Welcoming the crews
After ten months of intensive planning and preparations, the first of the racing yachts arrived in Oban at 00:01 on July 13th. Perseverance had completed the crossing from Washington, DC in just over 15 days, and every crew member was delighted to be welcomed alongside by a piper and the offer of a dram of Oban single malt whisky.
By 08:00, four other boats were tied up at the North Pier pontoons: Zhuhai, Ha Long Bay Viet Nam, Yacht Club Punta del Este and UNICEF; and four more teams had manoeuvred into their berths by 22:00 - Qingdao, Our Isles and Oceans, Dare to Lead and Washington, DC.
PSP Logistics and Bekezela were completely becalmed and sailed in the following day to a warm Scottish welcome.
From the moment they arrived, the yacht crews enjoyed a week of celebrations and being reunited with their families and friends, over 400 of whom had made the trip to Oban to witness the end of the final ocean crossing of the race.
The packed programme included Gaelic lessons, shinty lessons, a spectacular prizegiving event and ceilidh; a visit to the Isle of Lismore, a tour of Oban Distillery, and ocean health and sustainable tourism sessions at the Scottish Association for Marine Science.
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David (centre) welcoming the Ha Long Bay yacht crew with a well-deserved dram.
There were additional tours of Dunollie Castle, a quiz night in aid of UNICEF, a raft race and a members’ night at Oban Sailing Club. Over 1,400 members of the public went aboard the yachts to sample life aboard an ocean racer; and there were even opportunities to sail on them – crashing down the Firth of Lorn at 18 knots was an exhilarating experience, even in horizontal rain.