KNYSNA NEWS - Knysna Yacht Club (KYC) heads into this week’s Lipton Challenge Cup Regatta in Cape Town with a genuine chance of competing for South Africa’s most prestigious sailing trophy for the first time since its centenary year in 2010.
The 2026 Lipton Cup is being sailed on Table Bay from Tuesday, 25 August, to Saturday, 29 August, with 17 leading yacht clubs competing in identical J/22 yachts.
The one-design format places the emphasis on sailing skill, tactics, boat handling and teamwork.
KYC has assembled a formidable crew: co-skippers Greg Davis and Georgou Divaris are supported by veteran sailor Paul Allardice.
Davis has 14 previous Lipton victories, including two for KYC, more than 180 000 offshore miles and Whitbread Round the World Race experience. Divaris, one of South Africa’s leading younger sailors, has multiple national titles, international representation from Optimist to Laser-ILCA level and back-to-back Finn National Championship victories in 2025 and 2026. Allardice brings decades of experience and won the Lipton Cup in 2019.
Divaris will steer KYC’s exceptionally well-prepared J22, SY Factorial.
Defending champions Hermanus Yacht Club returns with Calvin Gibbs, while Royal Cape Yacht Club, the challenger of record, will be led by multiple Lipton winner David Rae after finishing second last year. False Bay Yacht Club has Olympic pedigree through Asenathi Jim, while Walvis Bay returns with experienced Lipton sailor Björn Geiger.
Table Bay’s unpredictable southeaster could prove decisive, making wind-reading, boat speed and consistency crucial. Presented by Sir Thomas Lipton in 1909, the Lipton Challenge Cup remains the pinnacle of South African interclub sailing.
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