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Marina busy with arrivals



The gorgeous, dark blue Royal Huisman ketch Thula arrived into Rodney Bay Marina earlier this morning to a greeting from Alex the steel pan drummer and the Saint Lucia Tourist Board with their rum punches and fruit basket. Conspicuously absent was the large welcome party from hours before.

Thula had actually crossed the finish line in the wee hours of the morning today, and a merry band of revelers at the Boardwalk Bar in their alcohol-fuelled excitement, were keen to greet them on the dock. Instead, the yacht anchored out.

Though rare at the ARC, there is the occasional skipper who elects to anchor out and delay their official welcome on the docks. Often times crews will stop in the afternoon in Rodney Bay proper for a swim before coming into the dock. Other times it’s to pop a cold bottle of champagne in celebration, or in Thula’s case, to avoid a night entry of an unfamiliar harbor. Despite the welcome party’s disappointment, you can’t blame the crews’ conservative seamanship.

Thula have their own party

Mike, Thula’s professional skipper, is no stranger to World Cruising Club events, having participated in a few legs of World ARC and the Caribbean 1500.

“I sailed aboard Wind Dancer in the Caribbean 1500,” Mike says, finally relaxed with the big Thula safely in her berth. “I’ve been to Saint Lucia before, but not for a while,” he continued. “Feels great to be back!”

The crew toasted their achievement once more with the Tourist Board’s rum punch – breakfast of champions! – looking sharp in their matching ARC polo shirts and khaki shorts.

When they finally did arrive today around 0900, the revelers from last night were nowhere to be seen, undoubtedly nursing their heads from a late night at the bar.
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18 days have now passed since the ARC start in Las Palmas. For the yachts still at sea, that’s nearly three-weeks of ocean sailing. It’s allowed much time for reflection.

“We have a full on magic show here right now,” wrote Aretha’s crew in their log. “A magic show creating memories.”

The yacht was 86 miles from Saint Lucia, and due north of Barbados, where they’d recalled from years earlier, pirate ships, beach strolls, copious amounts of Mount Gay rum and the rhythm’s of the island hit ‘Who Let the Dogs Out.’

“[We have] more memories to make in 86 miles as we make landfall in Saint Lucia and get to celebrate our first major ocean crossing on board Team Aretha,” they continued. “We’re ahead of our original ETA and this will be our last night at sea on this crossing.”

While Aretha plans for landfall, many yachts remain still many miles offshore, and thoughts of land and a hot shower are distant. 

On board Vagaris, which still has 400 miles to sail, the weather become quite windy and causing a rolly seaway, a notable change from the previous week.

“We've had very light winds from dead astern, so have been smoothly sailing downwind on the Parasailor,” they wrote. “We took it down earlier after a 24-hour run to check for chafe and found the halyard severely chewed at the top.”

Vagaris is now in the midst of some mid-ocean maintenance, as they repair the halyard and wait for the wind to settle before re-hoisting the big downwind sail. If the good conditions persist, they should expect to make landfall inside of three days from now. Only then can they shift their focus from the boat to their beers.
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81 yachts have crossed the finish line in this 29th ARC. With the departure of most of the ARC+ yachts yesterday morning (their final party as a group was held last night in Marigot Bay), the marina has emptied out a bit, which is no bad thing considering nearly 100 more yachts will need to squeeze in over the next week. Though it’s too early to tell for sure, it appears as though all of the fleet should make the island in time for next Saturday’s prizegiving ceremony.

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