Two Irish Oyster yachts, Tír na nÓg and Rí-Rá, have arrived at the Marquesas Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean as part of the Oyster Round the World rally that began in January, after an adventurous journey. 

Bob Rendell's Oyster 565 sailed across 3,300 miles from the Galápagos Islands, facing rough weather conditions in the waters of the Pacific. Dun Laoghaire brothers Patrick and Hugh Blaney's Oyster 675 Rí-Rá also completed the leg.

the Tír na nÓg crew faced a major challenge during their journey when their autopilot malfunctioned, and they had to hand steer for much of the leg.

The Oyster Round the World rally at anchor

Meanwhile, following high demand for the Oyster World Rally, the British manufacturer of luxury bluewater sailing yachts is inviting global adventurers to a circumnavigation-focused showcase at St Katharine Docks in London from 24-26 April.

The Oyster World Rally is a luxury sailing circumnavigation spanning 16 months. Covering 27,000nm and visiting 27 destinations, a fleet of 30 Oyster Yachts complete the voyage with the reassurance of personalised 24/7 support from Oyster’s dedicated Rally Team.

After announcing dates for the Oyster World Rally 2028-29 earlier this month, Oyster has seen unprecedented demand for places ahead of the official open date for entries on 18 June 2024, with the Oyster World Rally 2026-27 now fully subscribed.

The 13th edition of the World ARC circumnavigation rally set sail on 13 January from Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia, under bright blue Caribbean skies.

For the 27 yachts, the first destination is Santa Marta in Columbia, before heading through the Panama Canal and on into the Pacific.

The fleet enjoyed a Force 5 north easterly for the start, with many opting for a reef - there's 26,000 nautical miles to cover over the next 15 months and World ARC isn't a race. Ian and Jacqueline Kirkpatrick's Shipman 63 Fatjax (GBR) was first over the line, followed by Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49 Bahati (GBR) and Sundeer 64 Crazy Horse (USA).

From onboard his Moody 54 Dilema, Tom Ogilvie said: "We were all buzzing as we crossed the line. Pre-start tension behind us and a good breeze in the sails - long may it continue!".

Rally supporters on the water to wave off friends and family included Saint Lucia's Minister of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information, the Honourable Dr Ernest Hilaire, who spoke to the fleet via VHF radio: "You're looking fantastic out there. I want to say a special thank you to everyone. I wish I could be in your rally, but someone has to be here to welcome you back in 2025!"

Lane Jacobs, owner of Bristol 57 Corsair (USA), sums up the aspirations of many sailors: "I've wanted to sail around the world since 1976, and its taken me almost 50 years to learn to sail, save the money, get the right boat and find the time to do it. I can't tell you how happy I am to be here at last for the start of World ARC".

The first arrivals are expected in Santa Marta, Colombia on the evening of Tuesday 16 January. One-off Roger Hill Yacht Design catamaran Nica (DEU) is leading the fleet, followed by Oyster 62 Skyelark 2 (GBR). The forecast is for strong trade winds, and all boats are making good time on the 815 nautical mile passage.

From Santa Marta the fleet will explore the San Blas Islands of Panama, before a Panama Canal transit in February and on into the Pacific to Galapagos, French Polynesia and Oceania.

Helmut and Babsi Lexen are joining World ARC for a second circumnavigation, this time in their new Nautitech 482 Freya (DEU). "This is the second time we've done World ARC. We love it so much, particularly the camaraderie among the sailors. Our favorite destination, which we can't wait to return to, is Fakarava in French Polynesia".

A total of 37 yachts will take part in the rally over the next 15 months as it sails around the world, with the option of breaking the rally half way in Australia or Indonesia to extend the adventure with independent exploration. 14 yachts will leave the rally in Australia or Indonesia with another 11 joining, the majority of which took part in World ARC 2023.

19 of the yachts starting from Saint Lucia sailed with World Cruising Club across the Atlantic, crossing with the 2022 or 2023 editions of the ARC and ARC Plus rallies.

In the week before the start, the crews assembled in Rodney Bay Marina for safety checks, routeing and weather seminars, and the social events that build the friendships and camaraderie that define the rally. World Cruising Club Managing Director, Paul Tetlow said: "We have an enthusiastic and well-prepared group of sailors, and the World Cruising Club team are looking forward to supporting them of their adventure of a lifetime.

