Table Bay Sailing: RCYC Women’s Series Race
Photographing the Royal Cape Yacht Club Ullman Sails Women’s Series Race
Photographing the Royal Cape Yacht Club Ullman Sails Women’s Series sailing race on Table Bay, Cape Town, before the historic noon gun fires. |
| Table Bay Sailing: RCYC Ullman Sails Women’s Series Race |
Sailing yachts gathered on Table Bay shortly before the Cape Town Noon Gun fired on 24 October 2026. The fleet was preparing for the Royal Cape Yacht Club Women’s Series Race Day 2. Photograph: Vernon Chalmers.
This photographic essay is based on Vernon Chalmers's direct observation and original photography of an organised sailing fleet on Table Bay, Cape Town, on 24 October 2026. The lead photograph was captured moments before the Cape Town Noon Gun fired. The race began approximately 30 minutes later, following the sailors' manoeuvres towards the start. The event identification is informed by the Royal Cape Yacht Club's published Women’s Series Race Day 2 listing.
Historical context is connected to Vernon Chalmers Photography's earlier photographic essay on the Cape Town Noon Gun. The article distinguishes direct observation from externally sourced event information and does not claim vessel identities, race results or operational details that have not been independently verified.
A sailing race on Table Bay
On Saturday, 24 October 2026, I photographed a fleet of sailing yachts gathered on Table Bay, close to Cape Town's harbour waterfront. The photograph was captured moments before the firing of the Cape Town Noon Gun, documenting the fleet shortly before the start of an organised sailing race.
The event was subsequently identified as the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) Ullman Sails Women’s Series Race Day 2, part of the club's 2026 sailing programme. The official event calendar lists the race day for 24 October at the Royal Cape Yacht Club on Table Bay.
The observation offered an opportunity to document sailing activity within Cape Town's wider maritime environment. The yachts were grouped together near the port, with the city's harbour infrastructure providing a distinctive background.
What initially appeared to be an organised fleet became a more clearly defined photographic subject through subsequent observation and event identification.
The fleet before the noon gun
The photograph records the fleet before the noon gun sounded. The yachts occupy the foreground and middle distance, their sails creating a varied arrangement of colours, shapes and rigging against the harbour waterfront.
Several boats were positioned relatively close together, while others were separated by stretches of open water. The overall grouping suggested a coordinated sailing activity rather than unrelated recreational movements.
The harbour setting adds context to the image. Commercial vessels, cranes, buildings and waterfront infrastructure establish the location as part of Cape Town's working maritime environment.
The composition is documentary in character. Rather than concentrating on a single yacht or an individual crew, it records the fleet as a collective subject within its surroundings.
The timing is particularly significant. The photograph was made moments before the Noon Gun fired, preserving a specific point in the sequence of events that unfolded that day.
From the noon gun to the race start
The Noon Gun was an important temporal reference during my observation, but it did not signal the start of the race.
After the gun fired at approximately 12:00 noon, the sailors manoeuvred their yachts towards the starting area. The race itself began approximately 30 minutes later, at around 12:30.
This sequence distinguishes the photograph from an image of the actual race start. It documents the fleet before the gun fired and before the competitive sailing began.
The interval between the noon gun and the start also reveals something about the event's preparation. The yachts were not simply sailing past one another; they were participating in an organised programme that involved movement towards a defined starting point.
The photograph therefore represents a preparatory moment in the wider event. It captures the fleet assembled on the water, against the backdrop of Cape Town's harbour, before the race developed into its competitive phase.
For maritime photography, such moments have documentary value. The story of an event can include its preparation, positioning and setting, not only the most dramatic action.
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| Table Bay Sailing: RCYC Ullman Sails Women’s Series Race |
Original maritime photograph documenting a sailing yacht observed at the front of the fleet during the Royal Cape Yacht Club Women’s Series Race Day 2 on Table Bay. The vessel's contrasting sails stand out against the blue water and Cape Town container terminal.
The Noon Gun and Cape Town's maritime heritage
The timing of this observation connects the sailing race with one of Cape Town's best-known historical traditions.
The Cape Town Noon Gun is fired daily from the Lion Battery on Signal Hill. Historically, the gun served as a time signal for ships anchored in Table Bay, enabling mariners to check their marine chronometers. Its practical navigational function has largely been superseded by modern technology, but the firing remains an enduring feature of Cape Town's cultural and maritime heritage.
I previously documented this tradition in my photographic essay, History of the Noon Gun, Cape Town. That article includes a photograph of the smoke billowing from the gun after it fired.
The two photographs document different moments and perspectives. The earlier image focuses on the immediate aftermath of the firing, while the present sailing photograph records a fleet on Table Bay shortly before the same daily signal.
Together, they connect Cape Town's historical maritime timekeeping tradition with contemporary activity on the water.
