Heading for St Helena in a 'sort of a' Race

2:55 AM Fri 16 Jan 2009 GMT

'Atlantic Rally - sailing from Cape Town to Salvador' .

A very international fleet set off this week on what is usually a South Atlantic Race from Table Bay in Cape Town South Africa for the long haul to Salvador in Bahia, Brazil. However this time, it was more a rally than a race, as the cruising fleet, which commences their journey after the hotshot racers, has been augmented by a group of wandering yachties....AND they will stop at St Helena

Since its inception in 1971, the Heineken Cape to Bahia ocean race has always attracted a good international entry. But this year the 35-strong fleet of cruising catamarans and monohulls make up a veritable United Nations of sailors, and includes boats from Russia, Estonia, Portugal, Brazil, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and even Zambia, as well as several South African boats.

The polyglot character of the fleet is due to the participation of nearly 20 boats from the World ARC fleet, who are including the Heineken Race in their leisurely circumnavigation of the globe. Also for the first time in the history of the race, the cruising fleet will have a 48-hour stop-over at the mid-Atlantic island of St Helena, long enough to explore a little and visit Longwood, the historic home where the French general Napoleon ended his days in exile.

Gray Lady - .. .

It is an extraordinary and varied fleet, ranging from the Russian luxury yacht Gray Lady, a handsome 72-footer, and one of the largest yachts in the ARC fleet. Owner Boris Fedorov has a multi-national crew from Russia, Japan, Switzerland and Italy. In marked contrast is the Estonian yacht, Martha, a classic traditional design, with intricately carved woodwork, built to the lines of the great Norwegian designer Colin Archer, the man who designed Fram, built to explore the polar seas over a century ago.

Owner Hillar Kukk had the hull built in a Finnish boatyard, and fitted out the interior himself. He has made several adventurous ocean crossings since launching the yacht in November 1999.

Also a very unusual craft at another extreme is the French trimaran Branec IV, owned by Roger Langevin. Although now over 16-years old, the trimaran is capable of high speeds, and Langevin expects to average well over 200 miles a day. In 2007, while crossing from Bermuda to Azores, the stylishly decorated craft hit a speed of 32 knots.

Northern Sky - .. .

Of the Canadian entries the owner of Northern Sky, Gerry McCauley and his wife Isolde, hail from Dawson City in Yukon Territory, scene in the 1890's of one of the world's great gold rushes. 'Now it is just a small town, with a population of 300 in winter, and 800 in summer, so it makes you want to get out and meet people,' says McCauley, a man who has lived an adventurous life as an oil-rig diver and and a commercial pilot. Relatively new to sailing, the McCauleys sold up their home and acquired their 39-foot yacht in 2006, and now it is a way of life.

Jamestown St Helena - .. .

Apart from the experience of crossing a remote ocean, what will the fleet see?

St Helena:
Remote Saint Helena, an extinct volcano, was originally discovered 500 years ago by those incredible mariners the Portuguese, but the British have used it as a strategic stop for ships, and as a place of exile, most notably for Napoleon Bonaparte and more than 5000 Boer prisoners.

They will also have a chance to see an endangered species of penguin which is mysteriously disappearing, at the rate of 100 birds every day. Nearly two million northern rockhopper penguins have vanished from Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island, part of the British overseas territory of St Helena, in half a century. The once huge penguin populations on the islands have dwindled so dramatically that they are now threatened with extinction, and the British Government has been accused of contributing to the decline.

Trevor Glass, the conservation officer on Tristan da Cunha, carries out frequent counts of the penguins and has been alarmed at the fall. 'Rockies are one of Tristan's most charismatic birds and a bird we are used to seeing in good numbers on all the islands,' he said. 'These unexplained declines are really worrying and we'll do everything we can to understand what is going on.'

Climate change and overfishing are among the possible causes but ornithologists are baffled by the fall and are anxious for a research project to be conducted to identify whatever is killing the penguins.

Salvador, Bahia, Brazil:

Salvador marina - .. . Click Here to view large photo

Known as the 'City of Joy', Salvador, in the northerly Brazilian state of Bahia, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. it is famous for its rich history, for the legacy left by the people from other continents, for its religious philosophies, music, architecture, cuisine and for its sheer beauty. The city mixes the primitive and the modern, and the Bahian people pride themselves on their hospitality.