After a phenomenal 2,800 mile passage in typical tradewind (read 'fast') conditions, Vaquita (AUT) arrived in St. Lucia yesterday (Friday) afternoon. The Akilaria 40 is the first boat to cross the finish line in the Racing Division, over a day ahead of their nearest competition.

After 11½ days at sea, it was a spectacular finish for the first two ARC boats to cross the line in Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia last night, with just over an hour separating the two very different boats.

With favourable conditions for the entire crossing, the Franco-Russian team on mighty 28.7m super-maxi Med Spirit (ex Bols) worked hard to keep up with ARC 2011’s only trimaran, transatlantic race veteran Alain Delhumeau's 15.2m lightweight Rayon Vert, who had taken the lead from the start in Las Palmas on Sunday 20 November.

White the front runners are experiencing light airs as they close Saint Lucia, most of the fleet have had classic tradewind squalls, bringing 25-30 knots of wind at unexpected times.  The upshot is lots of sail handling as reefs are tucked in and out, gybing and a fair amount of spinnaker stiching too.

The photo shows Lone Star (USA) sailing under classic tradewind rig

With the leading bunch of boats within 24 hours of Saint Lucia (if the winds hold) it is possible that Thursday will bring a new ARC record to beat the 2006 record set by maxi Capricorno (ITA) of 11 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 30 seconds.  Rayon Vert (FRA) and Med Spirit (RUS) are both within striking distance - it could be close!

Elsewhere in the fleet the last few days have seen some classic tradewind sailing (including classic sail repairs!), epicurian feasts and challenges to riddles and chess.  All spiced up by a rolling sea.

The picture shows the crew of Bandido (USA) 'toughing it out' at about 1500nm behind the front runners.  They may not be first in, but it looks like they're enjoying the crossing!

Life onboard  means a learning curve for most ARC crews, whether they've sailed together before or not, an Atlantic crossing always provides opportunities to learn new skills.

A good number of boats are practicing their celestial navigation, especially in the current dark nights which provide a great opportunity to see stars and planets clearly.  Onboard Island Wanderer (GBR), celestial nav practice is paying off: "The sextant has reported a position to within 5 miles of the GPS, so no reason to believe that the GPS system is inaccurate!"

The photo shows concentration at the helm of Clearlake II (GBR) as they race along under spinnaker

Today's story is inspired by Eleanda, one of the SSB radio net controllers

Every boat who checked in to the net yesterday morning was asked by Nigel, the duty net controller, if they had a particular story to tell, beside their position and the wind direction. Three topics came up: food, fishing and equipment failure.

The ARC fleet have been doing their best to avoid a wind hole, and most have been making good progress, despite the light airs.    Most boats are now making 6 kn+ and all but a few are now heading towards the rhumb line.  Rayon Vert (FRA) remains out in front, closely followed by Phaedo (USA), Vaquita (AUT), Rothmans (SWE) and Med Spirit (RUS).  At only 40', Vaquita shows that size isn't everything!

Elsewhere in the fleet fishing, baking and sail plans have been to the fore, and the inveitable limerick competition is underway on the radio net.

The photo shows Vaquita speeding along.

Happy Thanksgiving to all 18 American ARC 2011 boats, and to all the US crews sailing in the ARC this year. 

Special hello  to Bandido, Brizo, Carrick, Delphini, Destiny, Engelen, Glass Slipper, Grateful Red, Integrity, La Palapa, Lone Star, Minaxi, Mustang, Oceanica, Persevere, Phaedo, Sapphire II and Uxorious IV.

The photo shows Destiny (USA) just after the start in Las Palmas.

Days one to four have seen the crews settling into at-sea routines, trying to hone their fishing skills, and some fine onboard cookery. 

Read on for a round-up from the boats.  Don't forget that you can read the boat blogs in their own words here: http://www.worldcruising.com/arc/dailylogs.aspx and clicking on the boats you are interested in.

The picture shows the prize catch on Aztec Dream (GBR)

View pictures from ARC2011 - more added as the event progresses! http://www.flickr.com//photos/worldcruising/sets/72157627744854907/show/

Or click through to see the slideshow.

The 26^th Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) set sail today from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, bound for Saint Lucia.  A brisk northerly wind and blue sky provided perfect conditions for a downwind start and a swift departure for the first part of the passage across the Atlantic.  217 boats and 1,188 people, including 26 aged under 18, are sailing in this year’s edition of the world’s most popular transocean rally.

Its a breezy morning in Las Palmas marina and last minute preparations are taking place onboard some of the yachts, while others enjoy a relaxing breakfast.

The winds promise a brisk downwind start - we expect many of the racing divisions will be flying spinnakers.

Read on for Chris Tibbs' forecast.

ARC met-man Chris Tibbs gives a start day weather forecast and an outlook for the first week of sailing.
Watch the video on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/worldcruising or click through to the next page

The ARC Facebook page has doubled in size this week to over 1,000 'likes' - join in the chat and info at www.facebook.com/arcrally

The barometer was 1018mb at 0900 Friday.