"It's been a wonderful week in Saint Lucia. We couldn't have asked for a better destination to launch the World ARC rally, and we thank the team at IGY Rodney Bay Marina and Saint Lucia Tourism for their marvellous support".

Late starters for leg one include Axonite (NLD), Abide (GBR) and Crazy Horse (USA), all of which are expected to be underway in the next day. Esperanza (USA) will join the fleet in Santa Marta.

Sixteen yachts are already signed-up for the next edition of World ARC, which will set sail from the Caribbean in January 2025.

Two Irish yachts, Tír na nÓg and Rí-Rá, have successfully completed the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) from Las Palmas to St Lucia. The boats, an Oyster 565 and an Oyster 675 respectively, are safely berthed in the Caribbean port after a challenging journey.

The first day of the journey was difficult due to light winds out of Las Palmas. However, once the boats were away from the Canary Islands, a 15-knot breeze settled in from behind, and most of the fleet headed south towards the Cape Verde Islands to get into the proper trade winds.

Tír na nÓg was ahead of nearly the whole fleet up to and past the Cape Verdes and was the overall leader on handicap. However, on day ten, with over 1000 miles to go, the spinnaker halyard parted, causing the spinnaker to go into the water with too much damage to repair it. This meant that the final 1000 miles had to be completed downwind under just the mainsail and boomed out jib, as the boat only had one spinnaker. Despite this setback, Tír na nÓg still kept most of her gains right through to the finish - a total of 16 days. Rí-Rá came in approximately 12 hours later.

Although overall handicaps have not been applied yet, and some penalties for the use of the engine, which is allowed, Tír na nÓg is still in a position to win overall and their class based on these penalties. This will not be known for a few days.

Tír na nÓg, and Rí-Rá will spend a few days relaxing in St Lucia before travelling to Antigua to join the Oyster fleet for the Oyster Round the World rally, which commences in January.

Robert Rendell's Oyster 565 'Tir Na nOg' from Howth Yacht Club is among over 250 international yachts that have gathered in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria this month for their transatlantic adventure to the Caribbean with the annual ARC rally.

The crew of the Irish yacht Tír na Nóg, who will be starting the ARC transatlantic rally tomorrow, are Mark Mansfield, Anthony Doyle, John Forde, owner Bob Rendell, Thomas Hoey and Paddy Gregory.

As Afloat reported earlier, November marks the start of ‘ARC Season’ with the first wave of 96 yachts departed on the ARC+ rally on 5 November bound for Grenada via Cape Verde, with a more extensive fleet of 159 ARC yachts departing on 19 November direct to Saint Lucia.

Robert Rendell's Oyster 565 'Tir Na nOg' from Howth Yacht Club is  entered in the ARC2023 Cruising division rally from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean

ARC rallies provide a supportive environment for cruisers, and a record number of 65 children will cross the Atlantic with the ARC rallies this year.

The ‘ARC season’ began today when 95 yachts departed Las Palmas de Gran Canaria bound for Cape Verde on leg 1 of the ARC+ transatlantic cruising rally.

This is a record-breaking fleet for the event, proving the growing popularity of this two-stage Atlantic adventure and the appeal of the destinations in Cape Verde and Grenada.

As aflaot reported earlier, from Ireland, Robert Rendell's Oyster 565 'Tir Na nOg'  from Howth Yacht Club is among over 250 international yachts gathered in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to prepare for their transatlantic adventure.

Cats and Kids

ARC+ 2023 is a record-breaking year for ‘cats and kids’. With 26 multihulls taking part, a 30% increase on last year, almost a third of the fleet are catamarans, eight of which were launched in 2023. 44 children aged from 8 months to 16 years are sailing with their families on 20 different multis and monohulls.

During the two weeks in Las Palmas the kids have made friends as their parents use the seminars and support on hand to prepare for the ocean crossing. On start day, a group of kids from S pontoon were having fun playing, completely unbothered by the thousands of miles ahead. When asked, 7-year-old Zach McMaster from Outremer 51, Spirit (AUS), said “I’m really sad about leaving as I won’t get to play with my friends on the other boats for a week.”

