For many cruising sailors the ARC has been a means of sailing in company to interesting parts of the world and the next date for your diaries is May 7th for the ARC Europe. Sydney couple Anna and Gregory Haremza hooked up with the World ARC late last year and have made it all the way to St Lucia in the Caribbean where they are preparing their Amel Super Maramu 2000 La Boheme for the ARC Europe that island hops its way across the Atlantic.
Leaving busy careers in photography and advertising behind in Sydney the couple told www.mysailing.com.au that they wanted to radically change their life and plan to spend several years sailing around the world. The 16m ketch was built in France in 2003 and is the couple's fifth yacht. "We purchased her in Auckland in June 2007 and Gregory with two friends sailed her from Auckland to Sydney in winds up to 70 knots during the same time when Pasha Bulker went aground," said Anna.
They then spent 12 months preparing and modifying the boat for extended cruising.
"We left Sydney from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club on Sunday, 15th June 2008, to be in time for September rendezvous with the rest of the World ARC fleet on Thursday Island. We have learned about the World ARC from Jimmy Cornell's publications years ago and when they resurrected the rally, we thought it will be interesting to join them," added Anna.
The couple intend to stay in the Med for several years before coming back to Sydney.
They will join 36 other yachts on May 7 when the ARC Europe departs St Lucia. It was 21 years ago that the concept of ARC Europe first came to fruition when the inaugural event, then named 'TransARC', set off in 1988. In 2000 the rally was re-named 'ARC Europe' to better reflect its association with the world-famous ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers).
ARC Europe is based on the format of the ARC and enables yachts to cruise west to east to Europe at the end of the Caribbean season as part of a fun rally.
There are two starting points on the same date, namely St. Augustine in Florida and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands where, for the first time, ARC Europe will be starting from Nanny Cay Marina.
By breaking the Atlantic crossing into several legs, ARC Europe helps make the passage a truly memorable way to voyage to Europe. During the six-week event, yachts will gather at Nanny Cay in early May 2009, before departing the British Virgin Islands and crossing the Atlantic in company. The two fleets then converge at the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, before crossing the Atlantic and exploring the Azores Archipelago, reaching the European continent at the end of June. Yachts can then join rally stages to Lagos in southern Portugal, or northwards to Plymouth on the South-West coast of the UK.
International rally fleet marks 21st edition
Organised by cruising rally experts World Cruising Club, ARC Europe is open to cruising monohulls with a minimum length of 27 ft (8.23m) and cruising multihulls from 27 to 60 ft (8.23 - 18.29m) LOA. As the Rally is open solely to cruising yachts, they are allowed to motor in calm periods; results are calculated for each leg and fun prizes are awarded.
For this 21st Anniversary edition, ARC Europe has attracted entries from Great Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Gibraltar, Italy, the USA and Australia.
The rally attracts largely offshore cruising yachts with an average LOA of 14.15m (45ft). However this year's fleet ranges from David Clarkson's Hallberg Rassy 36 Zephyr (GBR) at 10.85m right up to Boris Fedorov's BVI flagged Dixon 72 Gray Lady at 22.77m which will be the largest yacht in the group.
Ten yachts are using this year's ARC Europe to return to Europe having circumnavigated the globe as part of World Cruising's inaugural World ARC rally with a fleet that will shortly be arriving at its final destination in St.Lucia.
A further six yachts, mostly from the US, will be setting out to cross the Atlantic for the first time, whereas the remainder of the fleet have already sailed with the ARC during the last two years and have been cruising in the Caribbean in the meantime.
Crossing times obviously vary depending on the weather encountered and your boat. However, most yachts complete the longest leg of 1800nm (nautical miles) from Bermuda to Horta in 13 to 16 days. The legs from Tortola and Lagos are approximately 850nm and are usually completed in 5 to 8 days. For those sailing from St. Augustine to Bermuda the crossing time is also 5 to 8 days