Following departure from Las Palmas last Sunday, the ARC+ fleet have been progressing well to their first destination of their Atlantic crossing, Mindelo located on the island of Sao Vincent which makes part of the Cape Verde Islands. After an impressive start, yacht Bepa, a Shipman 63 has been leading the fleet and this afternoon arrived in style marking the start of the ARC+ stopover in Mindelo.
During the passage the 61 participating yachts have experienced variable winds however all have made steady progress. The ARC+ SSB radio and VHF net has been a great success allowing many crews to communicate with each other on passage sharing position data, weather information and fun general ‘chit-chat’ including who has caught the biggest fish.
"It has been exhilarating absolutely creaming along. Great stuff, this is the sailing we had hoped for" - Hejira
Whilst the crew of Bepa enjoy a well-deserved rest, the remainder of the fleet get ever closer to Mindelo where the rally team will be waiting to take their lines, provide local information, assist in the fixing of any boat problems whilst crews enjoy a comprehensive social programme organised by the rally team. Later tonight, the X-612 Nix is expected to cross the finishing line before Marina Mindelo is transformed into a vibrant hub of ARC+ crews and yachts dressed overall with colourful code flags.
"No sooner had we crossed the start line and we saw two pods of dolphins quickly followed by a turtle at the surface" - Shelena
Remember, you can track the fleets progress as they sail across the Atlantic at the following web link: http://www.worldcruising.com/arc/eventfleetviewer.aspx
