can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Challenger 4 - Challenger 4 Day One



The Journey Begins
Finally, the big day that we have all been waiting for has arrived!!! Majority of the crew were even too excited to manage a full night’s sleep and were up and about long before sunrise. But that was all good since we did have a couple of things on our to do list before leaving the marina to get a good spot as close as possible to the start line. Between 8am and 11am we managed to complete the last minute shopping, storing and organizing and we all went to put on our brand new crew shirts, to get into proper racing mode. To complete our look Bruce had brought sombreros for everyone, which was not only a fabulous complement to our outfits, it might also have confused our competitors into thinking we are heading for Mexico instead of the Caribbean. Tactical move by Challenger 4.
As all of the boats were leaving the marina people were lining up on the breakwaters to wave us all good bye, along with a local band that joined in with a nice bit of music to wish us all a good and safe crossing. The closer we got to 12.30pm, which was the time for the first division to cross the start line, the busier it got with all of the 200 something boats joining the ARC. With two out of three sails already up, we were ready to cross the start line at 12.45, and officially kick off the race and set off towards St Lucia. It was a rather spectacular sight looking back at all the other boats with all of their sails and colourful spinnakers up.
The time is now 19.35 and we have officially been racing for almost 7 hours, so far all is very good. We have managed our first watch, had our first off shore dinner and are all very happy about being at sea.
Emma

Previous | Next