ARC+ 2024 - Leg 2 Start Cape Verde to Grenada
by World Cruising Club 22 Nov 2024 19:20 UTC
91 boats in the ARC+ 2024 fleet left Mindelo today in an impressive display of coloured sails flying in the moderate breeze. This is the second and final ocean leg of ARC+ as they sail some 2,150 nautical-miles across the Atlantic to Port Louis, Grenada.
The three remaining boats in the fleet will restart in the next couple of days.
While ARC+ isn't a race and there is no racing division, at the beginning of each leg, the yachts have a formal start time to provide fun competition. Overseeing rally proceedings onboard committee vessel, the ARC+ rally control team sounded the horn at midday to signify the start of Leg 2.
With clear blue skies and 15kts of north-easterly wind, it was an incredibly close start; the first boats to cross the line under sail were the Italian team on Endorfina, a Swan 54; the French team on Piment Rouge, a Catana Ocean Class 50 and the Norwegians on Adelante, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49D.
The weather for the fleet for the next few days is expected to continue with light trade winds, which develop nicely across the weekend to give the boats some beautiful sailing conditions for the next few days. Winds are predicted to remain moderate with the weather router suggesting boats stay north of the rhum line to enjoy the best conditions.
The fleet are expected to arrive in Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada from the 4th December. If the winds are kind, some may even make it sooner than that.
One thing's for sure, they will be met with a very warm welcome from the marina staff and the the yellowshirt team, who will be dishing out ice cold rum punch to every crew member on arrival... non-alcoholic punch also available for the younger members of the fleet!