After an approximately 870NM passage with steady winds from St Maarten to Bermuda, majority of the ARC Europe fleet arrived in St Georges’ Harbour within five days at sea, having been greeted on the VHF by the voices of Bermuda Harbour Radio. After clearing with Customs and being assessed by Port Health, the fleet has been patiently waiting on anchor for four full days under quarantine.
Bermuda suffered a COVID-19 outbreak at the end of April and to help control and manage the situation, rules for all arrivals by air and sea were tightened. Since the arrival of ARC Europe, the “under shelter” rule has been lifted and St Georges Yacht Club will re-open its doors on Thursday.
With this in mind and for participants to have the opportunity to explore the island, World Cruising Club in agreement with the fleet has decided to delay the start of Leg 2, Bermuda to Azores, by two days and the fleet start will now take place on Friday, 21st May.
To celebrate making landfall in Bermuda for the 30th edition of ARC Europe, World Cruising Club will host a Dark 'n' Stormy with a traditional fish and chips crew dinner taking place tomorrow Wednesday at the waterfront restaurant & bar, The Wharf.
Joining the rally in Bermuda, we welcome two boats to the ARC Europe fleet bringing to a total of 14 boats to sail onwards to the Azores. The German flagged Sunbeam 44 Pivot, owned and skippered by Tobias Gröpper and Saint Nicolas de Sauzon, a Catana 582 from USA skippered by Robert Rossing.