Whilst fundamentally a fun rally for cruising yachts, the ARC does have a more serious racing division, run for many years under the auspices of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC). Yachts in the racing divisions are not permitted to use their engines for propulsion (unlike the cruisers), although use of autopilots is allowed. Since its inception in 1986 the time taken for the fastest yacht to make the passage entirely by sail as fallen steadily, with the current course record being set in ARC 2006.
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