ARC Season arrives in the Caribbean

Southern Wind 105GT No Rush (IMN) first yacht to cross the ARC 2024 finish line © Tim Wright / Photoaction.com

The ARC and ARC+ transatlantic rally yachts are arriving in the Caribbean. Both rallies started in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in November, with the ARC+ fleet sailing to Grenada via Cape Verde, and the ARC fleet sailing direct to Saint Lucia.

ARC+ to Grenada

The 94 yachts in the ARC+ rally sailed first to Mindelo in Cape Verde, before departing on 22 November bound for St George's, Grenada.

After more than 2,100 nautical miles, the first boats to cross the line in St George's Grenada delivered a clear one, two, three for Outremer catamarans crewed by families. First to finish on Tuesday 3 December was the Outremer 52 Salto (NOR) finishing after 11 days, 17 hours and 10 minutes. Salto is sailed by Henrik and Anne Vestnes, along with their three children, Sara (9), Vetle (6) and Birk (2), plus crew members Ola and Pernilla.

The Cook family's Outremer 55 Sizzle (GBR) was second with the youngest participant, 9-month-old Charlottle onboard, and third to finish was another Outremer 52, Appa (USA) with two youngsters in the crew.

"It was a nice feeling to sail my own boat to the Caribbean for the first time", explained Henrik of Salto. "It was a great achievement for us. It's great to arrive in Grenada and the children were really excited to finally finish the long crossing. It was a good trip for them; they enjoyed themselves, slept well and we had fun. We fished, played and baked Christmas cakes."

First monohull to finish was John McDonnell's electric-blue Solaris 74RS Luminous 3 (GBR) on 4 December, followed the same day by Xp-44 Born to Run (NOR) skippered by the rally's youngest skipper, 24-year-old Peder Stiansen. Born to Run also claimed line honours as the first boat to finish without any motoring, the young Norwegian co-owners making the most of every tactical decision to sail 2,264NM in 11 days, 21 hours, 31 minutes and 16 seconds.

ARC to Saint Lucia

On 24 November, 140 yachts departed Las Palmas de Gran Canaria direct to Rodney Bay in Saint Lucia.

The largest boat in ARC 2024, the Southern Wind 105GT No Rush (IMN), owned by Ghada Barsoum and skippered by Diogo Cayolla, was first to finish on Friday, December 6. Diogo explained, "We played it safe; we didn't want to risk any damage. We just wanted to cross and have a good experience." Despite the careful sail plan, the top speed was 22.6 knots; "It's a lot," added Diogo.

Also on Friday, Jean Philippe Blanpain's Vismara 62 Leaps & Bounds 2 (MLT) was the first IRC racing division yacht over the line, arriving in Saint Lucia after dark. The second racing division yacht was Matthias von Blumencron's JV43 Red 2 (CHE), logging 3,135NM in a fantastic 13 days, 22 hours, 8 minutes and 15 seconds. "We had great fun!" said Mathias.

Two Italian-flagged Swans were the first two finishers in the cruising division. Alessandro Fabbri's Swan 75 FD Maimai (ITA) crossed the line in Rodney Bay on Sunday 8 December, followed almost six hours later by Daniele Banchini's Swan 82 S Nazca 2 (ITA).

The close-fought tussle between the leading cruising multihulls was concluded late on Sunday night when the MC75 Jack (GBR) skippered by Morgan Hayes crossed the line just 30 minutes ahead of Laurent Chatelenat's Outremer 5X Addiction (CHE).

An hour and a half after Addiction, Christian Prié's Marsaudon ORC 57 Avel Vaez (FRA) rounded Pigeon Island and crossed the line just before 01:00 local time on Monday morning.

Crews coming ashore are rightly celebrating their achievement, but haven't forgotten the sad loss at sea last week of a crew member from Ocean Breeze. His family and friends remain in our thoughts.

Over the 2024 'ARC season', the 234 boats have experienced everything from classic tradewind sailing to strong squalls. Those still at sea are now looking at a period of lighter winds, with the last boats expected to arrive in Grenada on 11 December and in Saint Lucia around 21 December, in time for the prize-giving ceremony.

Follow the fleet on the YB Races app and on the fleet viewer on www.worldcruising.com