Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - December 2019

The
Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, better known as the
ARC, has been bringing a fleet of sailboats of all
descriptions across the Atlantic from Las Palmas
in the Canary Islands to the Eastern Caribbean
every year since 1986. Crossing the Atlantic
Ocean under sail is on a surprising number of
people’s “bucket lists,” making the ARC the
world’s most popular yacht rally. The fact that
the event has annually attracted over 200 boats
and 1,200 people from all over the world since
day one shows that the demand for “sailing in
company” is ongoing.
The first edition of the rally, which attracted
204 yachts from 24 nations, ended in Carlisle
Bay, Barbados. The landfall was then moved to
Rodney Bay, St. Lucia to utilize the marina
services there. The St. Lucia Tourist Board and
Tourism Authority have been strong supporters
of the ARC ever since. Rodney Bay Marina
houses a Customs and Immigration office, a
bank, an Island Water World chandlery, a grocery
store, restaurants, shops, and repair
facilities. The fully stocked Johnson’s Hardware,
two shopping malls, numerous other restaurants,
and beautiful Reduit Beach are within
walking or dinghy distance.
James Mitchell
ARC Fleets Arrive
this Month
december 2019 CARIBBEAN COMPAss pAGE 16
WORLD CRUISING CLUB
Above: ARC boats lined up in Las Palmas in 2018.
This year's fleet is just as diverse.
Left: Three route options spread out pressure on the marinas
at the start and finish, and offer participants more variety.
Owing to the increasing popularity of the event, over
the years two alternatives have been added to the direct
Las Palmas to Rodney Bay route (a distance of some
2,700 miles) to provide shorter legs, spread out the pressure
on the marinas at the start and finish, and offer
participants more variety. An itinerary offering a stop in
the Cape Verde Islands before continuing on to St. Lucia
was added in 2013, and the entry list for last year’s new
final destination of Blue Lagoon in St. Vincent also was
quickly filled.
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