The ARC+ fleet got underway in good conditions earlier today as they set out on Leg 2 of ARC+ from São Vicente in the Cape Verde Islands to Saint Lucia. Conditions at the start were good with a NE wind of around 15 knots blowing across the start line. The port of Mindelo is in a basin however, and frequent gusts from the mountain made for a lively start as the multihulls cross the line at 1245 and the monohulls at 1300 hours local.
The first catamaran across the line, was the Outremer 55 Light Charm, owned by Lara and Joe Grosjean, and their son Cobin. They were quickly followed by the Sun Reef 60 Loft Fine Line, owned by Israel Perlov and skippered by Ilya Romanov, and the Outremer 51 Cayuse, owned by Marsha and Hal Haltom
First across in the monohull Cruising Division was the Spanish Beneteau 50 Quiviana Primero followed in the centre of the line by Mupi and Summer Star. All the other boats followed in quick succession with some coloured sails up and the start line was all clear within 10 minutes.
Shortly after leaving the start the yachts entered the channel with São Vicente to portside and the mountainous Santo Antão to starboard. This sustained the lively wind conditions as the fleet headed off to the west.
Special thanks to Lutz Meyer-Scheel, General Manager of Marina Mindelo, and all his staff for the preparations and hard work, the Maritime and Immigration Police of S.Vicente for their support during the fleet’s visit, and Kai Brossmann and his team on Boat CV for assisting on all the repairs requested by the fleet.
The yachts are expected to make landfall in Saint Lucia from the 25th of November onwards. Their progress can be followed on the ARC Fleet Viewer by selecting ARC+ and by reading the logs which the boats write from sea.