Cape 31
Noordhoek · Mark Mills · 2016
Updated
The Cape 31 is a 9.57 m planing racing yacht designed by Mark Mills and built by Noordhoek, first launched in 2016. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 97% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 97% of the boats it races against.
6th of 159 in its class.
Not verified. On planing hulls this score has no match in the race results we hold: designs scoring the same win anywhere from one race in ten to seven in ten. Read it as what the measurements say, not as a ranking.
This design has been found in real race results — 67 starts across 8 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
9.57 m
31′ 5″
Beam
3.05 m
Draft
2.45 m
Displacement
1.9 t
Sail area
62 m²
On the podium
Where a Cape 31 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
40%
of 67 starts by 8 boats
Wins
18%
Read from 67 starts by 8 boats between 2025 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Cape 31 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
EAYK-TAYK Dogu Ege Yat Sampiyonasi2026
Edison Next Italian Offshore Sailing Championship - Campionato Italiano Assoluto d’Altura2026
Loro Piana Giraglia2026- ORC World Championship2026
- XXX Trofeo Punta Stendardo2026
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
38%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
50%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a Cape 31 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Cape 31 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.59
38°
Beam reach
10.47
90°
Broad reach
13.71
135°
Downwind VMG
11.59
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
This is a boat that wants breeze. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.
Where it gains
Its best ground is running deep when it blows, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage off the wind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short upwind in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 3.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Cape 31
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.88 | 5.16 | 5.44 | 5.59 |
| 52° | 5.89 | 7.38 | 7.76 | 8.05 |
| 60° | 6.20 | 7.67 | 8.16 | 8.52 |
| 75° | 6.42 | 7.98 | 8.80 | 9.41 |
| 90° | 6.34 | 7.97 | 9.36 | 10.47 |
| 110° | 6.50 | 8.44 | 9.65 | 11.54 |
| 120° | 6.39 | 8.61 | 10.18 | 12.18 |
| 135° | 5.69 | 8.07 | 10.48 | 13.71 |
| 150° | 4.76 | 7.06 | 8.98 | 13.38 |
| Run VMG | 4.12 | 6.12 | 7.78 | 11.59 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 600 kg.
Rigging
Cape 31 rig and sail dimensions
A Cape 31 carries 12.54 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.50 m boom, a forestay 12.48 m above the deck and a 5.92 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 42 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 112 to 199 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.