can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

American Spirit II - Day 460; The Last Day of the Rally; Saturday, April 11, 2015



One year ago today:



"Day 98; Fish School Under Boat, Arrival in Rangiroa, 4.2 Knot Current in the Pass and Generator Problem; April 11, 2014. From midnight until 1:00 AM or so our depth sounder kept showing depths between 34 feet and 64 feet. Since we were in thousands of feet of water, we knew it wasn't the bottom. We finally figured out that it was a large school of fish under the boat, following the boat; hiding in the shadow cast by our boat with the moon.



From 12:15 AM until 6:00 AM we sailed without the motor, averaging between 3.0 and 4.5 knots. The reason we were content to sail so slow was that we couldn't go into Rangiroa until after 8:00 AM. We were waiting for slack tide. So why motor and get there early just to wait. Out of the 6 boats with us, we were the only one just sailing."



************************



Up at 7:00 AM.



Breakfast at 8:15 AM consisted of 3 eggs, potato and chilled pear halves.



After breakfast we filled the water tank, put a new Rally flag up, gave the rental car back to the rental agent who came to the boat, disconnected the shore power and fitted the hydro generator with the new part that was made for us in St. Lucia.



At 9:58 AM I started the engine and at 10:00 AM we untied our lines from the dock and mooring ball and proceeded out of the harbor. Once outside the marina we put the mainsail up with one reef in it, got in the proper order (we were boat number 4 out of 17 in the Parade of Sail), and then we headed to Rodney Bay a couple hours to the north of us. It was raining on and off; and the wind was 15-20 knots with gusts of 25 knots. Paul from Rally control was in the lead boat, Saphir.



The timing of the Parade of Sail was:



10:30 AM Parade of Sail starts;

11:20 AM Lead yacht enters Castries Harbour for anti clockwise circuit;

11:40 AM Lead yacht departs Castries Harbour;

12:40 PM Lead yacht crosses World ARC finish line;

12:55 PM First yacht berths in Rodney Bay Marina.



We actually were in our berth (E1) at 12:52 PM; and all 17 boats were berthed by 1:12 PM. As a boat was berthed, you then got off your boat and helped other boats berth by catching and securing lines. All berthing was a 'side tie' instead of a med-moor.



A party by the pool was then held, and the 'party by the pool' then turned into a 'pool party;' in that everyone was thrown into the pool, one at a time, except Tim from Folie a Deux. I was advised to get in my swim suit, so I did along with a non-cotton shirt; and emptied all of my pockets of phones, wallet, and other items; before two guys grabbed my arms and jumped into the pool with me.



After that we had lunch in a marina restaurant, then showered and then it was nap time from 4:45 PM to 5:50 PM.



At 6:50 PM we took a shuttle taxi to the Royal St. Lucian Hotel. Drinks were served at 7:00 PM, followed by a buffet dinner at about 7:40 PM. Pumpkin soup and a mixed salad were served at our tables; then we went to a buffet line and had lamb, curry chicken, mahi-mahi, rice, vegetable, au gratin potatoes, and dessert. At our table besides Joel, Darlene and myself was Sigi from Avocet; Michael and Marco from Free&BrEasy; and Peter, Edward, Amelia and Tara from Adela.



At 7:45 PM Paul from Rally control made some opening comments at a podium with a microphone; and then introduced the Minister of Tourism for St. Lucia. There were press in attendance and the presentations and prize giving's were being video taped.



About an hour later Paul got back up at the podium and started the presentations, starting in the same order as the Parade of Sail:



Saphir - first boat to finish the group's circumnavigation by crossing the finish line first.

Folie a Deux - only boat to have no crew change during the rally.

Free&BrEasy - not sure what Paul said.

American Spirit II - talked about my logs and how people had to sign a waiver to sail on my boat because I reported on everything said and done (they really don't sign a waiver); mentioned our having lost our forestay in the Indian Ocean and that a level of seamanship was required to get thru that mishap; and that we'd seen 44 green flashes. I then made a few comments about the green flash.

