Blue Water Rally 2007-9 Home Safely to the Med
by Peter Seymour on 29 Apr 2009
Rally Welcome- Blue Water Rally 2007-2009 Peter Seymour
After a voyage of 27,000 miles and 20 months after leaving Gibraltar, the last yacht of the Blue Water Rally 2007-9 arrived safely in Aghios Nikolaos Marina, Crete on 19 April. Right at the end it took 5 hours of engine repairs in rough conditions before owners Tony and Audrey Walter sailed in on their 37 year old Salar 40, Cayuco, to a rapturous welcome from their fellow Ralliers.
Then the parties started in earnest, with a Mayoral welcome first on the programme. There was a visit to Spinalonga, made famous by the book the Island - a story based on the poignant and sad history of the leper colony once sited there and, of course, a memorable farewell party Greek-style with crews wearing 'someting bought on the way round.'
For nearly two years crews in the Blue Water Rally have been cruising the equatorial route via Panama and Suez.
Most departed from Gibraltar in October 2007, with yachts joining in the Caribbean and, others joining much later with the Oz-Med Rally (by the same organisation) from Downunder and the Far East.
Crews have come from nine nations and their yachts have ranged from 36 to 62 feet, with the average around 40 feet.
This is the seventh Blue Water Rally to circumnavigate since 1995. (Sail-World recently reported the safe transit of the Rally through Pirate Alley- the Gulf of Aden.)
The next Rally will be leaving Gibraltar in late October 2009 and head through Panama in Febuary next year. The basic route will not change and still include The Gulf and Red Sea, but the organisers have now added supported stopovers at Cochin in India and Salalah in Oman, which they believe will add even further to the enjoyment and cruising ethos of the event.
Organisers Blue Water Rallies would be pleased to hear from cruisers interested in this years event or future Rallies and can be contacted via their website www.bluewaterrallies.com.
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