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The ARC+ Parties & the ARC Fleet Parks



The winds cooperated for the ARC+. All 49 boats in the Cape Verde fleet completed the 2,000-mile crossing quickly enough to make it into IGY Rodney Bay Marina in time for last evening’s Welcome Reception on the lawn outside the Breadbasket café.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the second ARC+ fleet to St. Lucia,” said John Emmanuel, Public Relations Manager of the St. Lucia Tourist Board.

Emmanuel promised short and sweet speeches from some distinguished guests on hand, and they delivered. He introduced Louie Lewis, Director of Tourism on St. Lucia, Simon Bryan, General Manager of IGY Rodney Bay Marina, and finally Andrew Bishop, Managing Director of World Cruising Club who all took their turn to briefly welcome the sailors from the Cape Verdes.

“Normally, we have more ARC boats joining us in welcoming you here to St. Lucia,” said Andrew Bishop with a wry smile. “Instead, they’re all parked just to the east in windless conditions!”

Nonetheless, the party was a hit, with three bars serving up cold Piton beer and rum punch, and a steel pan band provided the ambiance on a clear, calm evening.

While 2014 saw the ARC course record smashed by Leopard of Finland, it’s slow going for the rest of the ARC fleet (it’s also worth noting that Monster Project, a former Volvo Ocean Race 70-footer, also would have broken the previous course record had it not been for Leopard).

Tosca, a custom carbon-fiber ‘Moxie’ catamaran who participated in ARC Europe last spring, re-crossed the Atlantic, taking the finish line this morning. Jean-Charles and Antoine, skipper and crew respectively, looked tired as they docked the boat.

“Yes, it was frustrating the last few days,” offered Jean-Charles. Tosca is used to sailing hard and fast – her crew had previously sailed on the 110-foot trimaran Geronimo on their round-the-world record attempt – and the calm conditions as they approached St. Lucia proved challenging.

As we go to press, nine ARC boats are safely berthed in St. Lucia, with a slow day ahead. The next yacht isn’t due to arrive until late this evening, with another dozen or so over the next 24 hours.

Despite the light conditions, a quick read through the blogs would suggest the crews are indeed enjoying their passage.

“Another great day to be alive on the Atlantic!” exclaimed the crew of OOROO. “Gennaker up in the early morning to give us some speed through the light winds.”

Dolphins joined the OOROO crew in the evening, and the team has changed course slightly to the south to try and pick up steadier trade winds.

“We are now Parasailing again with 578 nautical miles to go!”

Onboard Juno, the ‘admiral’ got to sit in the author’s seat for a change, and provided some of her perspective on life at sea.

“Frewie described the rocking and rolling motion of downwind sailing with glee in the months before the trip,” she wrote on the blog. What he failed to mention was that the motion, while exhilarating on deck, in increased by an order of magnitude down below.

“It’s causing many bumps and bruises all over the body as a result of crashing around in the galley trying to hang on to the vodka, the tonic and the ice tray with the only hand that’s not gripping on for life,” she joked.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the ARC ‘Yellowshirt’ staff arrived last night into St. Lucia, so the team on island is now complete for the next two weeks. While it’s a slow start on Monday, the staff knows better than to relax into it, as it’s about to get busy!

Follow the regular updates from around the docks on the ARC Facebook page.

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