One of the ‘cats with kids’ is Broadblue Rapier 51 Blue Wonder (GBR). The Griffiths family from Australia have been cruising the Med with a series of multis before settling on the Broadblue, which will take them back to Australia with World ARC. Mum and co-skipper Audrey said: “We’re all set and ready, and just planning which sail set up to run with out of here.”

The ARC+ Start

While ARC+ isn’t a race and there is no racing division, the yachts have a start time to provide fun competition. At 12:45, the starting gun fired on Customs cutter Condor, starting the 26 ARC+ multihulls under blue skies and 12 knots of wind from just west of north. The first three boats across the line were all from Outremer – a 51, Maracuja (FRA) flying her orange gennaker, followed by Outremer 55-2 XIII Treize (FRA) and Nuvem Magica (FRA), an Outremer 5X.

The monohulls were next across the line at 13:00 with a very competitive start. Hanse 455 Infinity of Yar (GBR), Italia Yachts 15.98 Nessun Dorma (ITA), Rustler 44 Sea Hayes (GBR) and Oyster 485 Wild Goose (GBR) crossed the line in close formation. Most skippers opted for a conservative start – after all, it is over 800 nautical miles to Mindelo, 5 to 7 days of trade winds sailing.

Destinations

From Gran Canaria, the fleet will sail 850 nautical miles to Cape Verde. The passage should be a quick one, as the NE trade winds are already well established. The boats are expecting 20-25 knots of wind with gusts of 25-30 knots and a decent long swell for the next week.

After nearly a week ashore for sightseeing and recuperation, on November 17 the 456 participants will start the second stage of the ARC+ rally, sailing 2150 nautical miles across the Atlantic to Grenada.

World Cruising Club Managing Director, Paul Tetlow, explains the route: “Their first destination will be the beautiful island of Sao Vicente in the Cape Verde islands, where they will be warmly welcomed at Marina Mindelo. It is easy to see why the voyage via Cape Verde is growing in popularity – not only does it make a convenient stop after five to seven days of sailing, but the islands have a unique culture that adds to the whole ARC+ experience.”

Named Yachting Destination of the Year by the Caribbean Travel Awards, Grenada is the final rally landfall. Zara Tremlett, Manager at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, says, “The team and I are so looking forward to welcoming the ARC+ 2023 participants to this beautiful marina and we can’t wait to share our authentic Grenadian hospitality and celebrate your Atlantic crossing achievements together.”

“Grenada is buzzing with excitement to welcome 400 plus international sailors on 95 boats in this year’s ARC+ transatlantic crossing. Grenada has amazing culinary, soft-adventure, diving, hiking, chocolate-making and rum-tasting experiences to choose from, and our warm, friendly people appreciate every visitor interaction,” said Petra Roach, CEO of Grenada Tourism Authority.

Landfall in Grenada isn’t the end of the rally experience. The prizegiving ceremony on 7 December celebrates not only the achievement of sailing the Atlantic, but also good seamanship and the spirit of camaraderie for which the rally is famous. “We wish the sailors in this record-breaking ARC+ rally fair winds for their Atlantic adventure. See you all in Cape Verde and then Grenada,” concludes Tetlow.

Robert Rendell's Oyster 565 'Tir Na nOg'  from Howth Yacht Club is among over 250 international yachts gathering in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to prepare for their transatlantic adventure to the Caribbean with the annual ARC rally.

November marks the start of ‘ARC Season’ with the first wave of 96 yachts departing on the ARC+ rally on 5 November bound for Grenada via Cape Verde, with a more extensive fleet of 159 ARC yachts departing on 19 November direct to Saint Lucia.

ARC rallies provide a supportive environment for cruisers, and a record number of 65 children will cross the Atlantic with the ARC rallies this year.

Catamarans are clearly a popular option for families, comprising almost two-thirds of family boats. More families choose to sail on the ARC+ route, which divides the Atlantic into two legs with a four-to-six-day stopover in Mindelo, creating a more manageable voyage for small sailors. 45 children will sail in ARC+ 2023, aged 8 months to 16 years, and 20 children in the direct ARC route to Saint Lucia.

