Yesterday saw the World ARC Pacific fleet preparing for the start in Santa Marta with the skippers briefing held at Club Santa Marta. Skippers and crew joined to receive information on the next stages of the rally including the San Blas islands and the Panama Canal transit ahead of the start to San Blas on Wednesday 1st March.
This was followed by prize-giving and dinner held at the Marina Salon overlooking the marina. The crews gathered for their last evening in Santa Marta before departing to San Blas in the morning. There was lots of discussion over dinner of sail plans, weather and the stopovers to come, both in the San Blas islands and then Panama as well as last catch ups and farewells before they set sail on the next leg of the rally.
After dinner Tim Stickley, Event Manager announced the winners of the first leg from Saint Lucia to Santa Marta in each division and class. There were also fun prizes awarded for the closest estimated finishing time, correct guesses for number of crew and a seamanship award which went to Choucas 3 amid huge cheers from the room for sailing into the marina and onto the fuel dock after their engine failed.
The results for the first leg can be found here