The World ARC fleet who set off from Cape Town 12 days ago have now all arrived at their mid-Atlantic pit-stop of St Helena. The first yacht to arrive on Monday was the French catamaran 1+1 and then Ruby and Working on a Dream who finish very close to one another. In fact it was remarkable that for the last 24 hrs at sea 7 boats were within 25 miles of each other! The 1700Nm passage from Cape Town is one of the longer legs of the Rally but the conditions have been reasonable for the fleet. The first few days provided some strong wind conditions whilst the latter half was much lighter. However, as the fleet went further north, the temperatures rose and the sun shone stronger. Welcome back to the tropics!
Since arriving on the island, the crews have been enjoying exploring around in tours organised by the St Helena Tourism Office, who have been very supported of the visit. The groups will get to see Napoleon’s Tomb where he was initially laid to rest, following his incarceration and subsequent death on the island. They’ll also absorb the views of Jamestown from the top of Jacob’s Ladder, a 699 step staircase linking the ridge overlooking the town with the settlement itself. To mark their visit to the island the crews will tonight attend a ‘Bring and Braii’ party at the St Helena Yacht Club, who are the World ARC hosts on the Island.
The yachts are expected to begin leaving the island on Friday, to make the 1900 Nautical mile, almost due west, passage to Salvador da Bahia in Brazil. The trip is expected to take another 2 weeks but the Rally itinerary ensure that all the yachts arrive in time for Carnival.