Five Canadian boats are at the start line this year, more than ever before. Part of this is due to the fact that Quebec is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year. French yachtsmen have found a wonderful way to memorise the event by setting up a rally from La Rochelle to Quebec, called La Grande Traversée (The Big Crossing).

After the festivities the French boats had to return home so they were joined by a couple of Canadian boats in the Le Retour Aux Sources Rally (Back to the Roots). The yachts crossed the Atlantic together in July and after a prolonged stopover in the Azores, they headed to La Rochelle where the celebrations continued.

Cat Mousses, the Privilege 39 owned by the Bourassa family from Quebec, was among this group and started its four year circumnavigation by joining the memorial event. In La Rochelle the children went to school for four weeks but then the family set sail to head south. They cruised the French, Spanish and Portuguese coast and spent some time in Madeira.

In Las Palmas Cat Mousses looks forward to crossing the Atlantic again. Having done it already makes them feel very confident and takes a lot of the usual stress away. The four children: Antoine (5); Nicolas (7); Catherine (8) and Thomas (10) are enjoying the ARC programme and are very happy to have their parents all to themselves as they have been absent very frequently over the last few years working both in the Canadian Air Force and being sent to Kosovo or Afghanistan.

Skipper René and his wife Dany have thoroughly prepared the family cruise and have taken what they call pre-early retirement. After the four year long trip around the world on the trade wind route, they will nevertheless have to look for new jobs to pay for the education of their four children, who until then will be taught on board.

Udluriaq (which means shining star in Inuit) was less lucky after the crossing with Le Retour Aux Sources. First André Huot and his wife Lise had to spend six weeks in La Rochelle because of technical problems with the boat, a CS 40, which had to be hauled out of the water. Then, when they finally set sail again their engine continued to gave them more problems. Instead of visiting Madeira, which was their initial plan, they ended up cruising along the coast. In Port Simao their engine was finally repaired. After all this bad luck, the Huots are looking forward to sailing the ARC with two friends and to spending the sailing season in the Caribbean before slowly and leisurely returning home to Quebec.

For Pierre Bouchard on Chandelle it will be the first Atlantic crossing. He and his partner Celine Blais purchased an OVNI 435 with Alubat. At first they wanted to have the boat shipped to Canada. But friends encouraged them to attend some seminars and afterwards the couple went to Les Sables d’Olonnes in May to take possession of the yacht. They got married in June and set sail only accompanied by their two lovely cats. For the Bouchards it was a series of firsts: The first experience of offshore sailing; the first thunderstorms at sea and the first really big waves. But they mastered everything doublehanded and got more and more confident. Having cruised all summer in the Med, they now look forward to the Atlantic crossing. After the ARC they plan to sail around the world but they will have to avoid countries that won’t let them enter with the two cats. Celine does not want to be separated from them. As she is a professional translator, she wants to continue to work freelance, while Pierre will meticulously look after the boat as a whole cabin has been transformed into a workshop. Being very well prepared and sailing a strong aluminium yacht, there doesn’t seem to be any obstacles to make their prolonged honeymoon a happy one.

Windancer IV is another family boat. Skipper John MacKenzie sailed the Lagoon 440 catamaran with ARC Europe to the Azores where he was joined by his wife Ziggy and the two kids Connor and Jennifer. The MacKenzies from Egmont are taking a sabbatical and are trying to get the most out of it. After having explored the French, Spanish and Portuguese Coast, they spent some lovely months sailing in the Med with fantastic sightseeing, before heading South to the Canary Islands. After the ARC they will be able to fully enjoy the sailing season in the Caribbean before John and Ziggy will have to go back to their jobs in July. For the family it is the first occasion to spend so much time together and they all enjoy it enormously.

Lawrence Lambert’s huge catamaran Papillon was launched in La Rochelle in early May. The Lamberts then sailed the Eleuthera 60 down to Gibraltar and sailed in the Med. They spent the summer in Greece but were a bit disappointed about the ever-changing winds and hope to find more stable conditions when they arrive in the Caribbean. After the ARC, the plan is to cruise some months and then to set sail for Panama. After the transit of the Canal, Papillon will sail along the Mexican coast and head slowly home. For the ARC they will be joined by their son and his wife plus another couple of very experienced sailors. Papillon’s home port is Ladysmith on Vancouver Island.Features content .