Love Water crew sail into Cape2Rio history books

Love Water crew members celebrate victory in the Cape2Rio sailing race, ahead of close rival Maserati. Love Water made history by crossing the finish line in pole position at the weekend, completing the race in approximately 7 days, 22hr 9min5sec. Picture: Alec Smith/imagemundi

South African racing trimaran Love Water rewrote the history books when they won the Cape2Rio sailing race in record-breaking time ahead of rival Maserati.  

Love Water is a 80-foot vessel, skippered by Craig Sutherland and manned by a majority South African crew.

The Love Water team had set itself two goals – to break the Cape2Rio record of 11 days set by rival vessel Maserati, and to promote environmental awareness around the impact of plastic pollution on marine life while doing so.

In partnership with WWF SA, the Love Water team has been sharing stories about plastic pollution during their voyage on social media and digital platforms.

Sutherland said although tired after the gruelling voyage, they were a happy bunch of sailors.

“The biggest most important prize is who gets to Rio first. And we did it. The World Record will also be in our name.”

WWF SA, Pavitray Pillay, EnvironmentalBehaviour Change Manager at WWF South Africa, was the first to congratulate the crew on their historic victory, saying: “We’d like to commend their efforts to highlight the impact of plastic waste in our oceans, during this gruelling yet famous yacht race.”