Bali’s friendly people, with their natural smiles, have welcomed travelers from around the world for centuries to share and celebrate their unique way of life. This way of life is related to Tri Hita Karana or a tripartite concept that includes the stong spiritual relationship between human and God, and their environment. Bali is indeed unique and the contrast observed by the World ARC fleet leaving from Darwin will be fascinating.

Located on the Timor Sea, Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, is the least populous of all Australia's capital cities with only 124.800 inhabitants. However, it has grown from a pioneer outpost and small port into one of Australia's most modern and multicultural cities. It's proximity to Asia makes it an important Australian gateway to countries such as Indonesia, the next stopover for World ARC, and East Timor. Having been almost entirely rebuilt twice, once due to Japanese air raids during World War II and again after being devastated by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve 1974, the city became one of the most modern capitals in Australia.

Thursday Island is only about 3.5 square kilometres (1.4 square miles) but is the most developed island in the Torres Strait group. It is located just north of the Cape York Peninsula, which is mainland Australia's most northern point. Thursday Island is also known as Waiben which means 'place of no water' - clearly this reflects an earlier age of no freshwater and ignoring the expanse of sea that surrounds the island. Culturally there is a fusion because the Torres Strait Islands are situated just south of Papua New Guinea and approximately 39 kilometres north (24 miles) off the Queensland's coast, leading to different influences than on the mainland.

The World ARC fleet is now reaching what is considered the half way mark of the itinerary, Australia. In a change to previous editions, the World ARC 2010/11 fleet will make landfall in the Queensland town of Mackay. This city, on the eastern coast of Queensland is about 970 kilometres (603 miles) north of Brisbane on the Pioneer River. The town is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar - that's a lot of sugar!

Whilst in Vanuatu several of the World ARC boats have managed to assist Project VEO- an international charitable organisation that aims to send school books and educational materials to the schools of Vanuatu. The project founder, Rowena Baines, is based in New Zealand and having realised the opportunity to make improvement in the schools in Vanuatu organised sailing yachts to help deliver the goods from New Zealand to Vanuatu.

Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands with a unique blend of intact tribal communities, resorts, beaches and geography ranging from accessible volcanoes to pristine underwater environments, offering unique and memorable experiences. Vanuatu boasts 113 distinct languages and innumerable dialects. This makes it one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth. This is the land of so much to see, so much to do with a reputation for interesting, fun and educational activities to suit any cruising sailors expectations.

Fiji, is blessed with 333 magnificent islands, some inhabited, but most of which are not. Its landscape is an idyllic mix of white sandy beaches, swaying coconut trees, pristine oceans and waterways and a range of things to do and see. But more then this Fiji has its people - smiling, generous, relaxed Fijians who greet everyone they meet with the famous and welcoming Bula.

The Vava’u Group in the Kingdom of Tonga is made of 50 islands, of which 13 are inhabited by a population of about 16.000, offering fantastic cruising through its protected waterways. Some islands are ringed by white sand beaches while others have tropical forests, sea-level caves, and dramatic limestone cliffs with breathtaking views.

Niue has an area of just 100 square miles, which is 2/3 the size of the Isle of Wight in the UK, the home of World Cruising Club. Niue is often referred to as the "Rock of Polynesia" or locally as "the Rock" . Its geology and geography is unusual amongst all the other Pacific Islands. It has steep rocky slopes with a reasonably flat plateau and so should offer a different landscape for World ARC participants to explore. The isolation of the island - there is only 1 international flight a week - means an interesting culture and a good interest in visitors that arrive to explore the islands.

Let's just call it Suwarrow! Although through the ages its names has been very much discussed and disputed. The origins of the nomenclature are in the Russian ship, the Suvarov, whose captain discovered the islands in the early 1800s. However, since becoming part of the larger Cook Island group, the anglicise version of its name has been adopted.

It is by no coincidence that the annual Tahiti Pearl Regatta coincides this year with the visit of World ARC 2010/11 to French Polynesia. The dates proposed by the Regatta organisers were discussed with World Cruising Club so that the World ARC fleet could enjoy a great social yachting regatta and the Regatta would benefit from additional international participation. Participants from the previous edition of World ARC, who took part in the Regatta, highly recommended it and so the 15 crews from this year’s World ARC have a lot to look forward to.

Tahiti is the largest and most populous island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The capital, Papeete, is located on the northwest coast. Papeete, meaning the "water basket", was once a gathering place where Tahitians came to fill their calabashes with fresh water.

During World ARC’s short stay in Hiva Oa, many of the fleet are taking the time to visit the Calvart Cemetery in Atuona. Within this burial ground lies the renown post-impressionist artist Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903) and the famous singer/songwriter, Jacques Romain Georges Brel (1929 – 1978).

Hiva Oa is the most easterly Ports of Entry in the Marquesas Island group and therefore of French Polynesia as a whole. It is also one of the most windward islands of the group, making it a necessary and practical place for the World ARC fleet to make landfall in French Polynesia.

The WARC fleet left the mainland and its heading to Baquerizo Moreno in San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands. This will be a unique experience for most part of World ARC participants.

After a successful transit through the Panama Canal, the World ARC fleet now begin an exciting and much-anticipated phase of their adventure. Over the next six months, they will slowly cruise across the Pacific Ocean towards Australia, stopping at some of the most remote and stunning places on the planet.

Report courtesy of World ARC boat Crazy Horse

We visited 3 of the more than 200 Las Perlas Islands located 30 miles south of Panama City. The first we visited was Isla Contadora. We anchored near the airport off the south side of the island after attempting to anchor off the north side, which was bumpy and unprotected. Bill and I never ventured ashore since we were decompressing after all the excitement of the Panama Canal and Panama City..

The Panama Canal is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Construction of the canal was one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. It has had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 km (6,000 miles), well under half the 22,500 km (14,000 mi) route around Cape Horn.

San Blas, an archipelago of nearly 400 islands, runs along the Caribbean coast of Panama, and is the first port of call for the World ARC 2010-11 yachts after their start from St Lucia.