Racing Roundup

The Ultimate Cruise:

The Rally For Cruisers

DreamcatcherKM was the first yacht to arrive in St. Lucia during the 2008 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.

“This is one of the happiest moments of my life! What a wonderful feeling,” said Ollie Holden as he tossed the lines to a dockhand at St. Lucia’s Rodney Bay Marina. The U.K.-based sailor had just skippered the Nicholson 38 Nutmeg of Shoreham 2,670 nautical miles to complete the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), the annual transatlantic cruise in company from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.
It was 23 years ago that yachting journalist Jimmy Cornell first went to the Canaries to interview skippers about their preparations for transatlantic passages to the sunny Caribbean for the winter. The air of excitement, apprehension and camaraderie he experienced inspired Jimmy to organize a formal transit. The result was the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, a fun event that would increase the safety and confidence of those who participated, especially those making their first Atlantic crossing. In 1989, a Racing Division was introduced, yet the Cruising Division, where limited motoring is allowed, remains the most popular class and represents more than 80 percent of all entrants.
Today, the ARC has grown into the world’s largest transoceanic sailing event, earning a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records. It’s also one of the most diverse events: The 221 yachts that set sail this past winter represented 20 nations, with 25 nationalities across 1,100 crew members. There were 34 children, ranging in age from 8 months to 15 years. The largest yacht was an Oyster 82, the smallest a Beneteau First 31. American Lurelle Verplank earned the oldest skipper title at age 77, while Norway’s Frederik Pedersen was the youngest at 24.

“The ARC is special because it has been running since 1986 and has taken so many boats and crews across the Atlantic that sailors talk about ‘doing the ARC’ as one of the ‘must-do’ sailing trips for cruisers,” says World Cruising Club Director Jeremy Wyatt.

Participants posted regular logs online that gave armchair sailors following the race an idea of what life at sea was like during the ARC.
Two days into the rally, 16-year-old Sam Werrett, crew on the Oyster 49 Chilli Oyster, wrote, “It’s 5 o’clock and the sun is starting to set…another pod of dolphins arrive except this time the number is shocking…over 150 dolphins all jumping around the boat.”
Mid-trip chores and galley duties became comical aboard the Dufour 44 Magic Pelagic. According to a crewmember, “Not only does Paul [U.K. skipper Paul Simmons] seem intent on setting up a Chinese takeaway, it seems he is keen to set up a Chinese laundry as well. Either that or he is trying to eke out an extra few knots by flying more cloth to catch the elusive wind.”
Sometimes there was too little wind, other times too much. A week into the trip, the crew aboard Coyote, a Beneteau First 40.7 homeported out of the U.K., experienced 25-knot winds with gusts to 30-plus. “With the full main on and a small portion of the genoa we surfed the waves all night,” wrote skipper Ken Acott. The Coyote crew wasn’t as lucky on the fishing front. “We finally did catch a fish,” Ken continued, “ok, it’s only a two-centimeter long flying fish we found on the deck…there is now much debate as to whether we fry it in garlic and olive oil or sushi it.”
Finally, there were mixed emotions as St. Lucia came into sight. Skipper Mike Everton-Jones, aboard Falbala C, a U.K.-based Bowman 49, wrote, “…the crew all have said at various stages in the last few days that if we had to go on for another week or more they are all up for it…for me as the skipper, it’s quite gratifying to hear this as we must have got something right for five people being cramped up in a 49-foot boat for three weeks, doing 24 hour watches, all on a first-time experience, and who want to carry on rather than mutiny!”
Boats began the journey November 23, 2008, and the first to arrive in St. Lucia was the Swan 82 DreamCatcherKM, skippered by U.K.-based Karsten Moller, which sailed into Rodney Bay Marina after 13 days, 23 hours, and 44 minutes, including 24 hours motoring. The first cruising boat under 60 feet to arrive without motoring was Sunbeat IV, a Jeanneau SunOdyssey 49i skippered by Steven Kuhl out of Maldon, U.K., at 17 days, 7 hours and 55 minutes. “It was a light wind year with yachts typically taking two days longer to cross,” said Jeremy Wyatt, World Cruising Club director. “The last arrival was ATAO [skippered by Marc Verstraete van de Weyer based in Canada] at 28 days, 17 hours, 22 minutes, though they did have a big steering problem, so they were sailing much slower than expected.”

St. Lucia is finally in sight as Live Edge approaches the finish line in Rodney Bay.

The newly revamped Rodney Bay Marina is the home base for the annual ARC and the scene for much celebrating and socializing once sailors complete the journey, culminating with a big farewell party and prize giving. The Jimmy Cornell trophy for overall winner of Division One went to Norwegians Pal and Pauline Book-Bratbak on the Beneteau First 31.7 Madonna. They had the youngest participant aboard with their eight-month-old child as crew. With five divisions and lots of classes, plenty of prizes are awarded. Ohans, Vaiva, Windancer IV, and Magic Pelagic received special mention for assisting other yachts during the crossing, and the Spirit of the ARC honor went to the multi-national crew of Free to Be. For more information and photos, visit worldcruising.com/arc.