GLYWO 500: This is the end

GLYWO 500 participants © Grand Large Yachting

The first edition of the rally organised by Grand Large Yachting officially finished last Saturday in the Azores. The baton has now been passed to the participants of the next edition.

Their names are Arnaud, Christine, Marijke, Lisa, Bénédicte, Etienne, Mark, Rob, Jeanne, Hanneke, Regina, Dominique, Ann, Peter... they come from the Netherlands, France, Canada, the United States, England, Germany... they have sailed on Allures, Garcia, Outremer or RM. Last Saturday evening, the participants in the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500 said an emotional goodbye to each other.

An evening full of joy and emotions
Participants and organisation took time out to celebrate 3 years of cruising together at a closing ceremony broadcast live.

The ceremony opened with a tribute to Jimmy Cornell, who designed the route for this rally in the footsteps of Magellan and El Cano, who set off 500 years earlier. It was a good opportunity for the famous sailor to remind us that it is still possible to sail around the world, despite the climatic and geopolitical context, as long as you show a little flexibility in your programme.

During the evening, memories and anecdotes abound. Among the highlights, Arnaud, the skipper of Allures 44 Chaps, remembers the collective rescue in Indonesia. A catamaran had hit a tree trunk stuck between its two hulls. Contacted by the unfortunate owners, Chap's diverted to come to their rescue. In the end, it was the entire GLYWO 500 fleet that got together to carry out makeshift repairs on the boat, which was able to get back on course in complete safety. The strength of the rally then took on its full meaning.

Luc, one of the members of the rally team, remembers their arrival in Vanuatu a few weeks after a hurricane. With their arms full of equipment that they had bought after contacting the village chiefs, the crews of the fleet were surprised to leave with their arms just as full of gifts from the villagers.

They all know that from now on they'll have to answer - a lot - the question "So, which place did you like best in the end? ". Although it's impossible to answer, some destinations come up more than others when recalling their fond memories: the Marquesas Islands, Rodrigues, Namibia and the Azores are unanimously chosen.

It's obviously impossible to sum up three years of travel in one evening, so the party continued late into the night to the sound of music. Everyone then headed back to their home ports, promising to meet up again very soon.

GLYWO 500 figures
A first edition that will set the benchmark in many respects.

About the fleet

• 30 boats at the start, including 22 catamarans and 8 monohulls
• 4 GLY shipyards represented (Allures, Outremer, Garcia, RM)
• 13 nationalities represented
• 136 crew welcomed (family, friends, boaters)
• 5 children, 1 cat and 6 dogs
• 36 years old, the age of the youngest captain at the time of departure
• 192 wind-worn GLYWO500 flags

About the route

• 37,000+ miles covered
• 24 official legs
• 6 technical stops
• 13 technicians mobilised for at least one technical stopover
• 8 to 10 months of sailing accumulated over 34 months of travel
• 48 destinations visited by at least one rally boat

A few records

• 10 Outremer 51, the most represented model in the fleet
• 29 knots of speed for 12 minutes
• 14-day, fastest crossing between the Galapagos and the Marquesas

Watch the closing ceremony live

The closing ceremony of the GLYWO 500 took place in Ponta Delgada on Saturday 22 June. Around sixty participants took part in an emotional celebration of an adventure that has united them across the barriers of languages, nationalities, profiles, boat models and so on. It was a wonderful moment, filled with tears and laughter, just before each crew headed home.