It was
another busy day yesterday with final safety inspections, and a few boats heading out to practice their MOB drills and setting the light wind sails. And quite a few people forgot their sunblock! Forget about
Yellowshirts- there were some bright pink shoulders and arms around the docks!
Provisioning at the OneMart downtown has been very successful and we appreciate the hard work from Alberto and his guys for taking the crews to the store and returning later with provisions boxed up and delivered right to the boat. There is another trip this morning for the last minute fresh items. Some crews have other plans and have been spotted returning from Budget Marine with all manner of lures and hooks in their quest for freshly caught fish!
Crews arrived smartly dressed at the Beach Bar for a quick sundowner before heading upstairs to Peg Leg’s for the Farewell Dinner. With all 44 boats now here and around 170 crew and guests the dining room was packed full. The tables were set for 10's and 12's and with open seating crews were soon mingling and enjoying the wines on the table. Peg Legs outdid
themselves with nicely dressed tables and a delicious West Indian buffet, and Luis, the Restaurant Manager and his team got a great round of applause.
Just before dessert was served Lyall made a
great speech welcoming everyone to the start of ARC Europe & ARC USA 2016. It is great to see a lot of familiar faces from previous events, such as the ARC, World ARC and Caribbean 1500 and ask that they in turn give an even bigger welcome to the 11 new boats that are sailing in their first World Cruising Club rally. All one big ARC family, quite an international family really, with boats from 16 countries and crews from many more. Good fun was had by all and it was important to thank the management team here at Nanny Cay for their continued support and let them know we are excited by the new marina development and calling Nanny Cay home for many more years to come.