ARC Portugal 2013 came to a close on Wednesday night, when the crews from nineteen participants boats assembled for the final prize giving dinner at Waypoint Restaurant. A total of 63 participants were seated for a quality three-course meal kindly hosted by the event sponsor Marina De Lagos. It was a superb end to what has been a tremendously successful rally. There were cries of laughter and tears of joy as stories were shared and crews could reflect on what has become a very special month, not just in terms of their sailing achievement but also on a deeper relationship level. With these tears of joy came a few tears of sadness as the bittersweet reality of leaving friends and parting ways finally dawns. Such is the life of sailing.
The presentations of awards got underway after dessert and coffee had been served with World Cruisings Andrew Bishop summarizing the memorable moments and recalling some anecdotes from the past few weeks. Each yacht was welcomed up to receive a gift from Marina De Lagos, as well as a specially engraved plaque to all participating boats. Also given away to each boat was a USB stick filled with over 500 photographs which had been captured throughout the event, most of which taken by World Cruising Club’s Kieran Higgs. The photographs were also presented throughout dinner in the form of a slideshow projected on the wall of the restaurant.
A special presentation was made by the crew from Serendipity after the main ceremony had been completed. The crew thanked all yachts which helped them out the day prior as they had lost their engine power on the leg from Sines. Yacht Webster was the star of the show as Charlie was hailed superman and Kate superwomen having towed Serendipity into Marina De Lagos in less than favourable conditions, double-handed and without ever seeming phased.
All in all, ARC Portugal has been a great adventure of sailing, culture, and new-found friendship, as the fleet have shared challenges and laughs over the past few weeks.
The Crew from Serendipity bode farewell to the rally with their infamous 'Hi-Hohhh'