Tuesday, 16 March 2010 22:26 | By Tony Diment, Rally Director
The whole rally turned out for Sunday lunch at Angermeyer Point over the weekend. Everyone enjoyed a relaxing and long afternoon enjoying a superb barbecue. This was followed by a short stroll to the nearby beach for swimming and water games.
The social pressure continues to mount over the next few days with the Rally briefing and dinner and a very special birthday looming for Captain Jeremy of `Chissel’.
Friday, 12 March 2010 14:23 | By Tony Diment, Rally Director
26 yachts are now safely at anchor in Puerto Ayora. Gaultine III arrived yesterday (11th March) and Fugue and Mercury Rising are on their way. Lorrigray is beset with steering problems in the Perlas Islands and although arrangements for spares are in train she will undoubtedly be very late in arriving in the `Enchanted Islands’.
Everyone is enjoying their first experiences of the Galapagos and getting used to sharing their waterfront bar or restaurant with the occasional sea lion ,iguana or blue footed booby. The rally are having Sunday lunch in the Angemeyer Point Restaurant and on Monday the rally brief is scheduled accompanied by a rally dinner. More later…
Yesterday, the 27th of February, the news was full of the Chillean earthquake and impending Pacific-wide tsunami. In the end, the tsunami never transpired, but the news channels and experts kept up the heat until the forecast tsunami-hour had passed Hawaii, 3 hours after the expected time in Panama. Naturally, we alerted the BWR fleet and they all headed out to deep water.
Scot Free is leaving Shelter Bay this evening and will be transiting the Gatun Locks at approximately 18.30 – 1900 hrs local time (+5 GMT). They will spend the night in the lake and then transit the Miraflores locks at around 11.30-12 noon tomorrow. Island Kea is still on schedule to arrive in Shelter Bay on Sunday.
Saturday, 13 March 2010 23:16 | By Tony Diment, Rally Director
Mercury Rising arrived in Puerto Ayora this morning with Adrian Pinnegar, Deane Harper and Phyllis Macay aboard. Two yachts are still to arrive : Lorrigray (delayed in Panama with steering problems) and Fugue. Many crews are already well into discovering the island of Santa Cruz, while others are attending to refueling, essential maintenance and trips to the market ahead of their 5 –day trips that start next week.
Tuesday, 09 March 2010 23:16 | By Tony Diment, Rally Director
Tony Diment arrived in Puerto Ayora in the Galapagos islands yesterday just as the first yachts were arriving from Panama. Within the next 24 hours 14 yachts have arrived and are now safely at anchor. Some yachts completed the 900 miles in under 5 days with 200 mile days. Generally the winds have been 15 to 20 knots and most yachts have had exhilarating passages. This is so different from our last rally when most yachts had dismal conditions with squally headwinds.
Saturday, 27 February 2010 13:02 | By Richard Bolt
The earthquake in Chile has caused the coast of South and Central America, including Panama and the Perlas Islands where the rally is currently located, to issue tsunami warnings. Members of the fleet in Las Perlas have said they are all safe and were preparing to head offshore before the possible tsunami could strike. These yachts included: Blue Magic, Lucy Alice, Camomile, Bionic, Briet, Bali Blue, Raylah, Chsalonina. At the same time, Natibou, which is still in Balboa, has confirmed that she is also heading out to sea for the critical period.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010 19:15 | By Richard Bolt
There are six boats transiting this evening and tomorrow morning. They will be in two rafts. Natibou, Chsalonina (affectionately known as ‘Chisel’) and Camomile in one raft, and Gaultine, Blue Magic and Miss Tippy making up the second raft. They will be going through Gatun around 1800-1830 hrs local (+5 hrs GMT).
We are also very happy to announce the arrival of Scott Free in Shelter Bay. Debra and Eileen have had to hand steer most of the way from Bonaire but at least they didn’t have the storms to contend with too! We are hoping to get their paperwork and measuring done today and tomorrow and they will then still be on schedule to go through the canal on Friday. Island Kea is also on her way but will not get here in time to transit on Friday.
Serengeti is no longer transiting the canal.
Only a few more days of transits to go….keep watching.
On Saturday, 6th February, the rally regrouped at Portobelo for a transit briefing and lunch. Eleven yachts joined the rally in Panama making it a very sociable occasion, with new faces to meet and new tales to tell of adventures sailing to Panama and around the San Blas Islands. The sun shone, the beer was cold and the frigate birds put on a display of aerobatic flying next to the sea wall.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010 22:26 | 
By Tony Diment, Rally Director
