Mood before the ARC start: flag parade of the crews
For many sailors, it is still the fulfillment of a lifelong dream: crossing the Atlantic. Most of the German crews undertaking this sailing milestone opt for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), which starts racing across the pond with yachts from all over the world. For years it has established itself as an entry point into blue water sailing for European crews and continues to register increasing registrations, so that the organizer now has to keep waiting lists.
Also this year, on Sunday, 225 yachts from 25 nations, including 34 German crews, will set out on the approximately 2700-mile route from Gran Canarin to St. Lucia. And the trend towards ever larger ships is unbroken: the average yacht is now 46.6 feet long.
The pre-start phase of the rally began on Sunday with the large parade of participants. Over the course of the week, the crews passed the safety checks of the organizer World Cruising, stashed huge amounts of supplies, carried out final repairs on board and prepared for emergencies at sea in safety seminars. Those who want to follow the progress of the field live will find daily reports from tomorrow from the crew of the German yacht LLuna ", which accompanies the rally and puts news and photos on the YACHT homepage via satellite connection.