Ondeck Skipper Pete Whitelaw and crew Mark Barton, Rory Johnson and Roger Johnson became known as ‘The Rum Runners’ as they stepped off their 65ft yacht Spirit of Minerva at Portsmouth over last weekend, completing the 3,500 nautical mile Atlantic Challenge from the Caribbean via The Azores.
These four ‘Rum Runners’ so named because they had stopped off in the birthplace of rum, Barbados to pick up a very special cargo to bring back to the UK – the very first shipment of Mount Gay’s 1703 Old Cask Selection super-premium rum. Minister of Tourism for Barbados, The Hon. Richard Sealy signed the bottles which are to be auctioned for charity, and a presentation case containing six bottles was carefully stowed on board for the journey to the UK.
As well as Spirit of Minerva, three other Farr 65 yachts owned by local company Ondeck completed the Atlantic Challenge.
After the success of the Atlantic Challenge Ondeck teams Spirit of Diana, Spirit of Isis, Spirit of Juno and Spirit of Minerva will race against other Farr 65s as well as the rest of the fleet in the JP. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race next week. A dozen yachts owned and managed by Ondeck Sailing will compete for charity in the 94th annual one-day race organised by the Island Sailing Club.
British Vendée Globe world record-breaking sailor, Brian Thompson will be skippering Ondeck’s Elan 450 Hurricane for international law firm, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey whose spokesperson Andrew Knight said “We really need everyone’s help to make a difference to the lives of people affected by cancer by supporting Macmillan Cancer Support.”