With little over a month now until the start of ARC Europe & ARC USA on May 9th yachts will be closing in on the two start ports of Nanny Cay in the BVI and Portsmouth, Virginia. Since January entries have continued to come in thick and fast, with a waitlist even having to be set up to control numbers. 44 yachts are currently entered in ARC Europe and 21 in ARC USA! This is certainly the busiest year to date and we are excited by the increased popularity of the rallies.
ARC Europe & ARC USA in 2014, expect an even bigger crowd in 2015!
There will again be a combined program in Nanny Cay and Bermuda for both ARC Europe and ARC USA yachts making for an even busier and exciting time. The majority of the ARC USA fleet will also be sailing to Bermuda before making their way to ports on the East coast of America. An alternative route sails the Old Bahama Channel direct to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
The ARC Europe start from Portsmouth has had a great take up with 7 yachts starting their crossing from our hosts Ocean Marine Yacht Center. In Bermuda a further 6 yachts join the rally, after having made their way independently from ports such as the Bahamas and Florida.
With yachts coming in from all directions it is in in Bermuda that we welcome all of the crew together for the first time. Our hosts the St. George's Dinghy & Sports Club, and Commodore Lacey Jennings, look forward to welcoming everyone and invite all crews (and local club members) to their “Pirate Party”, a pirate theme costume party on Saturday 16th May. Expect a fun evening, plenty of Jack Sparrows, music from DJ ‘King Arthur’ & Gosling's rum cocktails. Start planning your costumes now and try to beat Peter Von Danzig - pirate champions from 2013!
ARC Europe and ARC USA brings together an international mix of boats and crew and we look forward to seeing some familiar faces from previous rallies such as the recent ARC and World ARC. In particular we look forward to welcoming those joining a WCC rally for the first time.
Have a great Easter weekend and see you all in May!