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After a four-day delay, Portsmouth fleet bound for Bermuda



The sun rose clear in the east this morning and there was a distinct chill in the air heralding the passing of the latest cold front that had the fleet waiting patiently in Portsmouth. By dawn, all six of the Bermuda-bound yachts were headed to sea, taking full advantage of the windshift, drop in humidity and stable weather conditions. What a difference a day makes!

The fleet was initially delayed by Sub-Tropical storm Ana, which had formed off the coast of Charleston and threatened to move up the coast. But as we were watching Ana’s progress, another massive low pressure was wreaking havoc much further east in the Atlantic. That one didn’t have a name, but it was much meaner even than Ana. The Portsmouth fleet, during last Friday’s safety briefing, seemed certainly glad to be waiting this one out in the historic port city.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s the right thing to do,” said Ian Clark on Zoom. “We’ll just go anchor out and enjoy the cruising life in the meantime!”

The weekend was quiet at Ocean Marine Yacht Center, with several boats heading off cruising and other traveling inland or finishing up last minute boat projects. The irony of the delay was that the local weather was absolutely gorgeous.

Ana eventually got swallowed up by another approaching low from the west, and kind of formed it's own strong cold front as it got pulled to the north and east. While heading through the Gulf Stream on a SW winds is preferred due to the wind being with rather than against the strong current, in this case the SW wind heralded the coming front, which was a strong one, and would produce potentially unstable local conditions as the cold air of the approaching front met the warm Gulf Stream waters. So to time it just right, the fleet would depart on the back of the cold front, as soon as the wind shifted west and northwest, and get a reaching sail across the Gulf Stream and into the Atlantic in settled, though gusty, fair weather of the approaching High pressure.

“We are ready!” said Len, skipper of Euphoria. “I’ll literally be getting one mile close to Sweden with each mile we make towards Bermuda and the Azores,” he said at dinner last night. Len bought Euphoria, an Xc-42, from Denmark last year and sailed it across in the ARC. He hasn't been back to Sweden yet. “I’m very much looking forward to going home,” he admitted. ARC & ARC Europe is the culmination of a years-long dream for Len.

So before dawn today, to take advantage of the new weather, Euphoria, Zoom, White Wave III, Blea Tarn and Unconditional made sail and pointed their bows towards the mighty Atlantic, bound for Bermuda. The 650-mile passage should take between 4 and 6 days. Agua Dulce, who left Tuesday morning, is leading the way.

Follow the Portsmouth-base ARC Europe fleet on worldcruising.com/arceurope. Fair winds to them as they make their way towards Bermuda!

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