It’s been many years since a woman skippered a yacht in the Lipton Challenge Cup, and with her skill and reputation she will have a big following urging her to victory.
These were the words of Kerry Pride of the Royal Cape Yacht Club about Di Hutton-Squire of the Theewater Sports Club in Villiersdorp after it was announced that Hutton-Squire and her crew will be competing against the formidable Royal Cape Yacht Club, the current holders of the Lipton Challenge Cup, which they claimed in last year’s contest off the coast of Durban.
An accomplished sailor, Hutton-Squire is no stranger to top-class sailing competitions, having been on the admin end of the Lipton Challenge Cup on several occasions, as race officer and team manager, but this will be her first on-water attempt to wrest the cup back. “I have an incredibly good boat in Tin-Tin, a JPK 10:10 design,” she said. “She has a wonderful international pedigree with podiums in international regattas.”
full-on training before crew selection
“So, if all the permutations – wind, weather, handicaps and crew work – align, we could well have a chance to lift the Lipton Cup,” Hutton-Squire said.
“However, there are always ‘buts’, and I will not be able to sail with or prepare my crew until late July due to a foot operation. We sailed last weekend as I selected some crew and need to assess others. This will be a full-on training session before I make my final crew selection. I sincerely hope this will be enough to make us competitive.”
The Lipton Cup, being a challenge contest, requires a club other than the defending club to issue a challenge for a contest to be held. The Theewater Sports Club is no newcomer to the Lipton Challenge Cup, having won on seven occasions, the last in 2008.
In recent years the club has had a scarce presence in the regatta, so the hosts are delighted Di Hutton-Squire has been selected to pursue the challenge.
Hutton-Squire fully understands that handicap racing, which is the way the Lipton Challenge Cup, is now contested, can add pressure to teams. She feels if the conditions are at the extreme ends of the scale – either very strong or very light – she and her team will have a strong chance of taking the honours and lifting the Lipton Cup in victory.
competitor Royal Cape Yacht Club
. Founded in 1905, the Royal Cape Yacht Club is a premier sailing institution in Cape Town dedicated to promoting the sport of sailing and fostering a sense of community among its members. The club is renowned for hosting prestigious sailing events, including the historic Lipton Challenge Cup. The Lipton Challenge Cup was donated in 1909 to the Table Bay Yacht Club, which subsequently became the Royal Cape Yacht Club, by Sir Thomas Lipton, world-famous entrepreneur and five-time challenger for the America’s Cup.
The essential nature of the Lipton Challenge remains the same. It is an annual inter-club contest – one boat per club – to be held off-shore during the months of July and August. The long history of the Lipton Challenge in many ways reflects the history of competitive sailing in South Africa, and today the Cup is widely seen as the domestic trophy most SA sailors, young and old, would most like to win.
Entries do not close until 30 days before the start, on 27 August, and a fleet of more than 10 teams is expected. The City of Cape Town has backed this year’s event, acknowledging the importance of the Royal Cape Yacht Club in the City’s maritime history.
