On November 20, 43 rally yachts sailed away from Mindelo in the Cape Verde Islands bound for Rodney Bay on Saint Lucia. Seven ARC+ boats are now safely tied up inside Rodney Bay Marina having enjoyed an easy sail across the Atlantic.
The rest of the ARC+ boats are due to arrive over the next week, as the established trade winds continue to speed them towards the Caribbean.
First across the finish line on Saturday November 30 at 1044 local time, was Outremer 64′ Catamaran Malisi (AUT) who sailed the 2100NM passage in just under 10 days. All crew were very happy to discover they were the first arrival, after encountering some technical difficulties with their communications at sea they were unaware of their position in relation to the rest of the rally boats.
“We really didn’t know where we were most of the time, but it meant we kept pressure on from start to finish,” said Malisi’s skipper, Rainer Holtorff on arrival.
As Malisi sailed round Pigeon Island and into Rodney Bay, the sun was just rising over the island, making a welcoming sight. Crew were congratulated by ARC+ Rally Control out on the finish line and assisted to their berth inside the marina. Once alongside, representatives from the Saint Lucia Tourist Board presented all participants with a glass of the rum punch and a hamper of local produce providing a very warm welcome to this beautiful Caribbean island. Local dignitaries, press and media teams were also on the dock to take photographs and interview the crew after their Atlantic crossing.
The Malisi crew explained they had enjoyed a fast yet very comfortable passage reporting no real concerns. “We definitely pushed her, sometimes perhaps a little too much, but she (Malisi) handled it very well,” admitted Rainer on the dockside.
Crew member Mattias Rueleke thoroughly enjoyed the passage on board, praising the combination of comfort and speed of the Outremer 64′ for the eight man crew, “She’s a very comfortable boat for a fast catamaran. We were able to enjoy a full BBQ on deck for 8 hungry crew, whilst we powered along at 10 knots with a well-trimmed spinnaker.”
Thirty six hours after Malisi’s arrival came the second ARC+ arrival: X-Yachts’ X-482 LUV (GER) owned by Heiko Tornow. Crews were delighted to arrive as they leapt into the sea once across the finish line to cool off after 11 days crossing an ocean.
Two other X-Yachts have joined LUV in the top five first arrivals — the X-482 AronnaX (BEL) and the slightly smaller X-442 Mathilde (DEN). All crews have reported some great sailing, and even too comfortable at times.
“Having never sailed a passage of this length and scale, it was actually lot easier than I had expected,” said Daniela De Luca D’Elia from AronnaX.