see a record fleet come together for our inaugural Gold Cup in Saint-Tropez, one of the great centres of regatta sailing in the world,” said August Schram, President of the International Cape 31 Class.

Tor Tomlinson Cheney, the class’s International Secretary and Mediterranean Circuit Manager, has been involved with the Cape 31 since the first boats arrived in the UK. “It makes me incredibly proud to see how far the class has come and to now be bringing together a record international fleet for our first Gold Cup,” she said, crediting Adrien Follin and Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez for the work of pulling the event together. One team will make class history on October 17 as the Gold Cup’s first champion.