Merlyn of Poole - recognized for escorting us across the Indian Ocean when our forestay broke.

Ghost - Clare was recognized for sailing around the world 3 times, and each time with the World Cruising Club. Way to go Clare!

Polaris - the largest number of crew went thru their boat during the trip, 49 in total. Amazing.

Adela - a 'labor of love,' meaning the maintenance challenges Peter had faced during his circumnavigation; and that Peter had his toe nails painted during a recent birthday. Really Peter?

Civetta II - some comments about Vlado's radio transmissions and that he makes a killer loaf of bread on board.

Bongo Alive - that previous 'Bongo' boats had circumnavigated 3 times before with the World Cruising Club. Impressive. I want to join that sailing club!

Avocet - that Dr. Derry and Nurse Margaret were very helpful in the fleet; and that having the Irish Health Care Service sail around the world was very nice; and that they had a yellow crock-proof dingy on board.

Alpheratz - sorry Tommy, Bradley and James; I didn't quite catch what Paul said.

Festina Lente - that the same crew (2) sailed around the world basically just themselves; and that they were still the best dressed participants in the fleet (they were both wearing blazers with an emblem on them tonight).

Celebrate - most entertaining net controller in the fleet; and that his competitions or 'work assignments' were legendary. Charlie had a comment to make at the microphone: "Hellooooooo World ARC!" His signature greeting when he's doing the net.

Nexus - the 'go to boat' in the fleet; always helping people out.

Chika-lu - unlucky with breakage's, gooseneck and sails.

NDS Darwin - another family circumnavigation; with special comment about Lucia and her pictures and dancing (?); and Tomas as the youngest net controller in the fleet.



Next on the program, 17 year old Lucia from NDS Darwin presented a wedding envelope with cash inside for Rally control people Paul and Suzana, who are getting married in August in Portugal. Many, if not all, of the boats contributed to the envelope.



Each boat was given a small World ARC 2014-15 plaque with their boat name on it; certificates of a circumnavigation completion for all crew doing so; a bottle of Chairman's Reserve Rum; and a bound photo book titled 'Memories of Sailing Adventures' with pictures of crew and all the boats in the circumnavigation, including those boats that only did half of the trip.



Andrew Bishop, head of World Cruising Club, then talked. Among the things he said was that the first World ARC was in 1992; and that 3 tragedies occurred during that circumnavigation. First, one crew member was 'lost' on the Galapagos to French Polynesia leg (not sure what 'lost' means, falling overboard or died from natural causes); another boat ran up on a reef and had to be pulled off by a naval vessel in Tonga; and a third boat hit a reef in the Torres Straits of Australia, sank, but that the entire crew was rescued by another ARC boat.



Andrew then gave a gift to Paul, thanking him for his 6 years with the World Cruising Club. Paul is leaving WCC tomorrow. He also gave gifts to Suzana and Nikki from his organization.



Finally, Suzana gave a small presentation about what the Rally has meant to her and how we've all grown with our experiences of such an adventure. Suzana speaks 5 languages, with English not being her native tongue (she's {Portuguese).



Dinner ended at 10:16 PM; and then a band started playing adjacent to the dining room. The 3 person band was extremely good, which resulted in many of the World ARC participants dancing wildly. On a scale of 10, this band was an 8 or 9. Very, very good. Very entertaining.



We left the dance at 11:30 PM and were back on the boat around 11:45 PM. Joel got the air conditioner working; Darlene read; and I typed 2 logs until 2:00 AM.



Boats and crew will start leaving St. Lucia tomorrow. Alpheratz is sailing to the US Virgin Islands around noon; and Michael, Peggy, Anne and Aaron from Polaris are flying back to Germany around noon. We were going to leave tomorrow but will delay our departure until Monday so we can visit with friends tomorrow and tomorrow night have one last dinner with some of our closest friends that we've met on this trip.



Though the Rally officially ends today, I will continue to type logs and the World Cruising Club will continue to post them on their web site until we get home May 2nd. Same for the Yellow Brick Tracker.



Brian Fox








Previous | Next