First south west edition of ARC Channel Islands welcomed in Dartmouth
by World Cruising Club 14 Aug 2018 15:00 AEST
Sarah& Darryl from Fenris with Martin from Spontanee and Roger enjoying the view - ARC Channel Islands © World Cruising
The first ARC Channel Islands South West Edition, in association with Hamble School of Yachting and the RYA got off to an excellent start as the 6 boats and 16 crew arrived at Darthaven Marina. As the boats arrived the check-ins got underway onboard lead boat Quantum Leap, with Charles and Linda from Sun Kosi the first to check in.
All boats gathered at the Royal Dart Yacht Club for the first of many social events on the rally. The participants enjoyed a drink on the balcony at the Royal Dart, overlooking the beautiful Dart Harbour, before sitting down to dinner. The room was full of friendly chatter as the crews got to know each other for the first time, exchanging stories and knowledge. This year's fleet see a diverse range of abilities from those that have never crossed the channel before, to those that have sailed around the world. With two sets of crew returning from the first rally, Howard, Paul and Ian from Fourforty and James and Helen on their new yacht Moonshadow.
Friday saw the start of the safety visits by Roger from Hamble School of Yachting, while Sally from World Cruising Club finished the final check in for Fourforty. The safety checks not only ensure the yachts are fitted with sufficient safety equipment, but also give participants a chance to discuss their equipment and how to use it. This was a very useful exercise for Marcus and his crew on Eclipse who realised they could not remove their liferaft from its locker at the stern of the boat. After a lot of pulling and pushing they finally managed to release the liferaft and then spent the time carefully replacing it back in the locker in a way that meant any of the crew could remove it in under 5 seconds. Which they later tested with every crew member.
Once the safety visits had finished the crew started to prepare their boat for the crossing, adding their provisions and any last minute items. They then reconvened at Dartmouth Yacht Club for the Skippers' Briefing. The participants then left to make their final preparations before the 73nm passage from Dartmouth to St Peter Port.
Over the next week the rally will visit Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney with the fleet then returning to the south coats with an overnight passage.
The first South West Edition of ARC Channel Islands is set to be another great rally.