{"id":665,"date":"2026-03-12T14:43:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T14:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/?p=665"},"modified":"2026-03-12T14:43:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T14:43:56","slug":"the-enduring-atlantic-rally-for-cruisers-perspectives-from-the-sailors-whove-done-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/?p=665","title":{"rendered":"The enduring Atlantic Rally for Cruisers: Perspectives from the sailors who\u2019ve done it"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s 40 years on from the first ARC rally. Yachts are bigger, and technology is smarter \u2013 but experiencing the crossing of an ocean remains unchanged. Elaine Bunting reports<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Person
Open to all: PanExplore is one of several operators that offers novice sailors
\na chance to complete
\nan ARC. Photo: PanExplore.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ask Atlantic Rally for Cruisers<\/a> sailors arriving in St Lucia<\/a> what it was like to cross the Atlantic and most people will tell you about the practicalities, the weather, the preparation, the fishing and so on. But when I asked one crewmember about his first-time experience on the 2025 ARC rally he put it very differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut there it is just you and the sea and space and the stars, and you feel a part of it,\u201d reflects US sailor Dan Power. \u201cAt night, sitting at the helm with the instrument panel in front, all orange-lit on a black background, you kind of felt like you were flying through outer space and barrelling along into the void. I\u2019m trying to keep remembering the beauty of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers was launched 40 years ago by BBC journalist and circumnavigator Jimmy Cornell at the Cruising Association. It was described at the time as \u2018a new transatlantic sailing race designed, not for racing\u2019s elite of semi-professional sponsored yachtsmen, but strictly for true cruising enthusiasts\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Photo\n

Photo: Paul Wyeth<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It ran from Las Palmas to Barbados that year and proved a great success. Dreamed up in partnership with Yachting World, then-editor Dick Johnson later summed up its appeal: \u201cIt seemed that the combination of safety, education, parties and a destination in the Caribbean couldn\u2019t be beaten. There was nothing like it in the world at the time, and there still isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ARC continues every year to do what it always did best, but is bigger, more refined, better. And now there are two of them when you count the parallel ARC+ rally which goes to Grenada via Cape Verde, and this year added 86 yachts to the 145 yachts in the ARC.<\/p>\n

From the first, the rally established itself as the world\u2019s largest transocean event and has never lost momentum.<\/p>\n

It has weathered recessions, financial crises, geopolitical uncertainty, shifts in how and where people live and work, and evolutions in yacht design and technology to sit as one of the few sailing achievements that is genuinely within reach of ordinary sailors.<\/p>\n

For most skippers it\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime undertaking. But its pull is strong enough that some return repeatedly. German sailor Manfred Kerstan, for instance, crossed the Atlantic more than 20 times in a succession of Swan yachts, all named Albatros.<\/p>\n

\"Sail\n

Sail changes on Amel Super Maramu Perdika, a family boat on a sustainable sailing mission. Photo: sailingperdika.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I\u2019m not in that league, but I do have a drawer full of faded ARC T-shirts. I\u2019ve covered the rally for Yachting World almost every year since the early 1990s \u2013 sailed it too \u2013 which gives me a vantage point on the changes it reflects. Entry pathways, levels of prior experience and approaches to preparation have all shifted, but without diluting the fundamental demands or unique experiences that give the event its status.<\/p>\n

One of the most profound shifts over the ARC\u2019s history is the people sailing in the rally. In the 1980s, an Atlantic crossing was primarily the domain of lifelong sailors who had accumulated decades of sea time. The boats were small by today\u2019s measures \u2013 certainly so by volume.<\/p>\n

Today, a significant proportion of participants arrive in large, expensive, often new yachts and it is not unusual to meet crews with only a handful of years\u2019 experience.<\/p>\n

Yet these are not casual adventurers. They are generally successful businesspeople who bring the same discipline and strategic thinking that shaped their careers. Instead of relying on long experience, they compensate with meticulous preparation.<\/p>\n

They invest in professional training and expert support, they do detailed planning, and they make significant investments in systems and safety.<\/p>\n

\"Parasailor\n

Parasailor up for easy family cruising on the Excess 11 Lyfe during the 2025-26 ARC+ rally. Photo: @lyfesailing\/WCC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The result is a new kind of ocean sailor, less traditional but arguably more organised. By any objective measure, they are just as capable of getting safely across an ocean \u2013 or of sailing round the world, which some do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe route to getting here is different,\u201d agrees Paul Tetlow, managing director of organisers World Cruising Club. \u201cWe run seminars each year and other events to generate interest and pass on knowledge, and we know the pipeline to participation is up to five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking advice on the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers<\/h2>\n