The relationship is not merely symbolic. The Noon Gun's history is directly associated with the ships that once relied on its signal while anchored in the bay. Today, the same tradition continues above a maritime environment that includes commercial shipping, passenger vessels, sailing competitions and recreational boating.
The historical photograph and the regatta observation therefore complement each other within the Vernon Chalmers Photography maritime archive.
Maritime Observation System
The Royal Cape Yacht Club Women’s Series
The Royal Cape Yacht Club's published calendar identifies the event as Women’s Series Race Day 2, the second competitive race day in the club's 2026 Women's Series. The series programme also included a Women's Cruise earlier in the year. <Cite refs={["turn592478search0","turn592478search2"]}/>
This official identification provides the context for the fleet photographed on 24 October.
The event is part of the organised sailing activity taking place in Cape Town's coastal waters. The yachts, crews and associated preparations form part of a competitive sailing environment that requires coordination, awareness of other vessels and an understanding of the conditions on the water.
My photographic observation does not attempt to evaluate the competitors or establish the results. Its focus is the visible fleet, the location and the timing of the activity.
That distinction is important. Identifying the scheduled event provides a factual foundation for the essay, while the photograph itself remains a record of what I observed from my position overlooking Table Bay.
Table Bay Maritime Environment Through Photography
Photographing a fleet within a working harbour
Photographing several sailing yachts together presents a different compositional challenge from photographing a single vessel.
The photographer must consider the relationships between the boats, the distribution of sails across the frame, the position of the horizon and the amount of surrounding environment to retain.
In this photograph, the fleet forms a broad horizontal arrangement across the water. Differences in sail colour and shape create visual rhythm, while the harbour waterfront provides depth and geographical context.
The open water in the foreground separates the yachts from the lower edge of the frame. Behind them, the urban and industrial elements of the waterfront reinforce the location's identity.
Those background details are important to the documentary purpose of the image. The photograph does not isolate the sailing fleet from its environment; it shows the yachts within the larger maritime landscape of Table Bay.
The approach reflects the value of contextual photography. A close-up might reveal details of an individual yacht, its rigging or crew, but a wider view can communicate the scale and organisation of an entire fleet.
For this essay, the wider scene is central to the story.
V&A Waterfront Cape Town Photography
Observation, identification and documentation
The development of this essay follows the principles of the Maritime Observation System (MOS) used within Vernon Chalmers Photography.
The process begins with observation: a fleet of sailing yachts was photographed near Cape Town's harbour moments before noon on 24 October 2026.
Photography preserves the visible evidence of the fleet, the sails, the water and the surrounding waterfront.
Identification connects the observation with the Royal Cape Yacht Club Women’s Series Race Day 2, using the club's published event information.
Investigation and documentation establish the chronology: the photograph was captured before the noon gun, the sailors then manoeuvred towards the start, and the race began approximately 30 minutes later.
Finally, interpretation places the observation within the broader context of sailing activity and Cape Town's maritime heritage.
These stages should remain distinct. The photograph documents the fleet's appearance and setting. The event calendar identifies the scheduled race. My direct observation establishes the sequence of events as experienced from the shoreline.
The image does not identify every yacht or crew, establish the precise course, or document the final results. Those details would require additional information.
Recognising these boundaries helps maintain the accuracy of the photographic record.
A contemporary record of Table Bay
Table Bay is a varied maritime environment. Its waters accommodate commercial shipping, passenger vessels, organised sailing, recreational boating and maritime safety operations. The surrounding harbour and waterfront connect these activities with the wider life of Cape Town.
The Women’s Series race observed on 24 October 2026 represents one part of that environment.
The photograph preserves a moment before the competition began: a fleet assembled on the water, the city behind it, and the Noon Gun about to fire above the bay.
By documenting this scene and connecting it with the Royal Cape Yacht Club's published event information, the photograph becomes part of a broader record of contemporary maritime activity.
It also creates a connection with the historical Noon Gun essay, linking a present-day sailing event to a tradition that once played a practical role in maritime navigation.
For Vernon Chalmers Photography, this is the purpose of maritime observation: to photograph vessels and activities in context, establish their identities where possible, and build a reliable visual record of the places and events that shape Cape Town's relationship with the sea.
The fleet photographed on 24 October 2026 is one such record — an organised sailing race on Table Bay, observed before the noon gun and documented against the historic waterfront of Cape Town.
Event reference: Royal Cape Yacht Club, Women’s Series Race Day 2, 24 October 2026.
Photographic Equipment
Cameras: Canon EOS R6 Mark III | Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Lenses: Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM | Canon EF 100-400mm f/54.5 -5.6L IS USM
Photographic Genre: Maritime Photography / Ship Spotting
Post Processing: Adobe Lightroom Classic Version 15
Lighthouse Reference Points
Green Point Lighthouse
Milnerton Lighthouse
Robben Island Lighthouse
V&A Waterfront: A Table Bay Reference Point
Maritime Location: Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
