Bem-Vindos! The World ARC Welcome Party in Salvador

The World ARC fleet got together last night for the first time in their new home at the Terminal Nautico, in the city of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. This Welcome Party, supported by SUDESB, (the state entity which operates the Terminal Nautico Marina), Bahia Tursa (the state tourism organisation) and FENAB (the state sailing federation), began with welcome drinks of Caipirinhas and finger food, before the crews were formally welcomed by Professor Ney Santos, representing SUDESB.

On behalf of the fleet, World ARC Event Manager Paul Tetlow replied with thanks for a great stopover and presented framed and signed posters of the Rally to those who were making the stopover so successful. Following this, prizes were awarded for the preceding leg of the Rally; the 3,600 nautical mile passage across the South Altantic from South Africa to Brazil. First in Class A of the Cruising Division was A Lady but the crew of Tzigane were also rewarded with a prize for hand steering for much of the journey after their autopilot failed a few days from St Helena. Some of the prizes were donated by the local travel agency Tours Bahia and the Tzigane crew were awarded a dinner voucher at the Villa Bahia restaurant, courtesy of Tours Bahia.

The winner in Class B and indeed of all the Cruising Division was the Portuguese yacht Thor VI, skippered by Rui Soares and crewed by Antonio Osorio. The double handed pair won a voucher for a meal at the Colieseu restaurant. What made their win even more impressive was that the yacht lost its forestay shortly after leaving St Helena and the pair had to sail with consideration for this. On arrival, Rui said how grateful he was to have fitted an inner forestay before he began his circumnavigation and that he had a parasalior spinnaker which kept itself filled in the light downwind conditions.

Following the prizegiving the fleet were entertained by a local childrens’ Capoeira dance group, who are formed from a government project to help socially disadvantaged children get a better start in life. The group was very entertaining and impressed the audience with their lively display. During the rest of the evening more food was served and the drinks kept flowing.

World ARC would like to thank all those who contributed to such a wonderful evening and marking the start of our programme in Salvador with such style.

The World ARC crews now have almost three weeks to continue exploring Brazil before the fleet rendez-vous in Recife on 28 February.