{"id":575,"date":"2026-01-13T14:48:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/?p=575"},"modified":"2026-01-13T14:48:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:48:43","slug":"40-years-of-the-arc-the-evolution-of-a-transatlantic-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/?p=575","title":{"rendered":"40 years of the ARC: The evolution of a transatlantic icon"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, and Yachting World has been there since the start<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Back in 1985 Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, Mikhail Gorbachev in the Kremlin, and a world-famous pop star was airlifted off his capsized yacht when Drum \u2013 belonging to Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran fame \u2013 turned over during the Fastnet<\/a> Race. It was, in every respect, a very different time.<\/p>\n

That autumn sailor and author Jimmy Cornell arrived in the Canary Islands on assignment for Yachting World (in those days a print magazine only, of course), tasked with finding sailors about to set off on an Atlantic<\/a> crossing. Cornell had four years previously completed his own circumnavigation<\/a> with his young family while also recording radio content for the BBC World Service. He not only found plenty of sailors to interview, but realised he had stumbled across a whole community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was contributing articles based on our recently completed world voyage to Yachting World when [then editor] Dick Johnson asked me to fly to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria to interview some skippers on their expectations before the Atlantic Crossing \u2013 and then fly to the Caribbean and try to find some of the same skippers to interview them on completion of the Atlantic passage<\/a>,\u201d Cornell recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, while I was in Las Palmas I was seeing five or six boats leaving the marina every day, setting off on the long voyage across the Atlantic, the waving and tears of friends\u2026 and the following day witnessing the same scene again, I decided that surely somebody should get all these separate people into one group motivated by a sense of togetherness?<\/p>\n

\u201cI flew to the Caribbean, met some of those I\u2019d met in Las Palmas, and each agreed a rally idea was something they\u2019d have gladly joined. Back in London, I spoke to Dick about it and he thought it was indeed a very good idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ARC was launched at a party in St Katharine Docks. Soon after Yachting World hit the stands, letters started arriving at my address \u2013 hundreds of them. And in late November 1986, 209 boats left for Barbados in the first ARC.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Liferaft demonstrations. Photo: Paul Wyeth\/WCC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

That first ARC rally was, Cornell says, \u201cCertainly the first properly organised trans-ocean sailing event.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA group of French cruising boats<\/a> had been brought together for an Atlantic crossing named Le Transat des Alis\u00e9es. People arrived when they felt like it, and it all looked like the proverbial attempt at herding cats. But I could see the potential of organising a proper sailing event with its own structure, rules and regulations, and an absolute stress on safety. That format was applied the following year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the start all boats had been inspected for their seaworthiness and all essential safety equipment was checked. That structure, which I\u2019d laid down in those early days, has been followed to this very day in the ARC, and has been adopted by countless other rallies.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The ARC is not just for sailors aiming for a fast crossing \u2013 families go too. Photo: Paul Wyeth\/WCC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Trailblazing concept<\/h2>\n

The first ARC rally saw sailors from 24 countries sail from Las Palmas to Bridgetown, Barbados. A Yachting World Trophy for the first yacht to arrive in Barbados was awarded to a 54ft trimaran, while the winner of the Jimmy Cornell Trophy for the best performance by a family crew (parents plus child) was won by a 31-footer from Finland \u2013 a results sheet that could easily still be seen today. But over the years, the ARC has evolved.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, sending a couple of hundred yachts across the ocean on the same course meant that some crews saw the crossing as a competition, and in 1989 a Racing Division was introduced, using the Channel Handicap System (CHS). These days the race fleet is handicapped under IRC, with the key difference from the main fleet being they\u2019re not permitted any engine hours.<\/p>\n

Article continues below\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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Cornell always resisted turning the rally into a race. \u201cI made sure there was always a so-called racing division in the ARC, and that the rest of the fleet, which formed by far the majority, were not actually competing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still believe that the main attraction of the ARC was the sense of camaraderie and the safety in numbers it provided. I find it very irritating to read that some boat had \u2018won\u2019 the ARC. My attitude all along was that everyone who took part in the ARC was a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A support system has developed around the ARC in Las Palmas, including marine services such as the Rolnautic boatyard and Alisios rigging company, and everything from grocery companies that will deliver to the dock to a pharmacy that can kit out offshore medical kits. Photo: Paul Wyeth\/WCC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Linking events<\/h2>\n

After four years of finishing in Barbados, Saint Lucia became the 1990 destination port, and Rodney Bay has been the rally\u2019s Caribbean home ever since. Connecting rallies were also established \u2013 the ARC Portugal in 1995, taking a fleet across the Bay of Biscay and down the Portuguese coast. An east-bound transatlantic rally, the ARC Europe, began in 2000, bringing \u2018returners\u2019 home and giving an option for US-based cruisers. And an Atlantic-with-stops ARC+ rally, sailing to Grenada via Cape Verde, has proved popular with family crews since it was introduced in 2013.<\/p>\n

