Under blue skies peppered with cumulus clouds, ARC+ 2019 St Vincent fleet, made up of 21 boats, crossed the start line for Leg 2 today at 1200 hours.
Wind speeds of 10 - 15 KTS from the north east provided perfect conditions for a flying start. Heading south west, the fleet will experience dramatic scenery to both port and starboard as they pass between São Vicente and Santo Antão. Turning westward around the south of Santo Antão they head on to their destination, the exotic island of St Vincent.
First over the start line was Caroline, a monohull Southerly 42 from Germany. They were quickly followed by the Amel 55 from Russia, Zarya and third over the line was family boat Oktant, an Outremer 45 also from Germany, the first and only catamaran in the fleet.
The journey of 2100 NM is expected to take approximately 13 days after which the fleet will arrive into the Blue Lagoon Marina. Recently renovated, the marina is a sheltered sanctuary on the south eastern side of mainland St Vincent where participants can enjoy the luxury hotel and restaurant facilities on site. On arrival a full programme of events will begin to include a BBQ buffet, tours and excursions of the island, welcome sundowners and all that the Caribbean culture has to offer.
Special thanks to Lutz Meyer-Scheel, General Manager of Marina Mindelo, and to all his staff for their hard work and prior preparations in the marina, the Maritime and Immigration Police of São Vicente for their support during the fleet’s visit to Mindelo, and to Kai Brossmann and his team at Boat CV for assisting with all the repairs and spares requested by the fleet.
Participants have had the opportunity to embrace the local areas and ways of the people from Cape Verde and experience the striking scenery, magnificent coastline, and learn more about the history and culture of these unique islands. Thank you to all the people of Cape Verde and we look forward to seeing you again next year.
Each boat has a satellite tracker on board enabling the fleet to be followed as they cross the Atlantic towards the Caribbean. To view the boats progress and read their blogs posted on route, please visit the World Cruising Club website here
