In Horta on the Azorean island of Faial, a rather cloudy start to the day was cheered up by the crackle of life on ARC Europe Rally Control's VHF as the Maltese flagged vessel
Nika approached the finish line. With only three crew onboard the X-Yachts X65, they crossed the finish line at 0913, having spent just under 9 days at sea since departing Bermuda.
Horta is an extremely popular land fall for any vessel travelling West to East at this time of year. As it has been for centuries past, the marina fills with vessels in the traditional crossing season of May and June. As a consequence of
Nika's speed and fantastic navigation through some pretty tricky weather, their ahead-of-schedule arrival meant they had to spend the first few hours on anchor before they were able to dock in the bustling marina. Not such a bad thing at the end of a passage as it gives time for the crew to clean and tidy the vessel prior to the inevitable visit to the iconic Peters Café Sport.
Everyone can expect a great welcome in Horta, starting with the owner of Peter Café Sport, José Azevedo, who will be pleased to guide participants around his museum after serving the famous G&T. This history of this famous bar is known all over the Atlantic and the reason why so many yachties stop here before the next step of a voyage across the Atlantic.
The Rally Team are expecting a steady flow of the ARC Europe yachts over the next few days;
Oceanis and
Sea Flute are the next boats due in later today. Throughout the weekend, further boats will join the ranks in Horta before the official programme gets underway on Monday.
Click here to track the fleet