ARC and ARC+ 2025 season underway as boats gather in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

ARC and ARC+ 2025 season underway © World Cruising Club

Anticipation for the ARC and ARC+ is building as boats from around the world are gathering in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

These iconic sailing rallies, organized by World Cruising Club, will see over 1200 participants complete crossings of the Atlantic Ocean, and this year will be particularly special as 2025 marks the 40th edition of the ARC.

The ARC+ will leave Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 9 November, sailing 850 NM to the southwest towards Mindelo in the Cape Verde Islands. After completing this leg of the journey, participants will take some time to explore, refresh and replenish supplies, before setting off on 21 November to sail 2150 NM to Grenada in the Caribbean.

The ARC will leave Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 23 November, and participants will sail 2700 NM to Saint Lucia. Since the first edition of the ARC in 1986, over 7000 boats have taken part in the rally.

Boats of all shapes and sizes

This year, there are a total of 89 entries for ARC+. The largest boat taking part in ARC+ is Anastasia (JEY), a Fountaine Pajot Alegria 67 (20.36M), and the smallest boat is Restless of Stornoway (GBR), a Rustler 36 (10.77M).

Participating in the ARC+, there will be 58 monohulls, 28 catamarans and 3 trimarans. The most common builds of boat are Fountaine Pajot (7), Lagoon (6) and Oyster (6).

This year, there are currently 150 entries in the ARC. The smallest boat participating in ARC 2025 is Heartbeat2 (DEU), a JPK 10.30 (10.34M) and the largest boat participating is Vantanera (MLT), a Wally (30.6M).

Participating in the ARC, there are 117 monohulls, 31 catamarans and 2 trimarans. The most popular boats are Oyster (13), Beneteau (11) and Swan (10).

A diverse fleet

One of the undoubtedly special aspects of the ARC and ARC+ is the diversity of participants. Every year, sailors from around the world take part and there is an impressive age range between participants.

In the ARC+ fleet, over 400 sailors will take part, sailing on boats from 27 countries. The country with the highest number of entrants is United Kingdom (21 boats), Germany (8 boats), then United States of America (7 boats).

ARC+ participants range from 1-71 years old and a record breaking number of 52 children are due to participate in this year's ARC+ rally. The number of children taking part this year is a significant increase from 2024 where 37 children took part.

In the ARC, over 750 sailors are set to take part, sailing on boats from 31 different countries. The country with the most entrants is United Kingdom (51 boats), followed by Germany (12 boats) and France (10 boats). 11 children are due to participate, and the age range of participants spans from 6-80 years old.

The 40th edition of the ARC

2025 is the 40th edition of the ARC, and World Cruising Club will use this as an opportunity to enhance the programme in several ways to create a fitting spectacle to commemorate this significant milestone.

Gran Canaria locals are encouraged to be as involved as possible with public shoreside events such as opening ceremony parades, as well as spectating the ARC and ARC+ starts from the marina wall. 2025 will also see the return of the ARC dinghy race, which is a fantastic social activity taking place just after the ARC opening ceremony on 16 November.

Additionally, World Cruising Club will be introducing the new initiatives of 'ARC Radio' and 'ARC Live'. ARC Radio (commencing 10 November) will broadcast music, as well as ARC information and interviews, 24/7 from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Meanwhile, ARC Live (commencing 18 November) will take the form of daily live events up to 90-minutes, including a live broadcast from the start. Both initiatives are set to connect the global sailing community to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, providing a means for people from around the world to be part of the growing anticipation before the start.

In less than one month, all ARC and ARC+ sailors will be at sea, bound for the Caribbean. For many sailors this is a 'bucket list' adventure and there is no doubt that their trips will provide a lifetime of memories.