Full on in Bermuda & First Arrivals in the USA

10 May 2014

The action started just after sunrise this morning in St. Georges, and has continued right through this evening. The BVI fleet enjoyed wonderful sailing on a building southwesterly breeze today.

“We were making upwards of eight knots the last day today,” exclaimed David and his family onboard Morning Haze as they arrived into St. Georges town. “The girls and all of us are loving it!”

The Haze family has been on a long-term sabbatical since sailing south with the Caribbean 1500 last November. They made landfall in the Bahamas as part of the ARC Bahamas fleet, and made their way south by way of the ‘thorny path’, as it’s known. The Haze’s sailed hard to windward over the winter through the Bahamian out islands, Turks & Caicos, Dominican Republic and Virgin Islands, joining the ARC Europe fleet in Tortola. Now in Bermuda, they’ve completed the first of their offshore legs on the way to Europe, yet the biggest hurdle – crossing the Atlantic itself – remains.

The girls have been home-schooled onboard all the while, and are enjoying a life at sea. But dry land always feels good after a long passage, and the girls did cartwheels on the dock to celebrate their arrival!

Morning Haze was just one of over a dozen boats to arrive into Bermuda today beginning with Happy Destiny this morning, one of the Portsmouth fleet. Ray Smith and his crew were happy to enjoy their Dark & Stormy’s on the Dinghy Club dock, rafted next to their mates from the USA on Persistent Lady.

Meanwhile, in the Old Bahama Channel fleet, who’ve got a longer distance to sail at just a hair over 1,000 nautical miles, things are going quite well.

“We see Cuba!” Nirvana, one of two ARC USA boats new to the World Cruising Club family exclaimed on their log. Cuba has long been off-limits to American sailors thanks to sanctions by the US government against the communist regime of Fidel Castro, and represents a sort of mythical place in the minds of US-based sailors.

But it wasn’t all daydreams for Nirvana’s crew. “First early this morning: the night watch was rough with rough seas and heavier wind...we asked for wind but geez! Rich hung tough through dawn outside of Great Inagua Island where the daylight revealed "confused seas". Eddie said it looked like the ocean was boiling. Strong winds, strong currents, swells going in various different directions.”



As the fleet sails north of Cuba they’ll be in the heart of the Gulf Stream, the Straits of Florida where the currents can run at over 4 knots. While it can offer a welcome boost to SOG, if the wind’s from the wrong direction it can kick up a nasty sea.

Onboard Altair, rally vets Rick & Julie Palm have had the fishing line going, to good results.

“We caught a mahi mahi yesterday,” they wrote in the log. “She was about three feet long and produced four very large fillets for great eating now and in the future. We sautéed one of the fillets last night in garlic, olive oil, lemon, and red pepper flakes...served over a bed of wilted baby spinach. Had leftovers in fish tacos today.”

Jeremi Jablonski and his son aboard the Hanse 430 and regular entry Avanti, were the first to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale to Bahia Mar marina, having left a day ahead of the main fleet last Friday. They were joined today by Altair who also made it safely to port. Karina, another regular in the event, and in fact the boat who started the trend in the OBC, expects to arrive tomorrow. The rest of the ARC USA fleet isn’t too far behind, with Paul & Monica on Moonshadow – the smallest of the fleet, and winners of the Tempest Trophy for Spirit of the Rally in last fall’s Caribbean 1500 – are bringing up the rear with just 170 miles to go. All yachts should be in port by Sunday morning – Mother’s Day in the US – at the latest, and will enjoy rum drinks on arrival and a group dinner on Monday.

The lone ARC USA yacht to make landfall here in Bermuda, Kristy Sue, arrived yesterday, also having left ahead of the main fleet.

The program got started this evening in Bermuda with the first happy hour at the St. Georges Dinghy & Sports club, followed by the grand opening of ‘Just Add Water,’ a new watersports facility that opened up in the downstairs part of the Club. They hosted live music, beer, wine and appetizers for the ARC Europe fleet this evening.

Another 11 yachts are expected to arrive between now and 0800 Saturday morning, so it’ll be a busy night. And a busy day tomorrow, with duty-free refueling on Pennos Wharf. All yachts should be in port by Sunday evening’s prizegiving, including Athenea, the last of the Portsmouth starters who had to return to enact repairs to their transmission at Ocean Marine Yacht Center.