The crew of Waylander could not fail to make an impression as they sauntered into the fancy dress party organised as part of the ARC preparations.

Skipper Tony Strutt (far left) and crew Chris, Sharon and Mick (l-r), had entered into the spirit of the circus-themed evening.

Cruising yachts, like their Hallberg Rassy 43, don’t carry a lot of fancy dress kit so they made do with what they had on board – including a couple of battle flags from this year’s Yachting Monthly Rally Portugal.

The ARC is run in association with Yachting World but it was clear who won the battle of the brands this night.