Following on from Cornell\u2019s Europa round the world rallies, which he began in 1991, a circumnavigation was also introduced in 2008 and the World ARC now sets off every year.<\/p>\n

World Cruising Club (WCC), the organising company behind the event, was established in 1987. Cornell remained associated with the event for many years, though Andrew Bishop and his team, including Jeremy Wyatt, held stewardship for the longest period and oversaw a great deal of expansion and modernisation.<\/p>\n

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ARC routes for Atlantic crossings<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Today WCC is owned and run by Paul and Suzana Tetlow together with a small, dedicated team out of Cowes in the UK. At events the team is bolstered by an army of the famous \u2018yellow shirts\u2019, many of whom have themselves been involved with the event for years. Bones Black was this year on the scrutineering team, having sailed the ARC many times with his wife, Anna, when they ran charter<\/a> yacht Emily Morgan.<\/p>\n

The ARC formula has since been emulated by other event organisers, with rallies now running in locations as varied as Tasmania and the Amazon River, of varying levels of formality. The round-the-world format has also been adopted by some big brands, with Oyster Yachts and Grand Large Yachting creating multi-stage rallies exclusively for their own marques.<\/p>\n

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80s fancy dress party time ahead of the start. Photo: Paul Wyeth\/WCC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Scaling up<\/h2>\n

This year 145 yachts set off from Las Palmas on the ARC, with a further 56 departing on the ARC+ two weeks previously. The biggest ever ARC year was the 30th anniversary in 2015, which saw 268 yachts cross in the two rallies.<\/p>\n

Though overall numbers may now be slightly down from the peak, the marina in Las Palmas is almost equally full, reflecting the increase in size of yachts taking part, and the relentless rising popularity of multihulls<\/a>. While a decade ago the rally could house over 220 boats in the start port, it is now maxed out at 175 because multihulls require two finger pontoon berths or a hammerhead to moor on.<\/p>\n

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The Bowman 57 Emily Morgan continues its run of ARC crossings, now under new ownership. Photo: Paul Wyeth\/WCC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The shift was consolidated some six years ago when the first boats home in both the ARC and ARC+ rallies were multihulls for the first time \u2013 both beating larger, racier monohulls. The proportion of multihulls has maintained a steady average of 30-40% in recent years, with a notable proportion of new boats in the fleet being catamarans<\/a> or trimarans.<\/p>\n

Bigger boats<\/h2>\n

Monohulls<\/a> taking part have also undeniably got bigger. The largest yacht in this year\u2019s fleet was the 100ft Wally Vantanera, while the brand with the most boats in the ARC was Oyster, with 12 50-footers or larger, many heading across the Atlantic en route to their own Oyster World Rally, which begins from the Caribbean in January. On the big boat dock, they were joined by two Spirit 72s, as well as larger yachts from Swan, Baltic, Contest and more.<\/p>\n

The increased size of boats in the fleet is something Dan and Emily Bower can attest to. They run the Oyster 62 Skyelark II as a charter yacht, having previously owned Skyelark of London, a 51-footer. They\u2019ve taken part in every transatlantic<\/a> since 2008, apart from the ones in which they were taking part in the World ARC.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact their own yacht has upsized they\u2019ve noticed that relatively speaking they\u2019re no longer one of the biggest boats in the fleet.<\/p>\n

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Charter crew with Dan and Emily Bower on Skyelark II. Photo: Paul Wyeth\/WCC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re allocated your number, it\u2019s based on how big your boat is. And every year our number would just go up and up and up!\u201d recalls Emily.<\/p>\n

The Bowers find that the \u2018bucket-list\u2019 nature of an Atlantic crossing draws many new clients, who discover their pay-per-berth ARC crossing as a way of ticking off a lifetime ambition.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually a life event has happened that triggers it, it might be a career break or a retirement present,\u201d says Dan.<\/p>\n

But Skyelark has also taken part in dozens of other WCC rallies \u2013 after a Caribbean season this winter<\/a>, they\u2019ll return via the ARC Europe, before heading north to hook into the ARC Baltic. The advantages are wide-ranging \u2013 the reassurance of a nearby fleet for their clients, administrative support for Dan and Em. \u201cAnd honestly, now a lot of the issue is around berthing,\u201d points out Dan. \u201cIt\u2019s getting harder to get, as boats are getting bigger, and the ports aren\u2019t investing. And the rally has more clout.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Start of the first ARC in 1986. Photo: courtesy of WCC archives<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Anniversary returners<\/h2>\n

However, there are still many smaller family boats making the crossing. The Sage family first sailed their Moody 44 Ocean Strider across the Atlantic in 2005 with the 20th anniversary ARC. This year Joseph Sage, and his grown up children, Matthew, 34, Elizabeth, 31, and Victoria, 29, will make the crossing again in the same yacht \u2013 though sadly without wife and mother Kim, who passed away six years ago.<\/p>\n