Children of all nationalities soon make friends within the fleet, with family boats moored together in Las Palmas Marina, and a children’s activity club available to give parents space to provision and prepare for the ocean crossing.

Racing to the Rum

ARC is the only World Cruising Club rally with a competitive racing division, and 14 monohulls will race under IRC from Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia. Boats to watch include the sleek Vismara 62 Leaps & Bounds 2 (MLT) and the pair of CNB 76s SOL (MLT) and Playstation PS5 (MLT) will undoubtedly enjoy a tactical tussle.

The ARC Racing Division is popular with boats heading for a Caribbean racing season, and regular participants EH01 (GBR), Hot Stuff (GBR), Emily of Cowes (GBR) and Escapado (GBR) deliver a taste of competitive ocean racing to amateur crews under the watchful eye of a pro skipper.

Some of the speedier multihulls are likely to challenge the racing yachts into Saint Lucia, with the new Marsaudon ORC50 Ti ana (FRA) a hot tip for line honours. Owner Régis Guillemot was first across the line in ARC 2019 with his previous boat Hallucine, a Marsaudon TS5. Giving keen competition will be Outremer 51 Piment Rouge (FRA), which previously claimed the ARC+ line honours.

Supportive Sailing

Each rally begins with World Cruising Club’s ‘Yellow Shirt’ team supporting two weeks of preparations, seminars, activities and socials in Las Palmas. Highlights of the programme include lectures on ocean cruising topics from rigging to communications and an excursion to plant trees at the ARC Forest environmental project.

Ensuring their boats are rally-ready, many skippers have undertaken Virtual Safety Equipment Inspections prior to arrival and these will be followed up with checks in port before departure. These checks provide great reassurance, running through the necessary items to ensure a safe ocean crossing covering over 3,000 nautical miles.

Destination Caribbean

Whichever route they follow, rally participants are assured of a warm welcome in the Caribbean, and the World Cruising Yellow Shirt team and fellow rally participants celebrate every landfall.

Camper & Nicholson's Port Louis Marina in St George's, Grenada, is the final destination for ARC+, while the ARC finishes in IGY Rodney Bay Marina in Saint Lucia. Arrivals enjoy a programme of activities culminating in a prize-giving ceremony for each rally, recognising the achievements of the fastest in each division and class, of seamanship and of the spirit of the rally.

For some, the ARC and ARC+ is the gateway to a grander adventure, sailing around the world with WorldARC; others look forward to a winter of Caribbean racing and cruising before returning across the Atlantic with ARC Europe.

Gran Canaria bid farewell today to the ARC January fleet for the second edition of the 'new year rally' organised by World Cruising Club. Following the first edition in 2022, ARC January 2023 has seen 30 boats gathering to cross the Atlantic, heading for Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia. The boats set sail from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria today, Sunday 15th January with two starts, the Multihulls departed first at 12:45UTC with the Cruising class following at 13:00UTC. There was much excitement this morning as after months of preparations the boats and crews finally embarked on their 2,700nm journey to the Caribbean.

The smallest yacht crossing with ARC January this year is Middle Island, a Westerly Storm 33 while the largest yacht is Finiens, a Hanse 675. It was a beautiful day in Las Palmas and the skyline was dotted with white sails as the fleet made their way to the starting area. On board, crews from 16 nations were eager to get going. Spirits were high on the pontoons this morning, as the last checks were made and excitement for the start was in the air with the sailors eager to get going on their journeys and paraded out of Las Palmas Marina.

Ahead of the start, the sailors have enjoyed their time in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with the port city providing a warm welcome and a fun place to see in the New Year. Preparing for a long ocean crossing invariably requires a long list of jobs and the local businesses in the marina have supported the yachts ensuring they are shipshape and ready to sail. The programme in Las Palmas has included a series of seminars to assist with the planning for the crossing and every boat has had an individual Safety Inspection from the World Cruising Club team to help support skippers’ preparations. The fun social side of the rally, including a visit to the ARC forest, sundowners and parties, has developed a great feeling of camaraderie amongst the departing crews.

