ARC 2025

More than 800 sailors and 145 boats began the 40th ARC Rally from Las Palmas for the 2700-mile passage to Saint Lucia.

The port of Las Palmas was buzzing Sunday as more than 800 sailors aboard 145 boats departed Gran Canaria for the 40th running of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. The annual event sends an international fleet across 2700 nautical miles of open ocean to Saint Lucia, and this year’s milestone edition drew crews from more than 40 nations.

Spectators lined the breakwater waving flags and cheering as the fleet eased out of the harbor to music from the local band Banda Guiniguada. Light northeast winds of 5 to 8 knots set the tone for a gentle start, with stronger breeze expected offshore in the Canary Islands’ well-known acceleration zones.

Rodney Targa, sailing aboard Cut and Run, said the run-up to start day had been both social and informative. “It’s been a really enjoyable build up with very informative seminars that were on key with what people wanted,” he said. “We’re all ready to go. We’ve been here for three weeks now so we’re well prepared. The support of World Cruising Club has helped us get here so we have no apprehension about the start.”

The multihull division crossed first at 12:30, led by Sniky, a Nautitech 48, with Mathilda, an Outremer 51, and Cut and Run, a Lagoon 46, close behind. The racing division followed at 12:45, with the Swan 76 La Loévie first over the line ahead of NextGen by Jajo, a Volvo 65. The cruising division, the largest start with 103 boats, set off at 13:00, with the Swan 56 Azahar taking the early lead and Adrenalina, a J/130, breaking clear under code zero.

To mark the rally’s 40th year, organizers at the World Cruising Club expanded live coverage through daily ARC Live streams, giving families and followers around the world a view of the pre-start action and the fleet’s departure.

Most boats are expected to make landfall in Saint Lucia between 18 and 21 days from the start, depending on how quickly they reach the trades. For many participants, the crossing represents years of preparation and a chance to complete a bucket-list bluewater passage framed by Caribbean hospitality at the finish.

The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) is an annual transatlantic sailing event for cruiser yachts held since 1986. It also includes a sailing competition for racers. The ARC starts at the end of November in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and ends before Christmas at Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean.

The ARC is the largest trans-ocean sailing event in the world and regularly attracts over 200 boats of many different shapes and sizes. The route takes between 8 and 31 days aided by trade winds, and covers over 2700 nautical miles. ^[1] Founded by Jimmy Cornell it is now organised by the World Cruising Club, which also arranges a World ARC.

The first race was organised in 1986 by Cruising World Magazine under the name Atlantic Race for Cruisers (ARC). Jimmy Cornell’s idea was to create an amateur event and to add some zest to the long and lonely voyage across the ocean and strengthen bonds between cruising sailors. Another consideration was to increase safety and confidence by organising a passage of large number of yachts at the same time.^[2] In the first year the route started from Las Palmas and ended in Bridgetown Barbados. The number of participants was 204 yachts. The fastest monohull 62-foot Moonshadow sailed across in 14 days and 3 hours. The winner of Yachting World Trophy for first yacht to arrive in Barbados was 54-foot trimaran Running Cloud. The winner of Jimmy Cornell Trophy for best overall performance on handicap with a family crew of three (parents plus a child) was 31-foot Molla III from Finland.^[3]