Officially, 23 boats completed the 450-mile loop around the DelMarVa peninsula, wrapping up the festivities last night at the prize giving dinner at the Eastport Democratic Club in Annapolis. While ARC DelMarVa is a non-competitive event, lots of fun, made-up prizes were given out to raucous applause from the crews. The crew of Dawn took home top honors with the Weems & Plath Navigators Award, given to the boat that keeps the best traditional logbook record of their voyage.
To put the fleet’s accomplishment in perspective, consider:
- In 3 legs, ARC DelMarVa crews sailed more than 450 miles…
- From Cape May, it’s a mere 200 miles to Block Island, and only 500 miles to Shelburne, the first town on the coast of Nova Scotia!
- From the mouth of the Chesapeake, it’s only 650 miles to Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas.
Point being, some of these destinations which may have seemed out of reach only last week, now feel that much more attainable to the rally sailors.
When World Cruising Club launched ARC DelMarVa a few years back, the goal was to provide a safe and fun experience for sailors to get their first taste of ocean sailing. The hope, of course, was that they’d get hooked on it and continue in pursuit of ocean sailing on one of our longer events like ARC Bahamas, Caribbean 1500 or ARC Europe. Some ARC DelMarVa yachts are already planning it - like ForgetMeNot. Becky & Mark couldn’t find a catamaran to buy in their home in Alaska, so they bought it here, in Annapolis! DelMarVa was just the beginning of their long journey home. SuChing & Mischief are bound for the Caribbean with us this coming fall, and we’ve heard rumors that Exit Strategy and Bumboo are threatening!
Two years ago Gary & Robin Wells on Adagio, an Amel 54, sailed with ARC DelMarVa. They had all sorts of problems - the boat was new to them (but old!), lots of stuff broke, the had to find crew, etc. etc. But that was the point - DeMarVa was a shakedown for them. Later that fall, Gary & Robin sailed south with the Caribbean 1500, returning to the spot in Tortola where they’d first launched there dream more than ten years earlier. Just a week ago they made landfall in Lagos, Portugal, completing an Atlantic crossing with ARC Europe! Since DelMarVa, Gary & Robin have sailed over 5,000 miles in Adagio and are having the time of their lives! We hope you all follow in their footsteps!
Big thanks to the following ARC DelMarVa sponsors.- Eastport Democratic Club
- SpinSheet Magazine
- Chesapeake Sailmakers
- Pantaenius Insurance
- Port Annapolis, Ocean Marine and Canyon Club Marinas
- Forbes Horton Yachts
- J/World Annapolis
- Weems & Plath
Prizes Distributed
- The First Prize! - Slice of Life
- Father & Son Boats - Spirit, Caravanserai, Sojourner
- Sailor’s Award - Scarecrow
- Double-Handed - Juno & Forget Me Not
- Flycatcher Award - Sablier
- Endurance Award - SuChing
- Best Dressed - Halcyon Days
- Perseverance Award - Reverie
- Wanderer Award - Mischief
- Weems & Plath Navigators Award - Dawn