ARC Arrives - Caribbean Compass

JANUARY 2008 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 16
ARC 2007:
CHALLENGES AND REWARDS
It’s a well-worn old adage that “a smooth sea does
not make a good sailor”, so the more than a thousand
yachtspeople from 28 nations who arrived in Rodney
Bay, St. Lucia at the finish line of the 22nd Atlantic
Rally for Cruisers (ARC) last month must now be even
better sailors than before.
After the November 25th start, the early part of the
crossing from the Canary Islands to St. Lucia offered
some typical tradewind sailing. But for three days
during the middle of the crossing, the core of the
fleet sailed through an area of concentrated thunderstorm
cells and squalls, with winds of over 40
knots pushing up big Atlantic waves. And as many
yachts approached St. Lucia, another period of wet,
squally weather, including feeder bands from the
unseasonable Tropical Storm Olga, made the landfall
and a snug berth in Rodney Bay Marina all the
more welcome.
Although the majority of the 235-boat fleet made the
2,700-mile crossing in under three weeks and without
undue drama, there were incidents.
Alla Byazina, crew on the Russian-chartered
Croatian Volvo 60, AAG Big One, was evacuated onto
the cargo ship Goodrich Bay on Day Four of the event,
after being badly scalded in the galley during a gybe.
Meanwhile, two other ARC yachts, Tallulah and If
Only, were assisting with the rescue of West Africans
who had been attempting to reach the Canary Islands
illegally on an unseaworthy vessel.
On December 1st, Philip Wright’s UK-based Swan
48, GiGi, picked up a Mayday call from the British
Westerly Corsair Barbary Duck (not participating in
the ARC), advising that the crew were in a liferaft only
half a mile away. Barbary Duck’s two crew were safely
brought on board GiGi. The Westerly had suffered broken
chain-plates and was in danger of dismasting.
Without a functioning engine, the crew took the precaution
of abandoning their yacht, which was left
afloat with navigation lights burning. (Another yacht
reported seeing Barbary Duck some time later, still
under sail.)
On December 7th, skipper John Thompson, 54,
from Northern Ireland, fell across the cockpit and
struck his head on a genoa winch when his Oyster 41,
Avocet, took a heavy roll while running downwind in
boisterous conditions. The incident occurred 980 nautical
miles east of St. Lucia and 1,090 nautical miles
west of the Cape Verde Islands, well beyond the range
of land-based assistance. Following contact with the
Maritime Rescue Control Centre (MRCC) Falmouth,
UK, and MRCC Fort de France, Martinique, a rendezvous
with the Italian cruise ship Costa
Mediterranea was arranged, and at first light the following
morning, John and his son Dan were transferred
to the ship. Taken to the Queen Elizabeth
Hospital in Barbados, John, an avid sailor and longstanding
member of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, died
on December 13th. A trust has since been set up in
his name to facilitate organ donation in Barbados.
The German Hallberg Rassy 42F, Viva, skippered by
Petra Lehmkoster (right) arrives to a warm
St. Lucian welcome
On December 8th, the Irish Bavaria 50 Navillus rescued
three men from a non-ARC yacht. Former Royal
Navy radio officer Peter Kyne, 48, of the Scilly Isles,
was sailing the 31-foot catamaran Spam with his son
Adam, 17, and Swedish crewmember Augustin, 33.
—Continued on next page
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