An ARC Rally second departure now takes Transat rallies to six

by World Cruising Club on 7 May 2013 Demand from sailors world-wide for spaces in the 2013 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC 2013) has been exceptional. The 30 extra boat slips recently installed by the Las Palmas Port Authority has enabled the ARC to grow to a maximum of 245 yachts for 2013; despite this, the ARC was full by the end of January, with the waiting list closed a month later.

With numerous fresh enquiries continually being received, ARC organiser World Cruising Club has been working on a way to provide extra capacity for more cruisers to join the world's most popular cruising yacht rally.

Having considered many options of how to satisfy the wishes of sailors to take part in this international cruising rally, and listened to feedback from previous participants, World Cruising Club has launched an alternative start for the ARC, which also includes a stopover in the Cape Verde Islands and is for cruising yachts only.

Called ARC+ the new cruising-only route will depart from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Sunday 10 November, two weeks ahead of the traditional ARC start, and includes a full week of activities, seminars, and social functions before the departure, all included in the entry fee. Additionally cruising sailors will benefit from all the discounts associated with participating in the ARC, including substantial offers at eighteen marinas en route from Northern Europe.

A stop in the Cape Verdes has been added to introduce ARC sailors to another archipelago en-route to the Caribbean, and gives an attractive route alternative to those owners returning to the ARC for whom this is not their first Atlantic crossing. The ARC+ fleet will re-group in the Cape Verdes before setting off with the trade winds across the Atlantic to Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia for a tremendous Caribbean welcome, and a full programme of social activities and tours for which the ARC is renown.

This means, if you count the Stokey Woodall Atlantic Circuit departing in late October 2014, (See Sail-World http://www.sail-world.com/CruisingAus/Stokey-Woodall-Atlantic-Circuit-a-rally-to-circumnavigate-the-Atlantic/107696!story) there are six options for cruising the Atlantic:

Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC+): 10 November via from Las Palmas via Cape Verdes to St Lucia, operated by World Cruising Club
Atlantic Odyssey I: 17 November 2013 from Arrecife, Lanzarote to Le Marin, Martinique, one of Jimmy Cornell's new rallies
Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC): 24 November 2013, the long established,most expensive, from Las Palmas to St Lucia, operated by the World Cruising Club.
Christmas Caribbean Rally: December 16 2103, more aimed at families, from Marina Rubicon to Antigua, operated by Sailing Rallies
Atlantic Odyssey II: 12 January 2014 from Santa Cruz de la Palma to St George’s, Grenada, one of Jimmy Cornell's new rallies.
Stokey Woodall's Atlantic Circuit: October 2014, from Madeira on Leg 1 to Cape Verde and then Barbados

ARC+ will be limited to 50 cruising boats, and will be run very much in the spirit of the ARC, maintaining the unique atmosphere that has developed within the Rally over the preceding 27 years. On this new route there will be no competitive racing, only fun results calculated for those who'd like to join in.

Benefitting from the experience and knowledge of World Cruising Club, plus the support of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers' sponsors in Gran Canaria and Saint Lucia, ARC+ is an exciting extension to the world's largest trans-ocean sailing rally. ARC website