 The Swan 82, DreamCatcher KM, skippered by Jarrod Cripps, has taken line honours for ARC 2008, crossing the Rodney Bay finish line at 08:44 local time. Both boat and the nine crew looked in great shape after their 2, 700 mile passage from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Louis Lewis, Director of Tourism in St Lucia was present to welcome the yacht into the new marina, along with a steel band, local television, and a crowd of St Lucians. And of course, there was the famous rum punch and basket of fruit presented to each ARC yacht by the people of St Lucia.
The elapsed time for Dreamcatcher is 13 days, 23 hours, and 44 minutes. The current ARC course record stands at 11 days, 5 hours and 32 minutes, set in 2006 by the Italian maxi, Capricorno. The difference in elapsed time reflects the lighter airs experienced by this year's fleet. Indeed, a browse through the many logs the crews have been submitting to the website everyday illustrates some of the frustrations being felt, as well as the frequent change in sail plan whenever the wind picks up.
At the moment, over half the fleet still have more than 1000 miles to cover, and whilst arrivals over the next few days will still remain quite light, the numbers will pick up significantly from Wednesday onwards. Just in time to take advantage of the great social programme laid on especially for ARC participants.
DreamCatcher KM's welcome reception
Winning skipper reveals tactics
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