The first sub-group of the World ARC fleet said farewell to French Polynesia this morning as they continued their westwards trip. The 14 yachts headed out of the lagoon in Bora Bora with a good south easterly breeze to help them on their way.
There have been more competitive restarts during the World ARC but the group got away safely and with some entertaining commentary on the radio. This may have had its roots in a busy pre departure day. Yesterday, crews attended the Skippers Briefing to learn more about the route ahead followed by a Dinghy Race and a Farewell Party in the evening!
The first across the start was the Taswell 58, Celebrate crewed by Charlie and Cathy Simon. The remainder of the boats cross the start line in relatively quick succession. A few boats including Folie a Deux and Nexus flew coloured sails which looked impressive against the green and mountainous backdrop of Bora Bora.
The boats have 550 miles to sail to the remote atoll of Suwarrow where they are expected to spend up to 3 days. Afterwards the cruise will sail on to another isolated island, Niue.
The next group of boats will restart two days later on May 13.