Angel Wings - South African Navy returns Cape2Rio race winners to shore after yacht sinks
What happened.
Days after winning the 2026 Cape2Rio on handicap, the youth crew of Angel Wings was completely dismasted in a gale on the delivery home — over 25 knots of wind and 5-metre seas — and abandoned the yacht at 02:30 on 3 February 2026, about 1,448 km southeast of Rio. All three transferred unhurt to the freighter Bryant, and the South African Navy later landed them at Simon's Town. The yacht was lost.
The 2026 Cape2Rio had been a triumph: a youth crew from the Cape Flats, sailing for the Royal Cape Yacht Club Sailing Academy, won the 3,300-nautical-mile transatlantic race on handicap, finishing on 20 January. The danger came afterwards, on the long delivery passage home to Cape Town. In the early hours of Monday 3 February 2026, in the South Atlantic about 1,448 km southeast of Rio de Janeiro, their yacht Angel Wings was completely dismasted in deteriorating weather — winds over 25 knots and seas around five metres. With the rig gone and no way to continue safely, the three crew — skipper Sibusiso Sizatu, first mate Tshepo Renaldo Mohale and Andrea Myburg — abandoned the yacht at about 02:30 and were taken aboard the merchant vessel Bryant, in a transfer coordinated between the South African and Brazilian maritime rescue centres. None of them was hurt. Days later, on 11 February, the South African Navy offshore patrol vessel SAS Adam Kok III met the Bryant about 63 nautical miles off Cape Point and brought the sailors the last leg home, landing them at Naval Base Simon's Town on the morning of 12 February. The dismasted yacht was lost. It was a hard coda to a celebrated win — and a reminder that the race result is not the end of the risk.
What it teaches.
- 1The delivery passage is often more dangerous than the race. The crew is depleted, the boat is tired, and attention drops once the result is in the bag. Angel Wings was dismasted on the way home. Plan deliveries as seriously as the event itself: rig inspection, weather routing, watch discipline, and a fully prepared safety kit.
- 2Know your dismasting drill. In a seaway a fallen rig can hole the hull, so be ready to cut it away: keep bolt croppers or a hacksaw to hand, protect the crew from flailing wire, and secure or jettison the rig before it does more damage. Then assess whether you can motor, jury-rig, or must call for help.
- 3Calling early and coordinating a ship-to-ship transfer saved this crew. They alerted the rescue centres, were taken aboard the freighter Bryant, and later moved to a navy ship. Carry a registered EPIRB and DSC VHF, get the alert and position out early, and follow the coordinating centre's plan rather than improvising a risky self-rescue.
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