After a particularly fast passage the first few yachts of the World ARC fleet are now berthed in Mackay Marina and currently undergoing clearances with Australian Customs and Quarantine. JUNO was first across the finish line yesterday evening followed by BRIZO about 7 hours later, themselves closely followed by MAKENA crossing the line within the next hour.
The finish line is located at the entrance of the Hydrographers Passage and some 100NM from Mackay itself. The Hydrographers Passage is a commercial shipping channel through the Great Barrier Reef and while it is a wide channel there is the concern of commercial traffic and part of the passage is to windward which is why the competitive part of the Leg 7 is completed at the entrance. It’s common for yachts to require the assistance of their engines to battle what can be a very sharp chop in the channel, Paul from JUNO confirmed that last night conditions in the passage were “particularly uncomfortable!”
For the last 72 hours the fleet have been battling though high winds and seas with some yachts reporting winds as high as 45 kts. It has been a particularly wet and bumpy passage from Vanuatu with cloudy skies and frequent rain squalls. Those crews lucky enough to have already arrived are welcoming the protected waters of Mackay Marina, the comforts of dry land and a cold beer ashore.
For the remaining yachts at sea it’s good to know the winds are now easing and conditions forecast to settle over the next 48 hours.