The crews of the World ARC fleet got together during a rendez-vous programme to the Town Hall of Papeete, the capital city of French Polynesia, this was a good occasion to share stories about their time cruising the Marquesas and Tuamotus.
The programme of the evening started with an informative briefing about Leeward Islands and the Tahiti Pearl Regatta delivered by Stephanie Betz, who has worked in sailing tourism in the islands for a number of years; she shared her top tips for sailing the Leeward and Windward Islands, highlighting the must see destinations.
After the briefing the participants were welcomed by the Mayor who gave as a gift from the City of Papeete an engraved shell to each skipper.
The prize giving for Leg 4 Galapagos to Marquesas followed whilst crew enjoyed freshly cut coconuts and white wine.
First on corrected time were the Elan 410 Take Off in Division A end the Beneteau First 47,7 Chilli Bee in Division B. In the multihull division Blue Summit, aa Antares 44i took first prize.
Before the evening concluded, the fleet had to say goodbye to two boats of the fleet who are leaving the Rally in French Polynesia, Lydia and Paw Paw. They have been fantastic participants and all the crews wish them well with their future cruising plans.
During the evening, the crews were entertained by an excellent group of traditional dancers, demonstrating the best of Polynesian cultural dancing and also giving a chance for some of the participants to join in too!
The programme in Papeete continued during Thursday with a tour of the islands of Tahiti.
The fleet will now continue their free cruising period where few will take place in the Tahiti Pearl Regatta before arriving in Raiatea in preparation for the start of Leg 5, Raiatea to Tonga via Suwarrow and Niue, on Saturday 14th May and Monday 16th May.
