Most of the boats and crews have already checked in with yellow shirts in the Rally Office and there’s about 20 boats still to arrive. The safety equipment inspections continue and after last night’s welcome rum punch welcome party, it’s been a slow start on the docks.
The Ladies Round Table hosted by World Cruising Club’s Mia Karlsson was well attended and gave an opportunity for women in the fleet to chat to each other and discuss their experiences and stories so far. Most have already taken part in one or more World Cruising rallies. Topics like sailing at night; what it’s like to sail double handed, how they pass the time on long sea passages and keeping fit, were all subjects for discussion.
The boats and crews are from far and wide and represent 18 different nations including: Romania; Russia; USA; Canada; Ireland; France; Germany; Sweden; Netherlands; Norway; UK and New Zealand. From Perth on the West Coast of Australia, Revle Elkes joined in the Ladies Round Table and shared some interesting stories of their cruising experiences since picking up their new boat in France:
Revle Elkes is sailing double handed with her husband Robert on their Outremer 51 catamaran, Intrepid Elk. They spent the first six months in the Mediterranean and then sailed down to the Canaries and across with ARC+ last November.
“Our plan to try to see something of Northern Europe in the European summer so we will go from The Azores to Falmouth, UK and then through the English Channel and across to the Baltic, leaving the boat in Sweden for the winter. We will fly home for six months and then get back to the boat as early as we can. Our cruising plans keep changing and we’re not sure how long it will take us as we keep adding things to the itinerary. The ARC+ was our first rally and enjoyed it very much because it was a small group so we got to know everyone; that’s why we chose it. We did get to meet most people in the rally and it was really nice to get to know everyone before we set off. We found the World Cruising staff in yellow shirts to be so helpful and for us it is one of the best things about the rally. To have that support is great.”
Once the sun goes down at Nanny Cay, crews will be making their way to Mulligans for a complementary drink and more socialising!