DO THE ARC
Words by James Stewart
Thinking
The ARC (Atlantic Rally for
Cruisers) was conceived 21
of doing
years ago by Jimmy Cornell
as a means of crossing the
Atlantic with the company
and support of fellow
yachtsmen. It has now
the ARC?
grown to an annual event
with an entry limit of 225 and
is always over-subscribed.
he ARC starts in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria The other economic factor was the discounted berthing fees
T
towards the end of November and sails to Rodney available for ARC entrants en route to Gran Canaria. These are not
Bay, St. Lucia. The fastest boats will normally take so widespread or favourable as we had hoped. Port Pendennis in
about 12 days with the tail enders taking about 25 Falmouth offers a small discount (if you can get in there), otherwise
days to cover the 2600 nautical miles (on the rhomb-line). the only marinas offering discounts were in Portugal. Varzim was
The ARC is organised as a casually competitive race/rally. incredibly cheap anyway made even more so by a 50% discount
All boats are given a handicap factor – based primarily on (for us, €18 reduced to €9 per night). The two marinas near Lisbon,
weight, length and sail area. There is a separate multihull Cascais and Oeirais, both offer considerable discounts (30% and
class. 50% respectively) but from a high initial fee. Having said that, both
are very good marinas and ideal for a trip to Lisbon, which is a
Having sailed many long-distance passages, including crossing must.
the Atlantic, I did not see a need to join the ARC (Atlantic Rally for
Cruisers) in our planning for a couple of year’s blue-water cruising. We crossed from Lisbon to Madeira, where the only decent marina,
However I was persuaded by friends that there were some Quinto do Lorde, will discount their prices and look after you really
financial advantages in joining the ARC (insurance premiums and well. However call ahead as they get very busy. Finally, in Las
marina fees) and I thought the crew would also enjoy the partying Palmas you will get a sizeable discount on your stay prior to the
at either end of the trans-Atlantic passage. ARC’s departure, but more about that later.
Our new boat, a Freydis 46 cat, was not ready in time for the I believe that discounts are also available in Lanzarote, and perhaps
2007 ARC so we carried over our entry to 2008. other Canary Island marinas, but I have no personal experience of
them.
Economics
Entering the ARC. This can all be done on-line at www.
If not crossing from Lisbon, further south in Portugal, Lagos has an
worldcruising.com For a 46ft cat with a crew of 4 it will cost about
excellent marina and will give discounted fees to ARC participants,
£1000.
and I am told that Rabat in Morocco is an excellent place to stop
(safe, cheap and secure) before heading west to the Canaries.
I don’t think the organisers really like multihulls. I asked on of the
Directors why the entry fee was £100 more for a multihull than
For those who would rather avoid marinas and anchor I’m afraid
for the equivalent length monohull. His first answer was a rather
decent, safe anchorages are becoming fewer and fewer down
pointless “well, those are the rules”. When pressed further he said
the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal. Marinas have been built
that they incur extra mooring fees. When I pointed out that the
in all the best spots. There are still many anchorages within the
only mooring fees included in the entry fee were for 2 nights in
rias of Galicia, but Portugal offers very little. At Cascais there is an
Rodney Bay marina and that hardly warranted an extra £100 the
anchorage, but we witnessed its rapid evacuation when an E or SE
ARC Director stated that “they are a lot more trouble”. He wasn’t
winds blows in!
prepared to elaborate further!!!
In Madeira there is a small and very rolly anchorage at Funchal and
The two economic reasons that were mentioned in persuading us
a small bay at the very north-east of the island. Those determined to
to participate did not come anywhere making up for the cost of
anchor are best going to nearby Porto Santo
entering the ARC. If you intend to just be double-handed across
the Atlantic then I think you may get advantageous terms through Places to see
Admiral Insurance. Even if sailing with a crew do talk to your Take your time getting down to Las Palmas. There is no good
insurance company. We reduced our premium considerably by reason to get there more than 10 days before the start. Once across
having a crew of 4 or more for the crossing. the Bay of Biscay enjoy the cruise down. If like us you are travelling
10  MULTIHULL REVIEW : FEBRUARY 2009
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