Last night it was the turn of the 24th edition of ARC Portugal where all the participants gathered for a farewell supper and final prize giving at Marina de Lagos. They all had the opportunity to reflect on their achievements, challenges and friendships made over the last weeks.
The start from Plymouth on 3 June marked the start of ARC Portugal 2018, a rally which enabled participants to cross the Bay of Biscay with confidence and a feeling of safety. Biscay did live up to its reputation on one of the days of the crossing, but despite the challenges the fleet arrived at Bayona over the course of 36 hours. Sailing south, the fleet stopped at a number of different ports and saw the spectacles the Portuguese coast has to offer.
Marina de Lagos hosted a magnificent evening with welcome drinks and Portuguese cuisine which marked the end of their journey. Kind words were said by Andrew Bishop and Ingrid Fortunato, the marina manager, before moving on to the prize giving. World Cruising Club team member Thomas Bamber started the night by thanking all the participants for an incredible rally and then proceeded to summarise the memorable moments and recalling some anecdotes from the past few weeks. The fleet were presented with two specially engraved plaques, one from World Cruising Club, and one from Marina de Lagos.
The night continued at Spinnakers bar where the fleet had one last chance of having a final drink all together.