ARC+ start delayed due to adverse weather conditions
by World Cruising Club 5 Nov 20:03 UTC
ARC+ 2026 fleet in Las Palmas Marina © Jesus de Leon
The first leg of the Rally was due to leave Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to the Cape Verde islands on Sunday 8 November, but two low pressure weather systems close to the Canary Islands are set to cause atypical conditions on the planned departure date. It is forecast that participants would experience strong south westerly winds when leaving Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, rather than the more typical northerly breezes.
The new planned start date for the Rally is Wednesday 11 November, but World Cruising Club will continue to monitor the forecast closely to make the best possible decision about a start date.
World Cruising Club meteorologist, Eric Holden, provided a synoptic overview, outlining the detail behind World Cruising Club's decision.
"A large 1037mb area of high pressure north of the UK continues to block the jet stream and is causing low pressure systems to back up in the Atlantic and push farther southeast than is usual.
"1001mb low pressure is deepening over the Azores, where one typically expects high pressure at this time of year, and it will slowly drift to the southeast under the high over the coming days (T+24-96).
"This low will bring increasing southwest winds towards the Canaries on Saturday ahead of an approaching cold front expected to pass over the Canaries on Sunday, with gale force winds possible.
"This second and smaller low will track northeast across the Atlantic and may impact the Canaries with gales towards the middle of next week. The timing and strength of this low has a high level of uncertainty.
"Predictions in the long range beyond this weather system has low certainty, and further low pressures may follow behind this system before high pressure and trade winds return towards the following weekend."
Earlier this week, Eric also delivered a weather seminar to the participants of the ARC+, helping them to better understand typical weather patterns in the Atlantic Ocean. Every year, World Cruising Club delivers similar seminars across a range of topics, with the goal of preparing the fleet in the best possible way for the crossing.
Ultimately, it is the decision of each skipper when they choose to set sail, so if some participants wish to leave Las Palmas de Gran Canaria earlier than the planned start, they are entitled to do so. If they do choose to leave earlier than the planned start, they will still receive the normal at-sea support during the ARC+.
Speaking after the decision to delay the ARC+ start, World Cruising Club Managing Director, Paul Tetlow said: "The decision to delay the start of ARC+ is not something we have taken lightly, but ultimately the primary concern of World Cruising Club is the safety of our participants.
"During the last week, we have been monitoring the weather forecast very closely, together with our experienced meteorologist, Eric Holden. Based on the weather systems which are currently tracking across the north Atlantic, we feel to delay the start is the best decision we could make given the challenging circumstances.
"World Cruising Club has an experienced team who are prepared to implement contingency plans when they are required. We feel confident that despite these necessary changes we will still be able to provide first-rate support to our participants."
Although this delay was not in the original schedule for the Rally, in the scheme of the six-week Rally Programme, this small delay is a minor setback from the original plans. With more favourable winds expected after the revised start date, the fleet will likely make good progress once under way.
After this, the Rally is scheduled to restart in Mindelo in Cape Verde, where the fleet will sail a further 2150NM to the beautiful island of Grenada. Between now and then, World Cruising Club will provide professional support to each participant meaning that their experience during the Rally will be safer and hugely enjoyable.