Dream comes true for Peruvian ARC adventure

There are 38 different nationalities amongst the crews in this year’s ARC but it’s a first for Peru with the participation of Nandina, a Dufour Gibsea 51.

The owner Juan Queirolo is originally from Italy but lives now in Peru and Ecuador and the crew are friends from both countries. He purchased the boat in 2008 in the Caribbean and en route back to Peru, stopped off in Saint Lucia where the ARC team were preparing for the arrival of the fleet. They loved what they saw, especially the parties and social scene, so made a decision to take part:

“We knew we wanted to join the ARC ourselves one day,” says 78 year old owner, Juan who will be the oldest skipper in the fleet this year. “We loved the parties and the atmosphere surrounding the ARC in Saint Lucia so thought we should do it ourselves and here we are this year. My boat is based in Ecuador and we shipped it over to Europe especially to take part in the ARC. We spent six months sailing in the Mediterranean with different friends before heading to Las Palmas for the start. We are very happy to be here and look forward to the parties at the other end too!”

There will be five on board Nandina for the Atlantic crossing: From Peru: Skipper/owner: Juan Queirolo, Raul Anton, Victor Anton, Manuel Montiel and Rafael Quintero from Ecuador.