Atlantic Ocean outlook - July update
by Noonsite 3 Aug 2024 14:04 UTC
Orca continue to interfere with yachts off the western Iberian peninsula, damaging a yacht's rudder mid-July as far north as Brittany, NW France, resulting in a tow and a week later causing a yacht to sink close to the Straits of Gibraltar. Read the news here.
The Spanish Government have issued new guidelines on how to avoid orca, and what to do in the event of an interaction (see poster image).
Next year (2025) marks the 40th edition of World Cruising Club's Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), which has crossed the Atlantic from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to the Caribbean every year since 1986. Find out more about the celebrations planned for this special edition.
A very sad story this month.
The bodies of British Colombia cruising couple Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood were found inside their liferaft, washed up on Sable Island, 290km SE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, mid-July. They had been undertaking an Atlantic crossing to the Azores when they were reported missing in late June. An investigation is being carried out into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, to date there has been no trace of their boat "Theros", a GibSea 42.
South Africa: Down in the South Atlantic there's good news for circumnavigators. Following months of negotiations spearheaded by OSASA, it has been announced that Saldahna Bay, on South Africa's north west coast, has finally been authorised as a Port of Entry by the Department of Home Affairs and Border Management Authority and will be open for clearance formalities from August 1, 2024. This will save cruisers the hassle of having to return to Cape Town for outward clearance.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of noonsite.com.