It was a spectacular sight out on the water as the fleet readied to cross the line with a meter-high swell and calm breeze welcoming them to the ocean. The first countdown began from onboard the Committee Vessel for the Multihull Division as a steady wind of 15 knots blew from North-East. Leading the fleet of 12 multihulls, Austrian boat Pantiki, a Lagoon 380 was first across the start line skippered by Albert Pucher, one of two double-handers in the rally. Chee Hoo, a USA-flagged Neel 47, one of the two trimarans in the fleet, was next across the line followed by Te Reva, a French Outremer 45.

The Cruising Division followed fifteen minutes later, featuring 18 yachts at today’s start. First over the line was Finiens, a Hanse 675 and the largest boat in the fleet at 21.1 meters. Cohiba, a UK-flagged Bluewater 476, was second over the line, followed by Another Brick, a Beneteau First 44.7.

The yachts and crews will now adapt to life at sea with quite a change of pace from the pre-departure rush. As the boats get south of Gran Canaria they should pick up some stronger North Easterly trade winds, a lovely start to their ocean crossing. There will doubtless be plenty of discussions onboard the yachts throughout the crossing as each crew decides the route they will take to get the best winds. The classic route of sailing south towards the Cape Verde Islands before heading for the Caribbean is sure to be popular. Their progress can be followed on the YB Races App and Fleet Viewer page of the World Cruising Club website.

From the ARC January 2023 departure today, the majority of boats will take 18-21 days to make the 2,700 nautical mile Atlantic crossing, arriving in Rodney Bay Marina, Saint Lucia at the end of January. An exciting arrival programme is planned with each boat being met in Saint Lucia by the yellow shirt team with some rum punch and local fruit and a wonderful welcoming atmosphere in IGY Rodney Bay Marina.

Ballyronan Boat Club is a small club on the Northwestern shore of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, the largest body of inland water in the British Isles, and it was from this small outfit that the Commodore, Elwyn Agnew and four friends embarked on an ambitious adventure in the autumn of 2022.

Ballyronan is an RYA training centre and provides powerboat, sailing and windsurfing lessons from beginner to advanced. In his mission statement, Elwyn Agnew says, “The Club is keen to create great experiences and long-lasting memories”. And this venture has certainly done that.

Ballyronan Boat Club on Lough Neagh

From a throwaway remark developed the idea that the ARC – Atlantic Rally for Cruisers in Elwyn’s aptly named Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45 Optimistic could be a runner. Optimistic is berthed in Carrickfergus Marina, and she was delivered in just under three weeks to Gran Canaria in September in preparation for the 37th edition of the Race. That trip covered 2300 nm and apparently was quite an adventure with sightings of whales and dolphins, fish jumping on board, glorious sunshine and lightning storms.

Optimistic's ARC track across the Atlantic

The first stage of the rally sails from Las Palmas to Mindelo Marina, São Vicente on Cape Verde, approximately 850nm. Following the four to six day stopover, it’s on to Port Louis Marina, Grenada. The passage to Grenada in the Caribbean is approximately 2150nm.

The crew consisted of Elwyn and his daughter Emily and Michael Brown from Ballyronan, Anna Richmond from Vancouver, Canada and Matt Ruiz from London.

The crew in Grenada (l to r) Emily Agnew (Ballyronan BC), Elwyn Agnew (Commodore Ballyronan BC) Anna Richmond (Vancouver) Matt Ruiz (London) and Michael Browne (Ballyronan BC)

Michael Browne says that they were blessed with good weather, mostly 20 – 22 knots of wind with a few squally nights, and the voyage to Cape Verde took six days and then a further two weeks to Grenada which they reached on 2nd December.

The 10th edition of World Cruising Club’s popular ARC+ rally concluded last night with a spectacular prizegiving ceremony held for the 400+ crews from 91 boats taking part in the second 2022 ARC+ to finish at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada. Over 400 crews from 27 countries, sailing under the flags of 22 nations had completed the two-stage transatlantic 3,000NM rally, from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands (850NM), with the final landfall in the Caribbean spice island of Grenada (2,150NM). The ARC+ is a truly international affair, attracting participants from around the world, as well as a highly diverse fleet and demographic of sailors; young and old (aged 3 to 76 years); boats large (21.07m (67’) and small (9.75m (32’), and yachts old (from 1979), and new (six boats built in 2022).

