African Skimmer was built in Richard’s Bay in 2007 on Dudley Dix 40 design but was fitted with a keel and rigging from a Fast 42. She spent most of her life in Durban and has taken line honours on several occasions at Royal Natal and Point Yacht Club. The current owner, Barry Clark, purchased her in 2022 and sailed her down to Cape Town to her new home at the RCYC. She has just been through an extensive refit at RCYC in preparation for the Cape2Rio Race. She will be crewed by a largely father and son team including Barry Clark, son Cameron, Barry’s brother Eric Clark, his son Duncan, and two other regular crew (John Day and Lars Meumann). Barry and Cameron both recently qualified with their SAS Yachtmaster Ocean tickets, have done lots of keel boat racing in and around Cape Town and have done several long-distance passages in Southern Africa and the Mediterranean. Eric and Duncan live in Sydney, Australia and are coming through to Cape Town for especially for the race.