51 boats were off to a breezy start of about 16 knots, gusting to 19 knots in Nanny Cay, Tortola today for ARC Europe & ARC USA 2015 rallies. As the horn sounded at 12noon, first to cross the line were 'Rhea', with a sneaky move around the buoy marker, followed closely by 'Doppelbock' in second and 'Mahe 3' in third. Six of the ARC USA boats decided to get underway early to make their way to Florida. In the multi-hull division, at a later start of 1210pm saw 'Mantra 2' cross the line first followed by 'GEM' in second and 'Intrepid Elk' in third.
Beforehand, there was a relaxed excitement on the docks with boats keen to get off the dock early and started to head out around 11am. The committee boat, provided by Horizon Yacht Charter, also headed out to get in position 750 metres north of the buoy marker to set the start line.
We wish all boats a safe bon voyage!
Check out a birds-eye view of the start in Nanny Cay: