 The Cruising Rally Association (CRA), best known as the organiser of the annual Caribbean 1500 Rally from Hampton VA to the British Virgin Islands, and World Cruising Club (WCC), organisers of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia, are joining forces to become the largest global organisation dedicated to the sport of passage-making.
 Cruising Rally Association has organised ocean sailing rallies and seminars for 21 years under the leadership of President and Founder Steve Black. “We are excited to be joining with the World Cruising Club whose size and international reputation will help ensure the long term continuation and success of the events we have worked for years to establish.”
With the addition of the Caribbean 1500 and its companion rallies and seminars to the WCC portfolio of sailing events, World Cruising Club expands its reach into North America. Managing Director Andrew Bishop added, “Our combined events will provide more opportunities for cruising sailors wishing to sail offshore in company, while strengthening safety standards and procedures and facilitating the sharing of knowledge and experience amongst cruisers. “
In addition to the ARC now in its 25th year, World Cruising Club organises the ARC Europe transatlantic rally which includes a US start; the trans-Biscay Rally Portugal; and the biennial round the world rally, World ARC. Cruising Rally Association operates the Atlantic Cup from the BVI to Bermuda as well as the Caribbean 1500. Both organizations offer seminars to assist participants preparing for offshore passages. World Cruising Club’s website www.noonsite.com is a global resource for cruising sailors, unique one-stop website providing essential information on all maritime nations of the world.
Black, a veteran trans-oceanic single handed passage-maker, plans to continue his work with WCC and to continue cruising and racing aboard his 42’ Simonis designed sloop. Future CRA rallies will continue to be organised and run from the combined organization’s US office, providing continuity and support for American participants.
For more information on future rallies and seminars, visit www.carib1500.com and www.worldcruising.com
About Cruising Rally Association:
The Cruising Rally Association, founded in 1990 by Steve Black, manages a year-round calendar of offshore cruising rallies and Ocean Sailing Seminars. Over 750 cruisers and future cruisers attend the CRA events each year. Black has sailed in all parts of the Atlantic, including three solo transatlantic races and more than 40 rallies. He served as executive director of the US Sailing Association before founding the Cruising Rally Association which he has headed for the last 21 years.
About World Cruising Club:
Based in the famous yachting port of Cowes, UK, World Cruising Club specialises in organising cruising rallies for sailing yachts on a worldwide basis. Best known event in the World Cruising Club portfolio is the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), an annual rally for cruising yachts which has been crossing the Atlantic since 1986. Since then well over 4,000 boats from scores of countries have taken part in World Cruising Club events, looked after by a specialist team of personnel in every port en route. The concept of the ARC, safety and fun across oceans, has been expanded into other rallies, including the first round the round the world cruising rally in 1992, as well as shorter passage making rallies in Europe.
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