A brief but proud history.

The Cape 31 fleet all started with one man’s vision, Highland Fling owner and avid racer Lord Irvine Laidlaw. Laidlaw commissioned Mark Mills to design the Cape 31 targeted at the highest level of One Design and IRC racing without getting into high-cost of complete carbon construction. Designer Mark Mills is one of the most successful yacht designers of recent years, and he has taken the Cape 31 hull design under his wing. “I think a vacuum has been created after the peak of the Melges 32,” Mills explains. “The Cape 31 is my favourite design because it is happy in all wind ranges, great in the breeze and sails both upwind and downwind incredibly, so it will naturally succeed wherever it goes.
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We are seeing the result of this now in the UK.” Whereas the Cape 31 was built with One Design racing in mind, it has performed extremely well in IRC, which adds a further dimension for successful racing across the globe. Mills adds, “For a lightweight 31-footer to win in IRC is extraordinary—and to win in a class of boats up to 9 feet bigger is historically unprecedented. ”With inquiries about the boat throughout Europe and the US markets it is also gaining traction in Australia with two boats now racing and inquiries building quickly.

The Cape 31 fleet all started with one man’s vision, Highland Fling owner and avid racer Lord Irvine Laidlaw. Laidlaw commissioned Mark Mills to design the Cape 31 targeted at the highest level of One Design and IRC racing without getting into high-cost of complete carbon construction. Designer Mark Mills is one of the most successful yacht designers of recent years, and he has taken the Cape 31 hull design under his wing. “I think a vacuum has been created after the peak of the Melges 32,” Mills explains. “The Cape 31 is my favourite design because it is happy in all wind ranges, great in the breeze and sails both upwind and downwind incredibly, so it will naturally succeed wherever it goes.

We are seeing the result of this now in the UK.” Whereas the Cape 31 was built with One Design racing in mind, it has performed extremely well in IRC, which adds a further dimension for successful racing across the globe. Mills adds, “For a lightweight 31-footer to win in IRC is extraordinary—and to win in a class of boats up to 9 feet bigger is historically unprecedented. ”With inquiries about the boat throughout Europe and the US markets it is also gaining traction in Australia with two boats now racing and inquiries building quickly.