The last official finisher has now crossed the line in Rodney Bay, in a stately progress eagerly awaited by well-wishers ashore. With just their jib, yankee and mizzen up, the 1979 Formosa 51 sailed across the finish line at 08:43 local time yesterday. This leaves just one boat still to arrive, Newfoundland, which is expected on Friday having stopped off to explore Barbados en route.
A failed engine solenoid, meant a tow to the dock was needed, before the assembled welcome party could cheer them in to Saint Lucia with a loud chorus of air-horns, claps and cheers. For skipper Mike Dye and his five other crew members the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers was exactly what they signed up for; on passage they cooked tasty meals, sang songs, read poetry, planned their costume for tomorrow’s fancy dress party! In fact with very little broke during the crossing, it has been a wonderful culmination to their three-year plan to sail to from Greece to the Caribbean, where Mike and partner Lesley Hayes are planning a quiet wedding down island later this year.
