Following high demand, World Cruising Club has announced a new alternative route option for ARC+ this November – ARC+ St. Vincent!

Published 6 years ago, updated 5 years ago

Demand for spaces on ARC+ (sailing from Las Palmas to Saint Lucia via Cape Verdes each November) has grown year on year since the inaugural event in 2013. After reaching capacity for the last two years, this year proved no exception; with a full entry list by mid-January and waitlist closed in the spring.

With the support of host marinas at the start in Las Palmas and the stopover in Mindelo, together with the addition of a new destination in the Caribbean, extra capacity is now being offered on the popular ARC+ route, with a second slightly later start and an alternative finish in St. Vincent.

ARC+ St. Vincent will set off from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Thursday 15 November, four days after the ARC+ start bound for Saint Lucia, with a full week of activities, seminars, and parties to enjoy before departure. Additionally, all the other pre-start ARC discounts are available to ARC+ participants, including the extensive marina discounts en-route to Gran Canaria, the rally handbook and crew-match service.

ARC+ St. Vincent sailors will be part of the ARC family at the start in Las Palmas, with the advantage of then being a smaller rally group. Arriving in Mindelo, on Sao Vicente, the 3 to 5-day stopover provides an opportunity to discover the local culture, lively nightlife and bustling food markets that make these islands a fascinating destination in their own right. ARC+ St. Vincent yachts will depart from Mindelo on Sunday 25 November, the same day as the main ARC start from Las Palmas, ensuring there will be plenty of other yachts sailing the Atlantic at the same time.

Nestled in Blue Lagoon Bay, Blue Lagoon Marina will host the fleet’s arrival in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It is an exciting opportunity for ralliers to pioneer a new destination and the idyllic bay with small marina boasts a warm Vincentian welcome complete with rum punch… Well worth crossing an ocean for! Being a new destination a new programme of activities is being developed in St. Vincent which will have the full support of Blue Lagoon Marina and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority.

Other benefits of sailing with an ARC rally will remain the same for ARC+ St. Vincent participants, including pre-departure safety checks, weather forecasts at sea, satellite tracking of each boat during the crossing, intra-yacht radio net and communication with ARC rally control for safety and fleet support messages. There will be the usual fun competition in the Cruising Division, for which the ARC is well known, but there will not be an IRC Racing Division.

Since entries opened, the new routes have proved popular with new ralliers as well as returners and, with entries limited to 25 yachts in 2018, those keen to pioneer the new route are encouraged to enter early to avoid disappointment!

Click here[Broken Link] to view the full itinerary.

Click here[Broken Link] to request an information pack.