Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - January 2018

— Continued from previous page
They plan to cruise the Caribbean for a while, and “eventually” transit the Panama
Canal to the Pacific. When asked if the 44-footer had room for all seven of them for
long-term cruising, they laughed: “We like each other!” William says, “The ARC is a
good social experience, too — it’s a nice society.” He advises other young sailors:
“When you have a chance,
take it. Buy a boat and go!”
Why not? As Dave on Blue
Mist says, “After doing the
ARC, everywhere you go, you
have friends.”
Friends old and new.
Above, Peruvian skipper Miguel (left) and his Naylamp crew meet the welcoming
team of Emmy and Maggie at Rodney Bay Marina
Right: The Swedish Aloha crew — childhood friends rocking the ARC
Below: Frequent get-togethers, such as cocktail parties on the lawn,
cement the camaraderie
ARC 2017 was sponsored by
the Tourist Board of Gran
Canaria, the St. Lucia Tourist
Board, IGY Rodney Bay Marina,
supported by the Port Authority
of Las Palmas, the City Hall of
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,
and in association with
Yachting World magazine. We
thank the St. Lucia Tourist
Board and Palm Haven Hotel
for making Compass’s firsthand
coverage of ARC 2017 so enjoyable.
ARC 2017 was drawing to a close as this issue of Compass goes to press. For results
visit www.worldcruising.com/arc/arc_2016_eventresults.aspx.
ARC+ 2018 begins on November 11th, and ARC 2018 begins on November 25th.
‘WE ARE ALL SAILORS’
Sailing independently, the Polish couple Stanislaw Dabrowny and Elzbieta
Dabrowna left the Canary Islands on November 2nd, 2017, bound for Barbados
aboard their Bavaria 44, Vagant. According to available information, Stanislaw fell
overboard on November 22nd and Elzbieta was unable to retrieve him. Elzbieta’s
daughter received a panicked sat phone call from her mother, which was placed at
13°14’60”N, 54°58’W. The boat was abandoned on November 27th, when Elzbieta
was taken aboard the cargo ship M/V Orange Star, bound for Brazil. The ARC+
fleet, some of whom were transiting the area at the time, was alerted to be on watch
for Stanislaw.
Suzana Tetlow, ARC+ Assistant Event Manager, tells Compass, “We first learned
about the incident through our ARC Finish Line Team who received the information
from a Facebook group. Immediately MRCC UK was contacted, and from then the
conversation started with MRCC Fort de France. We took direction from MRCC
Martinique and updated our fleet with the information that was passed.
“Whilst the incident didn’t have the outcome everyone wished for, we were
pleased to be involved to give any recovery and rescue operation a chance of success.
When ARC+ boats arrived in St. Lucia, many crews thanked us for passing
on the information.
“I think there is a bond between sailors in which everyone looks after one another.
We especially see this in our rallies, but there are no boundaries to this. We are all
sailors, in the ARC fleet or not. I am sure, we or any other sailors would do anything
to help anybody at sea.”
JANUARY 2018 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 21