World ARC – Circumnavigate with World Cruising Club

Are you dreaming of tropical islands and faraway places? Are you wondering what to do after the ARC? Well, how about keeping the fun going with a round-the-world cruising rally – an ARC circumnavigation?

About World ARC

Starting from the Caribbean in January 2008, World ARC will offer all the fun of the ARC, but take you on an adventure from the Caribbean, across the World’s great oceans on a circumnavigation of the globe.

Drawing on all our experience gained from organizing the very first round-the-world cruising rally – Europa’92, and four subsequent rallies, you will be in very capable hands. World ARC has been carefully planned using the most up-to-date routing information and the skills acquired over 20 years of running ocean sailing events.

Our detailed itinerary will enable participants to plan crew changes and boat maintenance. During the rally, a multi-lingual World Cruising Team will be in each port to look after participants ashore, whilst a safety and communications net will operate on each ocean stage. Weather and routing advice will be provided, and a World ARC website will track yacht positions and display news, yacht logs and images to enable your family and friends to share your great adventure.

Key Information

World ARC is open to monohulls with a minimum LOA of 38ft [11.58m], and multihulls between 38ft [11.58m] and 60ft [18.29].
Minimum crew requirement is two people onboard each yacht.
A range of safety and communications equipment must be carried. The requirements are detailed in the Entry Regulations available from World Cruising Club. – click here to receive a copy.
The rally will start in the Caribbean in January 2008. See the Itinerary for more detail on the route and timings.
What is included: canals, routing, weather etc
Full details of the entry fees and rally benefits are published in the Conditions of Entry – click here to receive a copy.

Itinerary

Click here to view the provisional route.

In the Right Place at the Right Time!

The route and timing of World ARC have been carefully chosen so as to benefit from the best weather conditions by planning to be “in the right place at the right time” and, at the same time, complete a circumnavigation in just over one year. Both the Pacific and the Indian Oceans will be crossed during the safest period and at the height of the favourable trade wind season. World ARC will avoid the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, where the political situation and security threats make the route dangerous for yachts. Instead, the rally calls at some of the most attractive destinations in the world, some of which will be visited for the very first time by an organized event.

Schedule

The route for World ARC is a mixture of open ocean stages, independent cruising and planned meetings along the route.

2008

Leaving from the Caribbean in January 2008, the fleet sails to Panama, where the Canal transit will be organised, and then into the Pacific Ocean. From Panama we visit Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, famed for their unique wildlife. There is plenty of time to cruise through the idyllic islands of the south Pacific, where such evocative names as Hiva Oa, the Tuamotos, Tahiti, Bora Bora, the Cook Islands, Niue and Tonga, are on the route.

July sees the rally reach Fiji in the western Pacific, before a short crossing to the exotic volcanic islands of Vanuatu, and then Cairns, Australia. World ARC will incorporate a cruise inside the Great Barrier Reef, before regrouping for the leg across the top of Australia to Darwin and the start of our Indian Ocean stage.

From Bali, we call at the remote islands of Cocos-Keeling and Chagos to reach Mauritius in October. Then on via the French island of Reunion, to arrive in South Africa at Richards Bay, cruising slowly southwards to be in Cape Town for Christmas 2008.

2009

January 2009 sees us head out from Cape Town to Brazil, via the tiny mid-Atlantic island of St. Helena. From Salvador de Bahia, the route cruises north along the coast to Recife, where crews can enjoy the frenetic sights and sounds of Carnival Brazilian style. Late March sees yachts back in the Caribbean. Those heading home to Europe or the USA can enjoy some easy cruising north to Antigua, from where ARC Europe crosses the Atlantic in early May 2009.

Sightseeing

The route was planned in such a way as to give participants sufficient time to cruise independently in some beautiful areas such as Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Society Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Great Barrier Reef, South Africa and Brazil. Also included on the itinerary are some rarely visited islands such as Suworrow, Niue and Chagos. Time has also been allocated to allow for travel inland whilst the yachts are berthed in a safe marina, such as in Ecuador or Australia. Other places, which would have been difficult to include on the proposed route, can be visited by air e.g. Madagascar from Mauritius or Reunion, or New Zealand from Fiji. The two stops in Australia will provide enough time to visit the interior of that fascinating country while docked at Cairns, or to undertake maintenance work whilst in Darwin. Similarly, the long stop in South Africa, which had been dictated by weather considerations, makes it possible to visit one of the world famous nature reserves, and explore this fascinating country at a relaxed pace before spending Christmas in Cape Town.

Need More Time?

Those who find the pace too fast and may wish to spend longer in the South Pacific by opting out of the rally and sailing to New Zealand for the cyclone season, could do so by leaving the rally in Fiji or Vanuatu. They could return to the tropics the following April or May and rejoin the rally where they left, or perhaps in Cairns.

Entry Information

For full information on the Rally and entry requirements, please register your interest via our Contact Form, or contact World Cruising Club on +44 (0)1983 296060.

Preparations & Training

Good preparation is essential for a safe trip. For World ARC, there is a minimum skipper and crew training requirement, and certain safety and communications equipment must be carried. See the conditions of entry for full details.
World Cruising Club organises a series of seminars and training courses to help skippers and crews prepare for the rally.
Our training partner, Hamble School of Yachting, can also assist with a variety of training courses.
Further training resources and links are given in the participants forum and in our Safety at Sea forum.
Each participating yacht is required to carry certain safety and communications equipment as specified in the Conditions of Entry.