Inspired by his motto, ‘Never sleep. Life is too short. Push to the limit’, Andrea Neri and the all-Italian crew on Nessun Dorma (ITA) completed their very first transatlantic in style, achieving line honours in the 2023 ARC+ cruising rally on their Italia Yachts 15.98, aptly named after Puccini’s famous aria.

Published 10 months ago

Nessun Dorma crossed the finish line on Wednesday 29 November at 07:01:49 UTC (03:01 local time) at Quarantine Point, Grenada, after 2,334 nautical miles of ocean sailing from Mindelo, Cape Verde in 11 days, 18:01:49.

Hand steering and pushing all the way, the crew were tired but elated to be welcomed on the dock at Port Louis Marina by the World Cruising Club team. Rum punches and congratulations were in order!

“I’m the first one”, smiled Andrea Neri as he stepped ashore after 11 days at sea, adding, “We had a lot of wind some of the time and as we broke a gennaker, so we hand steered all the way to Grenada, which was hard-going and tiring, but we are very, very happy. We are pleased to arrive first and very happy to participate in the ARC+ and to arrive here on this beautiful island”.

After boisterous conditions on the first ARC+ leg from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Cape Verde, the rally’s second leg to the Caribbean was a tactical and navigational battle for the best breeze. Nessun Dorma set an early lead and despite a strong challenge from a handful of multihulls led by Marsaudon ORC50 Mongoose (USA) and Outremer 55.2 XIII Treize (FRA), Andrea Neri’s team worked hard to maintain their advantage.

The next arrivals into St George’s Grenada were expected from noon UTC on November 29. The first multihull was expected to be Marsaudon ORC50 Mongoose (USA) skippered by Christopher Murray, followed by Outremer 55-2 XIII Treize (FRA) and sistership Fenix (FRA), then Outremer 51s Spirit (AUS) and Maracujar (FRA). The bulk of the fleet are expected into Port Louis Marina from 2-3 December.

The ARC+ 2023 fleet have enjoyed near-perfect trade wind conditions with sunshine, blue seas and moderate to gentle winds. Away from the front of the pack, the traditional ocean sailing activities of bread baking, fishing, wildlife spotting and spinning yarns have been supported by both a SSB net, and for the first time, a WhatsApp group for the third of boats in the fleet sporting Starlink.

Every ARC+ boat is fitted with the latest YB trackers, so you can follow the fleet on the YB Races app or on the Fleet Viewer on the rally website worldcruising.com/arc_plus.

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ARC+ Entry Statistics:

• Entries: 95 boats – 69 monohulls and 26 multihulls.
• Crews: 456 people aged from 8 months to 88 years.
• Children: 44 children aged 16 and under on board 20 boats.
• Nationalities: 24 countries are represented in the fleet, with roughly 30% from the UK.
• Smallest boat: First 31.7 Freebooter (FRA) at 9.85m(31.7’) and for multis, Moon Bird (NOR) a Fountain Pajot Mahe 36 at 11.03m. Approximately 10% of the fleet is under 12m.
• Largest boat: Amel 60 MRS G. (DEU) is 20.05m (60’) and is sailed by a husband-and-wife team. The largest multi is Nuvem Magica (FRA) a 17.98m Outremer 51.
• Just over 15% of the fleet have sailed with World Cruising Club in previous rallies. Four yachts will continue cruising with World ARC, starting in January 2024 from Saint Lucia.

General Information

• ARC+ departs from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 5 November 2023 and sails via Mindelo on Sao Vicente, Cape Verde to make final landfall at Port Louis Marina, Grenada.
• Gran Canaria to Cape Verde is 850NM (5-7 days) and Cape Verde to Grenada is 2150NM (12-16 days). There is a 4-6-day stopover in Mindelo, Sao Vicente, between the legs.
• ARC+ 2023 is sponsored by the Tourist Board of Gran Canaria and Pure Grenada the Spice of the Caribbean, and supported by the Port Authority of Las Palmas, the City Hall of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Mindelo Marina and Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina.
• ARC+ first sailed in 2013 and until 2020 sailed to Saint Lucia via Cape Verde. 2023 is the third year that the rally finishes in Grenada.

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General Enquiries:

For information about participating in the ARC or other World Cruising Club rallies, please contact mail@worldcruising.com or call +44 (0)1983 296060

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Related Links:

• ARC+ Website
• ARC+ Entry List
• World Cruising Club

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