With first arrival Fra Diavolo (ITA) finishing 12 days previously and Earendel (GBR), the only motorboat in the rally (a late starter from Mindelo), arriving just as the final prizegiving was starting, it was time to applaud everyone in this ocean-crossing community with awards for sailing performance and contributions to the amazing rally spirit that has developed over the past six weeks. With the sun setting and a steel pan playing, Prickly Bay Marina was the perfect setting for the final coming together of crew members, including the many children in the fleet; all there to celebrate crossing the Atlantic Ocean and their terrific achievements in the 2022 ARC+ rally.

Paul Tetlow, Managing Director of World Cruising Club (Designate) was assisted by Nikoyan Roberts, Nautical Development Manager at Grenada Tourism Authority, presenting prizes on behalf of the Hon. Lennox Andrews; Minister for Economic Development, Planning, Tourism and CEO Petra Roach, who were unable to attend. Zara Tremlett, General Manager at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina also helped hand out an array of silverware, plaques, Grenadian gift baskets, and a whole host of special prizes and vouchers to the worthy winners.

A packed ARC 2022 Prizegiving in Grenada Photo: Travis Ranger

Proceedings began with a sincere recognition of the teams and people in Grenada who play an important part in the rally, and who have put so much into organising ARC+ 2022 once again. All were thanked for their invaluable day-to-day support in the seamless delivery of the rally: Grenada Tourism Authority; especially Nikoyan Roberts, who had been responsible for the GTA input into planning; Zara Tremlett, General Manager, and all her staff at Camper & Nicholson Port Louis Marina who have worked tirelessly to accommodate the ARC+ fleet; the Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada (MAYAG); and last but not least, the amazing participants of ARC+ and their friends and families, some of whom joined them at the awards.

The ARC+ is a rally and not a race, but this does not mean that the crews do not want to make good speed and get the most out of their boat and team’s capabilities as they head across on the long ocean passage. Recognition in the form of prizes and applause was given to the winners in the various divisions and included the first to cross the finish line in the Cruising Division, Vincenzo Addessi’s Mylius 60 Fra Diavolo (ITA). The team sailed a course of 2440NM in 9 days 5h 46m 49s.

Moving on to the results based on WCC handicaps, with a motoring penalty applied, it was time to award those in the Multihull Division. Once again, it was Pierre De Saint-Vincent’s French Outremer 51 Piment Rouge (FRA), who took Multihull Line Honours, and was also first on corrected time for the second year running. Their elapsed time of 11 days 12hrs 20mins 06secs bettered their 2021 time by over 3 ½ days, thus setting a new record for ARC+ multihulls going forward. “Piment Rouge, you and your crew provided so much energy to the ARC+ Rally and were happily up at whatever time in the morning to welcome in several other crews and to get the party started. Thank you for being such fantastic participants,” said Paul Tetlow. In 2nd place, was sister ship, Helia2 (USA), Rob & Ginny Beams’ Outremer 51, followed in 3rd by the Lagoon 42-2 Balance3 (FIN).

The ARC+ Cruising Division was split into four classes based on handicaps; with Hallberg-Rassy 48 MK II Blonde Moment (GBR) topping Class D, Amel Super Maramu 2000 Simoussi (BEL) 1st in Class C, Baltic 51 Alexandra (SWE) 1st in Class B and Mylius 60 Fra Diavolo (ITA) winning Class A.

It was not just the crews who were successful in the competitive side of the rally who received prizes; there were many other awards given out for happenings at sea, the closest finish and longest distance sailed, most beautiful boat, as well as recognising double-handed crews who took part, plus the SSB Net controllers for their great work and assistance during the crossing.

ARC+ always attracts many families and this year is no exception, with 36 children under the age of 16 sailing on 18 different boats; with the youngest, 3‐year‐old Herman Habenicht on Ballerina. It was to raucous applause that the young sailors in the fleet took to the stage to collect their certificates and special ARC+ branded Grenadian chocolates. “Crossing the Atlantic is an impressive feat at any age, but these children have achieved it very early on in their lives!”, said Paul Tetlow.

“Just arriving in Grenada is a huge achievement but we appreciate that it is not always easy, things can go wrong and things don’t go to plan, but you all got here. Along the way, things happened and the spirit of this rally is how people deal with those adversities,” said Paul Tetlow who explained that crews nominated recipients of the next awards to recognise their personal appreciation of extraordinary things that were carried out at sea.