The Azores high is situated near 34N40W at 1026mb, this is giving a moderate N-NE flow around the Canary Islands. A weak cold front will cross the islands tomorrow bringing an increase in cloud and the chance of showers. There will be long sunny spells today and a maximum temperature of 25C.

It's all fun and games for the children in the ARC fleet. Today they are busy making costumes for tonight's fancy dress/costume party. The grown up crews always enjoy it too. On the more serious side of the social programme, participants joined expert lecturers at various seminars.

Moderate trade winds forecast for first few days of the ARC crossing as the Azores high stays in place.

With only a few days to go before the start on Sunday, there's lots happening around the marina, on the boats and around the ARC office. With 14 boats still to arrive, crews are making the most of the activities on the ARC programme.

ARC 2011 is really on a roll now with last night’s official welcome celebrations setting the scene here in Las Palmas.

ARC activities on Wednesday were a great success, with 18 children taking part in the Family Barbecue and another popular Sunset Rendezvous, sponsored by Embotelladora Canarias and supported by Hermanos Alonso.

Waren im vergangenen Jahr recht wenig deutsche Boote bei der ARC 2010 dabei, so segeln dieses Jahr weit mehr Yachten unter schwarz-rot-goldener Flagge: Es sind 26 an der Zahl, die zweitgrößte Teilnehmergruppe nach den Briten. 4 Meldungen aus Österreich und 3 aus der Schweiz runden das Bild der deutschsprachigen Flotte in Las Palmas ab.

Over 250 people came to the Vela Latina basin at the south end of the marina for the ARC's first party last night - the Rolnautic Welcome Fiesta. 

The first ARC2011 Sunset Rendezvous took place last night in the Federacion Vela, next to the ARC Offices.
Over 100 people enjoyed a range of meats and Canarian potatoes courtesy of JP Butchers.

The ARC Office in Las Palmas marina opened for early check-in today, and 26 boats took advantage of the short queues to get their paperwork sorted.

The office will be open on Satuday 5 November from 0900-1800, again for early check-ins.

Closed on Sunday 6, and the full ARC Information Centre and Shop will be open on Monday 7.

The photo shows Rune Borsting from Exquis (NOR) checking-in with Annika.

Every year there are junior ARC crews making the 2700nm passage alongside their parents.  This year there are 22 children aged under 16 sailing in the ARC - not quite as many as the record-breaking 41 last year - but all very welcome!

Las Palmas marina always tries to berth the family boats close together - boat size permitting - which helps the children to make friends, and we have lots of special family and children's activities planned.

ARC2011 will be a real record-breaker, with 30 multihulls at the start.  This will make the ARC the biggest-ever transocean sailing event for cruising catamarans; we're trying to get this record ratified by Guinness World Records.

A quarter of the ARC 2011 fleet is now in Las Palmas marina, with others scattered through the Canary Islands and mainland Europe.  Some boats are stuck in the English Channel with gales - hope they get to us in time!

Calling all ARC budding photographers!

We'll be offering all ARC skippers and crew the opportunity to submit their photographs for our ARC 2011 photo competition.  The aim is to capture in pictures what life is like on board your boat, and what the ARC means to you. 

Last year's winner was Tony Price, who sailed on Maymio; his winning sunset picture was used on the cover of the Spring World Cruising Club Magazine.  The picture below was taken by Thomas Wittson Bjolmer of a wash-down on board Honningpupp II.

If you're taking a Parasailor on the ARC, or just interested in this innovative sail, then there is a great instructional video made by Parasailor USA in Florida that shows how to make the most of this sail.
Click through to watch the video.

Now is the time to start planning what happens after the ARC and the 2011-12 Caribbean sailing season.  If you're not laying-up the boat in the Caribbean, you're probably sailing home or shifting your cruising area away from the hurricane season.  Rather than simply making this a delivery passage, you can carry on cruising with World Cruising Club rallies.

ARC Europe sails from Tortola BVI to mainland Europe via Bermuda and the Azores - great opportunities for extended cruising and good flight connections for crew changes.

Atlantic Cup sails from Tortola BVI to Hampton VA and east coast ports, also via Bermuda.  This is a friendly way for north American boats to sail home, or for European boats to set a US cruise.

ARC 2011's oldest yacht, Cruinneag III (GBR), has been flying the ARC flag at the Palma de Majorca Classics Regatta, and will keep flying it for the rest of the classics this season - Mahon, Sardinia, Monaco, Cannes and St Tropez.

Don't forget that if you fly your ARC flag, you could be eligible for a discount in selected European marinas.  Read on for more information.

The first ARC 2011 boat has arrived in Las Palmas!  Sweden Yachts 36 Engelen (USA), skippered by Matthew Haarsager, received a warm welcome from the Muelle Deportivo staff on 25 July after a passage from Gibraltar.

Whether you are sailing in the ARC in 2011, if you've completed the event in the past or are just daydreaming, you can meet like-minded sailors on our Facebook page.  www.facebook.com/arcrally

Stop Press!  The ARC 2011 entry list has now reached the magic 225 entries and we are now running a waiting list for all entrants.  Last year all boats on the waiting list were offered a place in ARC 2010, although some had to wait until late summer.  If you want to join the ARC in 2011, please make an entry and we'll put you on the waiting list.