Advanced Rigging & Hydraulics takes technical support across the Atlantic with ARC 2026

by Susannah Hart 3 Oct 07:27 UTC

Advanced Rigging & Hydraulics General Manager Tom Cload to support ARC crews in Las Palmas before joining client yacht Pearlfisher as co-skipper for the Atlantic crossing

Hamble-based Advanced Rigging & Hydraulics (AR&H) is taking its support for the bluewater sailing community one step further this autumn, as General Manager Tom Cload prepares to join a client's crew for the 2026 ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers).

As part of AR&H's partnership with World Cruising Club, Cload will travel to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ahead of the rally start to provide specialist rigging advice and technical support to participating skippers and crews.

He will host two seminars during the ARC pre-departure programme: the first covering essential rigging checks and maintenance before setting sail, and the second focusing on what crews should monitor during the Atlantic crossing. Cload will also visit participating yachts in the marina, offering practical advice and answering last-minute questions ahead of departure.

Once his official partnership commitments are complete, Cload will swap shoreside support for life at sea, joining the five-person crew of his client Donald Kingsnorth's Oyster 62, Pearlfisher, for the 2,700NM passage to Saint Lucia.

Acting as co-skipper, it will be Cload's first Atlantic crossing. "When Donald asked me to join Pearlfisher for the ARC, I was delighted to accept," he says. "We've sailed and raced together on a number of occasions, and having worked closely on the yacht's refit, I know Pearlfisher and her systems extremely well.

"Supporting owners preparing for offshore and ocean sailing is a significant part of what we do at Advanced Rigging & Hydraulics, so the opportunity to take that experience all the way across the Atlantic is particularly valuable.

"On a personal level, crossing the Atlantic under sail has long been on my bucket list, so I'm extremely grateful to my colleagues at AR&H and across the Ancasta Group for making it possible for me to take advantage of such an exciting opportunity."

Kingsnorth comments: "I'm really thrilled that Tom has agreed to join us as co-skipper on this adventure across the Atlantic. Over the last couple of years, he's become a good and trusted friend, and his experience and detailed knowledge of the boat will be invaluable. He's worked closely with me to achieve this major refit which I could not have done without his and AR&H's sound advice and attention to detail.

"Over the years I've sailed and raced boats of most sizes and delivered boats for friends into the Med, but like Tom, this will be my first crossing of the Atlantic. To be part of the ARC 2026 and supported by AR&H is a very enticing prospect, and I can't wait for it to start."

Built in 2001, Pearlfisher was the first Oyster 62 and has undergone a substantial refit with AR&H and Ancasta Yacht Services - both part of the Ancasta Group - since Kingsnorth acquired the yacht two years ago.

The comprehensive programme has modernised Pearlfisher and prepared her for Kingsnorth's ocean-going ambitions. Work has included a complete re-rig with rod rigging; a new custom furling boom and mainsail system with electric drive and remote operation for safe handling from the cockpit; custom davits and a tender upgrade; full tank and power monitoring systems; upgraded electronics and Starlink installation; a Remoran hydrogenerator; and two watermakers.

The refit brings together the specialist rigging expertise of AR&H with the wider engineering and technical capabilities available through Ancasta Yacht Services, creating a yacht equipped for extended offshore cruising.

Pearlfisher and her crew are due to depart Las Palmas with the ARC fleet on 22 November, with the aim of completing the crossing in under three weeks - arriving in plenty of time for the ARC prize-giving on Saturday 19 December, and for Cload to return home to celebrate Christmas with his family.

advancedrigging.co.uk