You can\u2019t miss Zenobia as you walk along the dock. The shiny new Oyster 595 hull colour is a vivid turquoise and looks confidently different. She belongs to Mike and Vic Brown, who bought her with the intention of doing the Oyster World Rally in 2028. Zenobia was launched in Ipswich in April 2025.<\/p>\n

Mike and Vic are comparatively new to sailing. They used to keep a powerboat in Lymington, which they enjoyed with their family.<\/p>\n

Vic recalls, \u201cWe were just thinking about retirement and wanted to do something adventurous now that the children are older.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike\n

Mike and Vic Brown gave up motor racing and bought the Oyster 595 Zenobia for new adventures. Photo: Mike and Vic Brown\/SV Zenobia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A serious medical emergency concentrated their ideas. Three years ago, Mike had a motor racing accident at the Thruxton circuit and spent two months in intensive care. When he recovered, he decided the time had come for a new adventure. \u201cNine months after the accident, we ordered the boat,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

After signing the contract, they began their training, mixing boat-specific experience with the traditional RYA syllabus pathway. \u201cWe did our Competent Crew course in the Mediterranean, our Day Theory course in London and the Day Skipper practical in the Caribbean and in the Solent,\u201d says Mike.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have also done the Yachtmaster theory course, and when we\u2019ve got the mileage we will do the practical exam, then we will have two more years to learn on board before we do the Oyster World Rally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The\n

Mike and Vic Brown\u2019s Oyster 595 Zenobia. Photo: Mike and Vic Brown\/SV Zenobia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Oyster\u2019s project management and know-how from running their round the world rallies has been invaluable to the Browns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a huge spreadsheet that covers safety equipment, spares, and consumables etc, and they break it down into recommended lists of \u2018must\u2019, \u2018should\u2019 and \u2018nice to have\u2019,\u201d says Mike.<\/p>\n

Other perspectives on the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers<\/h2>\n

The connections the couple made while learning provided another valuable perspective. \u201cThe chap who taught us the Day Skipper course became a friend and adviser, and we were able to discuss options that affected the sailing capabilities, such as the sail inventory,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

The Browns also sought guidance from Will Spencer of White Dot Sailing (whitedotsailing.com), who specialises in preparing people for bluewater and adventure sailing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe prepared a maintenance log system recording all the service schedules and component expiry dates. There are so many different things to think of \u2013 from keeping the batteries in your EPIRB in date to oil changes \u2013 and you need to be ahead of it and be proactive,\u201d says Mike.<\/p>\n

\"Joe\n

Joe Sage and family aboard the Moody 44 Ocean Strider. Photo: Ocean Strider<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mike and Vic again chose to lean on expert help when Zenobia was delivered, employing an experienced skipper to assist with the handover and initial training. \u201cAt the handover you have so much thrown at you in a short time, everything from the operating systems, the electrics, the B&G systems, and the routine maintenance, strainers, bilge pumps, seacocks, checks, processes and procedures,\u201d Mike says.<\/p>\n

For the ARC, they took on a different skipper, Matt, who had done eight previous transatlantic crossings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the official skipper and had overriding responsibility. He chose the sailplan and where to go and when to reef,\u201d Vic explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day he would discuss the weather and the bigger picture and he really took into account that we were nervous and wanted time to learn. He was very conservative and it was all about doing things properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sunset\n

Sunset mid-ocean on the 72ft SV Sea Dragon. Photo: PanExplore.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For the couple, the great advantage of this approach is that \u201cwe know everything equally. We\u2019ve both been beneficiaries of the same training and come from the same position because of how we tackled it,\u201d says Mike.<\/p>\n

Considering their equipment choices, Vic says that some recommendations initially seemed excessive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re not a sailor, you wonder why you are recommended to take so many sails.\u201d Along with the high-cut yankee, blade jib, staysail and Code 0, Zenobia carries an Elvstrom bluewater runner sail. \u201cThat was brilliant \u2013 we had it up most of the 17 days,\u201d says Mike.<\/p>\n

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

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40 years of the ARC: The evolution of a transatlantic icon<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/header>\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\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n