We had a short sail this morning with Steve, Anne, Jane and Mark. Not the wind we were hoping for and struggled to get the asymmetric spinnaker set but nevertheless we had 10.4knots on white sails only in 12 to 15 knots of true wind. 

This evening was an opportunity to say thanks and goodbye to our friends in Portimao. They have all helped us continue our preparations before the trip and a special thanks to Steve and Anne from Water Dragon and Mark and Jane from Learn2Sail.

The ARC trip for us is both a holiday and a working trip and so the space and features of the Rapier 550 combine really well to make this an ideal platform for our life style. Working remotely has bene something that we have all been working through over the last 2 years becoming more and more adept and being away from the office but in full control of our work day.

Much of the work for a trip like the ARC is done long before the trip actually begins. The plans for our trip began 7 years ago with the launch of the new Rapier 550 performance sailing catamaran and our conviction that this was the best way to undertake long distance sailing.

Woke up to an early watch this morning with the prospect of a good day of winds. As the sun came up it became clear that the sea state had abated slightly and that the squalls had thinned to the point where we are now ready to fly the parasail again.

Blue Wonder, a Broadblue Rapier 550, is entered in this year’s ARC rally for cruisers in Class IV, Multihulls. Watch this space for what we  believe will be an incredibly competitive performance.