The Racing Division in this years’ Atlantic Rally for Cruisers is shaping up to be one of the most diverse for some time as the ARC continues to attract racing professionals and amateur adventurers to race within the rally framework from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia. Each year, the Racing Division comprises of roughly 15% of the ARC’s overall fleet, with yachts of varying sizes, classes and nationalities, coming together to enjoy the unique atmosphere created by the world’s most popular transocean event.
Holding true to the spirit of the ARC, the IRC racing division is very much a Corinthian race, offering club level racing on a transatlantic course and as such attracts a broad range of boats and crews. Crews of charter guests on a “bucket list” race experience, get the chance to sail against professional crews, including veterans of the Volvo Ocean Race, and Olympic sailors, on this downwind ocean course.
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Many individuals eager for a taste of offshore racing life join charter boats which sail with the ARC as part of their migration to the Caribbean for the winter regatta season. Several charter boats return year after year, adding a personal level to the competition to better a previous year’s performance, and out-do rivals of a similar handicap. In 2014, there’s likely to be some friendly competition between two matched Beneteau First 47.7s
EH01 and
Gagarin and the smaller First 40s,
Southern Child and
Lancelot II. Ross Applebey’s Lightwave 48,
Scarlet Oyster will be looking for their fourth consecutive class win in IRC Class B.
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There is unfinished business for Volvo 70 Monster Project who will be back on the start line in Las Palmas on 23 November 2014. Andy Budgen’s crew were beaten in 2013 by Max Klink’s Knierim 65 Caro who smashed the ARC course record in the process. The record itself, currently standing at 10 days, 21 hours, 25 minutes and 10 seconds, is likely to be under serious threat from Farr 100 Leopard by Finland, Mike Slade’s super-maxi which has grown to become one of the most recognised racing yachts of recent times. Leopard is set to sail with a crew of 20 in ARC 2014, and has a considerable history of conquering Atlantic speed sailing records that will make her one to watch, albeit briefly, on this year’s Fleet Tracker.
French Pogo 10.50
Galahad is the smallest boat registered in the racing division to date and the sole race entry so far hailing from France. At 30 metres LOA,
Leopard by Finland dwarfs the majority of fleet and is twice the size of a typical family cruiser that joins the ARC.
The 2014 Notice of Race is available on the ARC website, and includes a specific change to classes, following feedback from competitors. The inclusion of IRC Hull Factor as a class parameter will allow the organisers to separate heavier displacement cruiser racers, from traditional racers and modern style “downwind flyers” when arranging the classes.
And what’s it like to race the Atlantic with the ARC? Summed up by the crew of Monster Project, in their final log of ARC 2013, “Overall the trip was a roaring success; a team of 17, 10 of whom had never sailed offshore, only 6 professional crew yet we were able to pull together to keep the boat going fast despite the very physically demanding conditions early on. Moments of pride include successfully working together to overcome such interesting challenges as dropping spinnakers in torrential night-time rainsqualls and retrieving burst kites on two occasions after the combination of breeze and sea-state proved a little too much. We were greeted on arrival by a friendly local in his boat and then by the welcome sight of the ARC yellowshirts bringing, tropical fruits and an ample supply of rum punch...”