As the season moves on, it is time to start thinking about the passage to Europe. ARC Europe makes the Atlantic crossing from West to East along the traditional sailing route, visiting the exotic and remote destinations of Bermuda and the Azores.
The ARC Europe 2014 fleet already stands at 28 boats, which is a great number at this early stage. Around half of the boats have taken part in World Cruising Club events before, including the recent ARC, so for many boats this will be a reunion. Being a smaller rally the charm of ARC Europe is that it’s impossible not to quickly form relationships with everyone else participating and with entries from 11 different nationalities it will be a fun event!
There are two starts to the rally on May 3rd. The majority of the fleet are returning European yachts starting in the Caribbean from Nanny Cay, in the BVI. There are also currently six yachts that will start from Ocean Marine Yacht Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, World Cruising Club host port on the USA’s East coast. Many of these are US based yachts setting off with the possibility of spending the next couple of years cruising in the Mediterranean.
Adhering to the ethos of safe and social cruising there are plenty of pre-departure activities in both start ports, designed to help crews to prepare for their journey, but also to relax and mingle. Bermuda is where the two fleets combine, hosted as always by the St. George's Dinghy and Sports Club. Commodore Lacey Jennings looks forward to welcoming all the crews who can look forward to meeting one another through an excellent social programme aswell as time allowed to explore ashore.
The restart from Bermuda sends the whole fleet on the 1800NM leg to Horta in the Azores. The Azores is truly a beautiful landfall and well worth exploring not only because of the changing scenery from island to island but also for the people. Of the nine islands that make up this remote archipelago, crews have the opportunity to visit five of them during the fascinating Azores Cruise.
The final leg from the Azores takes most yachts to the finish at Marina de Lagos, on the south coast of Portugal, with others often heading direct to their northern European home ports. The Marina de Lagos is a welcome finish and their first class facilities are a fine ending to an atlantic crossing and six week cruise.
There is still time to sign up if you are interested in joining ARC Europe 2014, contact us. Otherwise keep checking in to follow all of the action through the stories, photos and log books aswell as Yellowbrick tracking from the yachts at sea.