Ocean Strider has since been up-spec\u2019d over the intervening two decades, with a new engine<\/a>, twin alternators<\/a>, solar power<\/a> panels, a watermaker<\/a> and washing machine. They also have Starlink, and have been impressed with how user-friendly apps such as Navionics and batteries<\/a> monitoring on mobile phones have become. \u201cIt\u2019s all just a bit easier than it was 20 years ago,\u201d Joseph notes.<\/p>\n

Sage has been preparing for the crossing for years. He opted for a slow route down to Las Palmas, visiting as many ports and anchoring<\/a> in Brittany, Spain and Portugal as possible, factoring in breaks to meet the Schengen 90-day rule. He enjoys sailing in short hitches, and will do the same on the Caribbean side.<\/p>\n

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Aboard the German Yacht Roter Baron at the inaugural start. Photo: courtesy of WCC archives<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going all the way up to Puerto Rico, and then we\u2019ll hop back down to get back to Grenada for the lift out, which will be in June, then return for several seasons to explore further to Colombia, Jamaica and Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking the leisurely approach has paid off \u2013 Ocean Strider arrived in Las Palmas mostly ready to go. \u201cA lot of boat prep is about thinking a long way ahead,\u201d Joseph says. \u201cWe did a lot of it a long, long way out. Tick those boat prep jobs off as early as you can because it could be three years before you go, but if you do that small job, it\u2019s ticked off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUp and down each of the pontoons you still see people busy at work. You don\u2019t want to get here and realise there\u2019s so much still to do. Then you miss out on all the fun and the community spirit that you get from being part of the rally,\u201d adds son Matthew.<\/p>\n

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Swedish skipper Pekka Karlsson on the radio in \u201886. Photo: courtesy of WCC archives<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rookie crews<\/h2>\n

This year there were also plenty of first-timers, typical of the hundreds of ARC cruisers over the years who have joined the rally for reassurance.<\/p>\n

Byron Bay sailor Stephen Huntsman is sailing his Fountaine Pajot Isla 40 Osiris with friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been a dream to sail across the Pacific<\/a>, and it became time to action that,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut the most appropriate boat was best to buy brand new in La Rochelle. We picked up that boat in August last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were planning to do last year\u2019s ARC, but did not have enough time. We just weren\u2019t ready. So we deferred and sailed from La Rochelle to Cartagena in Spain, then spent the summer in Mallorca and Menorca. We got to Las Palmas in the first week of October.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surrounded on the pontoons by yachtsmen and women with decades of experience, Huntsman admitted that he felt a little intimidated. \u201cIt also makes us feel a bit nervous that we might be a bit underdone,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

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Over the years thousands of sailors \u2013 young, older, and musical \u2013 have achieved an Atlantic crossing with the ARC. Photo: courtesy of WCC archives<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But as a first time transocean skipper, he always planned to cross with the rally, even when the original time scale became unrealistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never considered any other option. I think it would be foolish not to do it with the ARC, really.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou probably never feel ready,\u201d he adds. \u201cMaybe if you spent 20 years preparing, you feel ready. But it\u2019s a bit of a luxury to have that much time. At some point, you\u2019ve just got to take the plunge and learn by experience, and just go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very, very aware that we don\u2019t have as much experience. I\u2019m super-conservative. I don\u2019t like a lot of sailing in strong winds. I reef<\/a> early \u2013 we probably have a lot more reef in than you really need. But it\u2019s not a race for us. We\u2019ve got all the time we need, and I\u2019d rather be underdone than over!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Big send-offs and emotional farewells \u2013 all part of the camaraderie that surrounds the start of the ARC. Photo: Paul Wyeth\/WCC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sea gypsies<\/h2>\n

Some things remain timeless. Hungarian Vendee Globe<\/a> veteran Nandor Fa met Romanian Jimmy Cornell in Las Palmas 40 years ago, while Fa was preparing to set off on the first circumnavigation by a Hungarian sailor. He later went on to compete in multiple around the world races.<\/p>\n

In 2025 he was back, taking a group of young Hungarian sailors across the Atlantic in the ARC on his own Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 50 DS On\u2019y\u2019va. He recalls the spirit of the early rallies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the people who were on the pontoons. They were really cosmopolitan \u2013 different nationalities, ages, very mixed in language, in culture, and purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut one thing was the same: they wanted to enjoy the free life on the sea. It\u2019s a sea gypsy life.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them were middle-aged people who had sold their companies, sold their house, and changed their life. They didn\u2019t want to be a number. They wanted to be a person.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe major draw is still the same: somehow to escape and enjoy life on the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>If you enjoyed this\u2026.<\/h2>\n
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Yachting World is the world\u2019s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.<\/em><\/div>\n
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The post 40 years of the ARC: The evolution of a transatlantic icon<\/a> appeared first on Yachting World<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, and Yachting World has been there since the start Back in 1985 Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, Mikhail Gorbachev in the Kremlin, and a world-famous pop star was airlifted off his capsized yacht when Drum \u2013 belonging to Simon Le Bon of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}