Newsletter #5
Greeting entrants and potential entrants,
Interest is growing. At the time of penning this newsletter we have 12 fully paid up entries. There are another 13 potential entries that we are aware of.
With Covid-19, there are many challenges in staging a cross border event, but as organizers we are doing everything in our control to ensure that this event will happen.
To update all,
- The current quarantine requirements for entry onto St Helena Island is ten days. This time period however, starts on the day of departure from Cape Town. This is followed up with a Covid-19 test upon going ashore. So in most cases this won’t affect any of the entrants, but we are hopeful that this time period will be reduced. If not, it would mean that the crew of the faster yachts might need to spend a day or two aboard their yachts before being allowed ashore.
- Shipping for yachts: We do not have the rates or the capacity on the shipping as yet. This will likely only be released closer to the event, but we feel positive in this regard.
- Flights: This is our biggest challenge. At this point there is no indication that scheduled flights would have recommenced from South Africa to St Helena. Currently the Island is only running repatriation flights monthly direct to the UK. One needs to be mindful that St Helena is currently Covid-19 free and this status is something they need to protect. With this in mind, we are investigating Charter Flight options. Once we are aware of the costs and options in this regards, we will be contacting the Skippers of the fully paid up entries to discuss.
Please be aware that the above can change at any time.
In summary, the main challenge to staging this event will be to ensure that we can arrange flights for yachtsmen to return to South Africa.
Regarding the island:
The island is very keen that this event happens and are providing every assistance possible in this regard.
We have liaised with the St Helena Yacht Club, who will manage the finish line and are keen to host us and avail their facilities to us.
We have already been approached by the Mantis Hotel as well, who are offering a special deal for entrants. (We will post more information on the Race FB page soon.)
We are receiving a lot of enquiries for people wanting berths as crew. Skippers, if you are looking for crew, please contact the sailing office. They have a database of names.
Please also visit the Q&A section of the website. It is very informative. If there are any other questions, please feel free to ask by sending an email to: sail@capetosthelena.co.za
There are two good upcoming Offshore events namely, the Mossel Bay Race and the West Coast Offshore Race which would be great opportunities to test your boats and crew. So please consider supporting these two Offshore events.
As always if you need any advice or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us,
Kind Regards
Dale Kushner
Cape to St Helena Race Committee
