ARC Portugal 2017 begins in Plymouth

by World Cruising on 4 Jun 2017 At 09:00 yesterday the ARC Portugal office opened in Mayflower Marina in Plymouth, marking the beginning of the 2017 rally. All yachts received a warm welcome from the rally team and are now checked in. The check in procedure covers the programme in Plymouth as well as information on tours and marinas for the following three week passage through Spain and Portugal.

Each yacht has now been issued a YB tracker and can be tracked on the ARC Portugal website via the fleet tracker page. There is a great turnout for this year’s rally with a total of 20 yachts, nineteen of which will be starting from Plymouth and Oysterama will be joining the fleet from Bayona.

Yesterday evening concluded with a sailing dinner at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, joining local sailors after their evening racing session. It was the first chance for ARC Portugal crews to get to know each other and talk about the first leg of the rally, Plymouth to Bayona.

The next few days include the skippers briefing, provisioning, safety checks and boat maintenance in preparation for leg 1 of the rally from Plymouth to Bayona. This 550 nm passage crossing the Bay of Biscay is often the most challenging and marks the longest leg of the three week rally