Jeanneau 57 heads off on World ARC

Sunday 8th January

The World ARC fleet set off from Saint Lucia at noon today in excellent starting conditions. There was bright sunshine, clear skies and 15-20 knots of wind to start the fleet off on their journey. The 26 yachts out on the water made a great spectacle as the first leg of this circumnavigation event got underway. 

The fist yacht across the pin end of the start line was the Canadian flagged X-55, GUNVOR XL owned by Kartsen and Sheila Witt, closely followed by the USA flagged Discovery 67, Sapphire II, owned by John O’Connor and the Jeanneau 57 Piligrim owned by Dmitry Maslov and skippered by Oleg Ivaskin. The remainder of the fleet followed in close succession creating an excellent display.

The fleet exited the start line and continued south following the Saint Lucian coastline to a turning mark that was laid off the harbour in Castries. Once at the turning marking the fleet turned to the west to make course for the San Blas islands off Panama. The fleet can expect moderate to strong trade wind conditions for their passage to Panama with occasional and isolated squalls.

The start today marks the end of a fantastic programme for the World ARC crews in Saint Lucia. The programme would not be possible without the support of several local organisations and World Cruising Club, and the World ARC participants would like to thank the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, IGY Rodney Bay Marina and the Saint Lucia Yacht Club for all their generous assistance. Without wishing time away, World ARC looks forward to returning to Saint Lucia’s shores at the end of the circumnavigation in April 2013.

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