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Firefly - Ode to ARC Europe



This is the story of ARC Europe,

Bermuda to the Azores (day five),

After a couple of days of light winds,

Things have really come alive.

 

The fleet is pressing Eastwards,

The Azores the distant prize,

The sun on the horizon,

Marks the spot when it does rise.

 

Leading the pack is Lumikki,

the Finns know how to fly,

They raced their way into rain though,

At least the rest of us stayed dry!

 

They're so far ahead at this stage,

They could be there by dusk,

So there's one request from the rest of the fleet:,

“Please save some beers for us!”

 

And then there is Devona,

Five dashing bold young men,

Their broken rudder no problem,

For lads the calibre of them.

 

Despite their steering problem,

On and on they roar,

No challenge too great for a crew like this,

Yes, it's a man's world for sure.

 

Some say size doesn't matter,

Templars F would disagree,

With their spinnaker the size of a La Liga pitch,

She's out there sailing free.

 

There's the blue-water cat of “Chat Eau Bleu”,

Through the ocean waves she roars,

Though a better name could be “Chateau-neuf du Pape”,

With all the drunken sailors on board.

 

And then there's Binkertoo, too,

Or should that be Binker-three?

For faced with a locker of various sails,

They'll hoist everything they can see.

 

They know why it's called the Azores high,

They're all as high as kites,

They'd better get through their stash though,

Before Faial customs unit strikes.

 

Blonde Moment, well, they're far from blonde,

They're the voice of radio calm,

With the well-spoken reassuring voice,

You know you'll come to no harm.

 

“It's a beautiful day” when they're around,

The vibe on board is good,

They're singing their way across the Atlantic,

Like all the best boats should.

 

Aurelia nearly created a log-jam,

as into a submerged tree they sailed,

They thankfully they escaped unscathed,

Neither crew nor equipment failed.

 

It's unclear how the tree fared though,

As they rammed it square in the trunk,

It's only a giant chunk of wood,

But rumour has it that it sunk.

 

And as for the wonderful Selkie,

Two skippers and a crew of four,

Such a fantastic way to be brought up,

Nothing beats it, that's for sure.

 

But there is one burning question,

That'll be answered when they arrive,

During the latest passage,

Has the crew grown from four to five?

 

And Khaleesi, the mother of dragons,

from an empire in the south,

The warm wind that has carried us north,

Came straight from the dragon's mouth.

 

Principal Interest were late starters,

But are working through the field,

They've drawn on Dow Jones' Locker,

Which is providing a handsome yield.

 

Let's not forget dear old Muttley,

The skipper must have a rare charm,

For a greying and grizzled old sea dog,

To have a young beauty on each arm.

 

Mazu has had a learning day,

Weather fax and sextant too,

For sailing university,

Look no further than Mazu.

 

Ruby Rose wishes you were here,

And it's hard to disagree,

Sunshine, wind, good company,

And a pleasant rolling sea.

 

Poor Tim, the skipper of Gloria,

Had a problem with masthead lights,

A problem that wasn't made better,

By a rigger who was afraid of heights!

 

But Tim is not easily defeated,

For solutions he constantly strives,

It's rumoured he's hired a cherry-picker,

To be in Horta when Gloria arrives.

 

There are others too many to mention,

Zeeland, My Lady too.

All coming together in ARC Europe,

To sail the ocean blue.

 

Spindrift and Flying Dolphin,

All with tales to tell,

of many dark and stormy nights,

Something we all know well.

 

And so to our own boat Firefly,

We're goose-winged with a following sea,

20 knots of wind behind us,

She's really sailing free.

 

We had to work hard yesterday though,

To make this Firefly fly,

But none worked as hard as the Yanmar main,

(until our tanks ran dry).

 

Today's a different story though,

We're having a wonderful sail,

Peter, Paul and Mike, our gallant crew,

Together we cannot fail.

 

And last but not least are the ARC crew,

Who are such an amazing team,

This is our shameless attempt to plá más them,

(the Irish will know what this means).

 

Mark, Sarah, Lyle and Manu,

And the rest of the team far and near,

They've fed us with rum, fish dinners and fun,

So when you see them, please buy them a beer.

 

Being just one little part,

Of such a wonderful fleet,

The friendship and camaraderie,

Is really hard to beat.

 

So in summary, on ARC Europe (day 5),

Everything feels just right,

But the best of all, I have to say,

Is it's chicken curry tonight.....


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