The crew of Swn y Mor nominated and presented Karen on Mistral of Portsmouth for the Bravery at Sea Award after she went up the mast to cut away the Super Zero caught around the forestay in rough conditions, shortly after leaving Mindelo. Deserving more than just bruises in recognition of her heroic work, she was invited to the stage and received a basket filled with Grenadian goodies. The Facing Adversity Award went to the crew of Hanuman (USA), as nominated by Helia2. On the first leg, on their third night at sea, the Catana 53 hit a submerged object. The crew calmly informed Rally Control of their situation that their port hull had been hit and the starboard rudder smashed off. Managing to plug the leaks and later jump into the water to confirm there was no further damage to their saildrive, the crew sailed Hanuman on to Mindelo. They maintained positivity and good humour, and made started leg 2 with the rest of the fleet to Grenada.

Two ‘Standing By’ Awards were presented. The first was presented to Infinity for shadowing Helga all the way to the finish when they reported concerns about excessive movement in their rudder post, as well as a leakage of water into their machinery space. The second Standing By Award went to Alexandra, recognising the seamanship and assistance provided by the crew to Alika following their serious incident on board their Oyster 675, which was the beginning of a 10-day ordeal for the crew. “Alexandra saw the vessel in distress and made several calls by Sat phone to Rally Control which in turn allowed us to inform the MRCCs of the unfolding incident. The crew stood by Alika and transferred medical supplies before being released to continue their crossing to Grenada. They received the second Standing By Award of the evening, recognising the seamanship and assistance provided by the crew,” said Paul Tetlow as the crew accepted the award on stage.

The last, but not least, award of the prizegiving evening was the Spirit of ARC+ awarded to the crew of Outremer 45 One Piece in recognition of their standby support and great seamanship.

“One Piece demonstrated the highest levels of support that sailors are willing to give,” said Paul Tetlow. “They diverted their course to rendezvous with Alika in difficult conditions. The crew provided frequent Satcom updates to Rally Control and email updates. They stood by Alika and gave support and attention on the VHF so that they could help run the boats. They left them when arrangements to sail north to better conditions with a motor vessel had been established. However, that was not the end of their story as they then had a drama to contend with. They lost the starboard rudder, suffered ingress of water and kept Rally Control informed so we could alert the MRCCs. They displayed a great amount of seamanship in their time with Alika and also in getting themselves to safe port. It was a fantastic and well-deserved welcome on the docks when they finally arrived in Grenada.”

Skipper of Alika, Ross Allonby sent a heart-felt message to read out at the prizegiving, highlighting seamanship at the highest level and selfless kindness demonstrated by fellow ARC+ participants: “We are sorry not to be with you at the prizegiving. ARC+ has been a memorable event for us all and we will have more sailing stories. I personally look forward to less stressful passages in the future. The camaraderie, friendship and shared passion for the sea has been a reminder of the goodwill and fortitude of fellow sailors. We thank you all for your warm wishes and wish you safe and happy sailing in the future. Fair winds from Team Alika."

The rally this year has been one of great seamanship, unique friendships have been formed, special memories have been made and the ocean sailors of ARC+ 2022 can all feel rightly proud of their achievements to reach the shores of Pure Grenada, the spice island.

November has seen some near-perfect trade wind conditions across the mid-Atlantic for the 37th edition of the ARC, which has meant a fast crossing for the fleet of 2022. So far, it has been a true ocean sleigh ride, a little rocking and rolling at times, but the boats have fared well, and crews have shown great spirit as the miles fall away to approach the shores of Saint Lucia.

Regularly covering over 220NM per day it has been hugely exciting to watch the progress of Marsaudon ORC 50 Malolo speeding toward the finish line. Since leaving the shores of Gran Canaria on Sunday, 20 November, Malolo headed well south of the rhumb line to pick up the trades. After a superb effort from the entire crew, the sleek carbon-composite catamaran crossed the finish line in Rodney Bay at 20:42:26 local time on Thursday, 1 December 2022.

