For the 3rd edition of the ARC Baltic, the fleet of 24 boats and 70 participants gathered at Hohe Dune Marina ready for a 6 week adventure cruising around the Baltic sea covering a total of 1335NM and taking them to 6 different countries. After arriving in Rostock, participants came to register at the Rally Office, meeting the team and receiving all the information about the rally including the programme, tour information and briefing about what to expect in the six weeks ahead.
After a busy first day on Friday checking in 17 boats, participants got together for an informal welcome drinks on the terrace of the Shark Bar located in the marina, a good opportunity for them to meet each other, and enjoy a cold German beer for sunset.
On the next day, the office was still open to carry on with Check In, and during the afternoon participants went for a guided walking tour of Warnemunde, located just across the Marina. Participants walked along the canal, explored the quaint streets and visited Fachhallenhaus, typical German houses, following our local guide giving explanation about the history of the town. A busy tour as it happened to be at the same time as the Warnemunde Week which is the largest international sailing event in Germany.
Later that evening, participants were invited to the Riva Restaurant in the Marina for the official welcome drinks and dinner, with all the boats now arrived and checked in. During the evening the team introduced themselves and presented the rally, while participants enjoyed the buffet and the view of large cruising ship sailing out of the canal passing by the terrace.
On the Sunday at 1000 participants went to the Skipper’s Briefing, presenting more in detail all the places they are going to visit, providing them with local information and giving them instructions regarding arrival procedures in harbours. After a busy morning and a lot of information, which was also handily provided on a USB stick, they had a quiet afternoon, last chance to go provisioning and refuelling if needed before the start.
Finally on Monday morning participants came to the office one last time in order to check out with the team before downloading the last weather forecast from Hohe Dune, Germany to Roenne in Bornholm for the 1st Leg of ARC Baltic 2017. The 1st boats should start to arrive from tomorrow morning 0600 when the team, Cecilie and Silje will already be there to meet them.