THE JANUARY EVENT IS A NEW ADDITION TO THE ATLANTIC RALLY FOR CRUISERS PORTFOLIO.
World Cruising Club has announced an exciting new addition to their Atlantic crossing portfolio of rallies with the launch of ARC January, sailing from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Rodney Bay Saint Lucia in 2022. Responding to the enthusiasm of cruising sailors wishing to sail with the safety and social benefits of being part of the world-renowned Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, the new route choice has been created to offer further capacity to the over-subscribed November departures, offering a further 75 yachts and 400 crew the opportunity for a superb tradewind crossing in the New Year.ARC January will set sail from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Sunday 9th January 2022, allowing crews to enjoy Christmas and New Year in Europe before setting off on their Atlantic adventure. The new ARC January rally will follow the classic route, direct from Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia, and boats can expect a fast passage in well-established tradewinds, with less risk of calms during the crossing. For participants, the new rally will include all the activities, seminars, and social functions before the departure, which cruisers have come to expect from the ARC, and a special Saint Lucian welcome that thousands of sailors who have sailed with the rally agree is well worth crossing an ocean for.
The office for ARC January will open in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Thursday 30 December, with participants enjoying New Year celebrations and making their preparations with a supported program of activities including seminars and safety checks. All yachts will be fitted with a satellite tracker for friends, families and fans to follow their progress on the 2,700nm passage to Saint Lucia. The World Cruising Club team, together with the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority and Events Company Saint Lucia will be anticipating arrivals at IGY Rodney Bay Marina from the end of January, with a warm welcome and ice-cold rum punch at the ready to mark the great achievement of sailing an ocean in a very special way. ARC January will conclude with a prizegiving party in Saint Lucia on Saturday 5th February.
Entries for the new route opened last month and thirty applications have already been received, with yachts ranging from 9m to over 22m. So far, participants represent sixteen different nations including the United Kingdom, USA, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. There will be no Racing Division, but a rally spirit of friendly competition, with yachts provided a handicap, and declaring their engine hours on arrival for results to be calculated.
Speaking about the launch of ARC January, Managing Director of World Cruising Club, Andrew Bishop, commented, “We have received a great response since launching the option to sail with ARC January, with 20% of the available places taken up in the first 24 hours. Following the disruption to many peoples cruising plans over the last 12 months, we have unprecedented demand from sailors eager to make their Atlantic Crossing with World Cruising Club and considering their feedback, launching the option to sail in early 2022 enables us to deliver an exciting rally to sail with the established tradewinds. Thanks to the continued support of our hosts in Gran Canaria and Saint Lucia, we are looking forward to delivering a very special first edition in the spirit of the ARC, maintaining the unique atmosphere that has developed within the rally over the preceding 35 years.”
ARC January is one of three transatlantic routes organised by World Cruising Club crossing the Atlantic from East to West in the winter of 2021/22, under the ARC banner, which also includes ARC+ sailing via Cape Verde, and the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) which will celebrate its 36th edition in 2021.
To keep the ARC+ fleet together for their arrival into the Caribbean, Grenada has been chosen as the new destination for the two smaller ARC+ fleets, enabling the spirit of camaraderie to flourish throughout the event. It is anticipated that these yachts will then cruise north enjoying stops in the many southern Caribbean islands, including Saint Lucia.
Saint Lucia remains the home of the ARC in the Caribbean, with both direct routes finishing on the island, and the ever popular World ARC starting and finishing there, with a fleet of 45 yachts expected to start in early January 2022.
