ARC delayed start
Ile Jeudi
Bob and Lin Griffiths
Tue 27 Nov 2012 17:31
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Sunday.
After a mostly peaceful night the bad weather
we managed to beat by coming to Gran Canaria yesterday came blowing
into the anchorage in the early morning. We learnt from Robert and Cindy,
some friends from the US on a nearby yacht called Tenacity, that the
bad weather forecast had caused a change to the start of the Atlantic Rally for
Cruisers. For only the second time in 27 years the organisers, after
consulting the entrants, decided to delay the start for the cruising
division. The racing division, about 34 boats, will start as
planned today and the cruisers, about 190 boats, will start on
Tuesday. The racers set off against strong south westerly
winds and heavy seas which led to some early gear breakages.
This meant that the expected 230 vacancies in the
marina were not about to materialise and the anchorage was getting very rough
and rolly. The sea bed is rock over large parts of this anchorage (instead
of the normal sand or mud which gives a good holding) and several
boats dragged anchor during the morning as the wind and sea built
up. Voices were raised as yachts collided.
We had held well overnight but were asked to move
by the harbour police this morning when the wind changed direcion and
swung us into the traffic lane. Our next location was
not so good as our anchor was now definitely resting on rock
with few alternatives in the crowded area. We eventually felt
the anchor pulling across the smooth rock so we decided to raise anchor and
go over to the marina entrance on the off chance that we might get into one
of the 34 berths vacated by the racers. We were very lucky to be allowed
in after a 40 minute wait along with several others.
Tuesday
We were back on the pontoon we had left a week or
so ago and were able to spend some time with the 4 crew members of Mary Jo who
were preparing to leave with the ARC. The skipper Tony, who is a very
experienced sailor having taken part in several Sydney to Hobart races, offered
to come aboard and go over our boat with me. This was
really useful and I picked up a few good tips. Tony is also a rigger back
in Conway and went through some of the arrangements for our new boom brake as
well (lots of string and pulleys).
Delaying the main ARC start gave the organisers a
big headache. For the normal start each year the harbour authorities close
the port to all shipping for several hours as 230 boats leave the marina
and muster at the start line. It normally takes 2 or 3 hours for so
many boats to leave the marina safely. Having closed the harbour
last Sunday as planned the authorities could not do so again at relatively short
notice for such a long time (cruise ship and freighter schedules are
planned well in advance) . In the event they insisted no boats leave the 2
marinas before 10am and the start would have to be at 11am. This was a
challenge but all the boats excercised great discipline and good humour and as
far as we know there were no mishaps.
The atmosphere in the marina was wonderful and
we were really pleased to be able to see the boats go. We felt the
weather was still too unsettled to be crossing the Atlantic and didn't envy
their sailing conditions. Whilst the wind was now in a good direction the
sea was still high and the waves were coming from the south. The two
opposng forces (wind now from the north) were creating sea conditions like a
washing machine.
Tony, the skipper, and Kerry preparing Mary Jo to
leave:-
 Nick, the ace chef (he really is) with his last
minute purchases which included a chart of Barbados which was to
be their destination (not all members of the crew agreed that this was
essential!). After a week of partying in the lead up to the start he
was lucky to be able to find a collander to match his eyes.
 Tony, Alex (the boat owner, of Lexi's Bar,
Barbados) and Nick motoring out of the marina:-
 Yachts making their way from towards the
harbour entrance under grey skies:-
 Some were a bit too close to eachother for
comfort:-
 and they are off.......
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