The Class 40 Vaquita has taken line honours in ARC 2012, having sailed 3300NM from Gran Canaria in just over 12 days; a truly magnificent performance for a 40 footer. Vaquita looked superb as she blasted across the finish line at 14 knots with the crew pushing the boat as hard as ever in front of the local and international media. The Austrian crew of six crossed the line at 10:22 local (14:22UTC) on 7 December 2012, giving them an elapsed time of 12 days, 1:37hours.
Spectator boats cheered and supported Vaquita’s arrival as they passed Pigeon Island and entered Rodney Bay. Once across the line and sails were taken down, all crew dived into the water to celebrate before turning their engine on and making their way into IGY’s Rodney Bay Marina, where they were welcomed with a hamper kindly provided by the St Lucia Tourist Board.
Skippered by Christof Petter, Vaquita, had a crew of leading Austrian sailors aboard, including Andreas Hanakamp, former Team Russia Volvo Ocean Race skipper and two time Olympic star. The yacht sailed an extreme northerly route from Gran Canaria, clocking speeds of up to 25 knots during the crossing. This is the team's third consecutive year racing in the ARC, each time favouring the northerly passage, and each time paying off.
Speaking to Andreas on the dock with a cold rum punch in hand, he explained how they had a great trip, and are happy to be here again. This will be the final Atlantic crossing Andreas sails on board Vaquita, as he has plans to build a new Class 40’ and will put Vaquita up for sale. When talking about the northerly passage taken, he explained how it makes perfect sense for him to take the route they did. He feels the northern route is the more logical with the availability of modern weather and routing information.
Vaquita has not only crossed the finish line first, but has done so in style, with the next arrival, Swan 80’ Berenice approximately 20 hours behind. This does not mean that Vaquita is guaranteed to win overall on corrected time, as she holds the highest handicap in the RORC Racing Division.
The crew plan to stay in Rodney Bay for the next week, to enjoy the ARC festivities organised, relax and catch up on some sleep, before heading back to Austria for some skiing; something he has been craving whilst at sea.
A damp Andreas Hanakamp helms Vaquita on arrival into Rodney Bay