Canadian skipper Duncan Gladman and American owner Tom Kassberg along with four further crew, sailed the Marsaudon Composites designed performance catamaran 3,108NM across the Atlantic on what proved to be an adrenaline-filled ride. They were thrilled to lead the ARC fleet into Rodney Bay, realising a long-held dream of Tom’s to complete an Atlantic crossing. Before leaving Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Malolo’s crew had certainly been picked as the ones to watch, bringing racing experience from several regattas on the west coast of the United States and having taken part in a number of ocean races in the Pacific. The ORC 50 was launched from the factory earlier this year, and after Tom and his family had finished cruising in the Mediterranean, the ARC beckoned to really stretch the boat’s performance capabilities.

World Cruising Club’s ‘Yellowshirt’ team were out on the finish line to cheer Malolo on and welcome them to Saint Lucia. After an escort into the marina, Tom and his crew soon tied Malolo up and leapt onto the pontoon to rapturous applause from neighbouring boats and even crew from previous ARCs came along to congratulate them. After big hugs, they were presented with a goodie bag and basket of local fruits and vegetables along with the keenly awaited rum punch. Tom said, “I heard all about the traditional welcome rum punch and I have been looking forward to this moment.”

When asked how the boat fared and what the conditions were like they all agreed that the boat had been 'just great' and as for the weather they had experienced excellent trade wind conditions all the way only seeing squalls on one of the 11 days at sea. Beaming, Tom said, “I am really pleased with the boat and we hit a new record of 28.2kts which was at night with the spinnaker up so it was a big thrill.” The only challenge they experienced was sailing through large clumps of sargasso weed which at one stage got so caught under the rudders the boat started to round up. Thankfully with a bit of clever manoeuvring, they managed to release themselves and nobody had to take a swim.

The arrival of Malolo officially kicks off the ARC programme in Rodney Bay and a presentation for the first arrival will take place in IGY Rodney Bay Marina on Friday to celebrate their success. Malolo’s leads the ARC fleet of 137 yachts due to make landfall in Saint Lucia with around 800 crew onboard. It’s a diverse fleet with boats of all shapes and sizes set to be welcomed to the beautiful island with a full programme of events planned, supported by the Events Company of Saint Lucia, IGY Rodney Bay Marina, and the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority.

The next anticipated arrival is Alchemy, a Nordhavn 72, the only motor vessel in the fleet; they are currently expected in Rodney Bay with an estimated arrival in the early hours of Sunday 4 November after a delayed departure from Gran Canaria.

The Multihull Division is made up of a handsome number of 36 boats this year, including Malolo, and their fellow catamarans and trimarans are also making quick work of the ocean miles so far. “We had some glorious sailing last night and today surfing down big swells at double-digit speeds maxing out at 19 knots!” reported Chet and Jessy on Navasana, a Nautitech 46. They have just passed the half-way point, but the forecast is for lighter winds for the mid-fleet group, who can anticipate a further 8-10 days at sea. Closer to Sant Lucia’s shores, there’s a match race hotting up for a pair of newly built Outremer 55’s Catarsis and Chilli Pepper, diving well south in search of breeze, and the much-loved ARC Rallies regular Minimole a Neel 47 from Italy is currently on a more direct course to the Pitons; with 600nm still to run, it will be interesting to see how tactics pay off, with the next multihull arrival predicted on Monday 5 December.

Meanwhile, who will sail first into the Bay for the monohulls of the Cruising Division? It could be a matter of David vs Goliath for the classic cruisers; Feeling Good, the Southern Wind 82 has dived far south of the rhumb line, joined by Swan 60 Emma, whilst Shipman 63 Fatjax, X-Yachts Xp-55 Paradox and Swan 56 Toucan are all some 150nm north of them with bows firmly pointed at Rodney Bay. The Brits onboard a Dehler 42, Sunbeat VI, fuelled by bacon sandwiches, are leading the smaller cruisers of Class D and doing a sterling job of keeping pace with the bigger boys having sailed over 2000nm of the course so far.

As the excitement following the Fleet Viewer intensifies, so does the atmosphere in IGY Rodney Bay Marina. After a tough couple of years with the arrival programme curtailed by protocols, it is with a sense of relief that the bars and restaurants are brightly illuminated, and music is ringing out around the Marina boardwalk.