About African Skimmer
African Skimmer was built in the Northern Cape in 2007 on Dudley Dix 40 design but was fitted with a keel and rigging from a Fast 42. She spent most of her life in Durban and has taken line honours on several occasions at Royal Natal and Point Yacht Club. The current owner, Barry Clark, purchased her in 2022 and sailed her down to Cape Town to her new home at the RCYC. She has just been through an extensive refit at RCYC in preparation for the Cape2Rio Race.
- RCYC, Cape2Rio
More info on the design can be found on the Dudley Dix website
Rynchops Flavirostris
Named by avid birdwatcher Alex Clark, this racing yacht—like the rare African skimmer—glides with effortless grace and razor speed, barely touching the water. Its low, sleek hull lifts and slices through waves, trimming and tacking like a winged hunter: every gust drives it forward, every turn a featherlight whisper. Built to chase horizons, it mirrors the skimmer’s elegance and relentless pace.
The African skimmer (Rynchops flavirostris) is a striking riverside bird with a longer lower mandible used to skim waters at dawn and dusk for fish and crustaceans. Stocky and black-and-white with bright orange legs and bill base, it nests in colonies on sandy riverbanks and islands across sub-Saharan Africa. Feeding in low light on calm water, skimmers rely on visual and vocal coordination and are vulnerable to habitat disturbance, flooding, and human activity—making them indicators of healthy river ecosystems.
Dr. Barry Clark
As a consultant has been concerned primarily with conservation planning, monitoring and assessment of human impacts on estuarine, rocky shore, sandy beach and temperate and coral reef communities as well as coastal and littoral zone processes, aquaculture and fisheries.
Dr Clark is the author of 27 scientific publications in class A scientific journals as well as numerous scientific reports and popular articles in the free press. Geographically, his main area of expertise is southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Mauritius and Angola), but he also has working experience from elsewhere in Africa (Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria), the Middle East (UAE) and Europe (Azerbaijan).
Dr Barry Clark has over 30 years experience in marine biological research and consulting on coastal zone and marine issues. He has worked as a scientific researcher, lecturer and consultant and has experience in tropical, subtropical and temperate ecosystems.
His main area of scientific study involved fisheries management and the biology and ecology of marine and estuarine fishes. He is presently Director of an Environmental Consultancy firm (Anchor Environmental Consultants) and Research Associate at the University of Cape Town.
