You could argue that best thing about the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) isn’t really the camaraderie, the energy, or even the excitement of taking on the big challenge of a transatlantic passage. It’s possible that next to the sailing itself, the best thing is the stories. It’s the way that hundreds of sailors young and old, veterans and newbies, embark on this shared experience yet have entirely singular adventures.
And every time one of them crosses the finish line in Rodney Bay in St. Lucia, wrapping up the 2,700-mile passage from Las Palmas in Gran Canaria in Spain’s Canary Islands, they are adding to the sea of stories that make this annual event a must-do for so many cruising sailors.
Consider Easter Snow, the Southerly 42 that entered the marina in the dark under tow, having lost its engine days earlier and wrestling a variety of challenges. No matter that they were among the final 20 boats to finish of the 155 that started—loudhailers blared and cheers erupted from the surrounding boats for brothers John and Richard Lambert and their two crew. It was their first transatlantic, all the sweeter for John, who made this crossing sailing with multiple sclerosis. He describes the illness as a race against time, and it made him launch himself into this adventure with a fair degree of abandon.
“I sailed 14 weeks straight before we even reached the start line. The physicality of it is difficult because I fatigue more easily and I’m affected by heat,” he said. “But what an adventure. If it even crosses your mind, you should absolutely do it.”
With its 40th year in the offing in 2025, the 2023 version of the ARC, which is organized and managed by the World Cruising Club (WCC), was by all accounts a good one with relatively benign and consistent conditions. Winds and seas were light at the November start, built throughout the passage, and finished with 30-knot squalls tearing at downwind sails that had been working hard for weeks. Most boats finished within about three weeks.
More than 900 participants from nearly 40 countries took part, and the vibe at the docks seemed different from when I last covered the finish in 2021. Back then, the pandemic had unleashed a fair number of lightly experienced thrill seekers looking to tick a box on a bucket list and move on, while the 2023 fleet seemed to attract a more thoughtful and knowledgeable set of sailors.
The United Kingdom was represented well with 47 boats, followed by Germany with 18. There were seven women skippers and one all-female boat from Sweden. The four-legged sailors this year were limited to one cat (on a cat) named Flash.
The first across the finish line was the British-flagged Berenice Cube, a Swan 90 with a time of 12 days, 13 hours, and 54 minutes. Helmed by Marco Rodolfi, this superyacht underscored how much bigger the participating boats have become. The average LOA in 2023 was 53 feet, with the smallest a Grand Soleil 34 and the largest a custom 105-footer. Multihulls continued to increase their numbers. Nearly 30% (44) were catamarans with one lone trimaran. The sailors were younger too, with more captains in their 30s and a total of 18 kids spread around 11 boats. The ages of the participants ranged from 11 months to 89 years.
The boats carried equipment from comfort items like refrigerators and washing machines to advanced navigation and communications electronics. It was a sea of Starlink antennas out there with an estimated 40% of the boats carrying the satellite devices. Paul Tetlow, the new managing director of the WCC, feels this is just the beginning in terms of 24/7 connectivity during the rally.
“We expect the number of boats with Starlink to double in the next year or two,” he says. “It’s really changed the ARC for better and worse, depending on how you look at it. Some people were able to work remotely and liked the connection with family back home and the rest of the fleet under way. Others felt it took them out of the moment and never let them unplug.”
Each boat experienced a different kind of rally on their crossing. Champagne Hippy, a pristine Oyster 825, had come across two turtles caught in a net so they hauled them aboard to cut them free, posting a video of the rescue operation via Starlink. Athena, a German Contest 50CS, celebrated a mid-voyage wedding that was a surprise to the bride. The groom had secretly packed a veil for her and a blazer and tie for himself.
In the end, it was all about the stories, and I caught up with a few of the crews to hear them.
Lulu – Passad 38 (Sweden) 22 days, 7 hours
Jodi and Magnus Andersson were tucked under the dodger enjoying their breakfast when I showed up. She’s an American but was working in Sweden when she met Magnus and started sailing with him after they were married. Magnus’ dream had always been to sail to Australia, and although initially Jodi may have been reluctant, she told him that if he installed a Mini brand washing machine onboard, she’d go around the world with him.
The washing machine materialized quickly, but it started a laundry list of projects that led Magnus to rebuild the boat. Washing up meant more power and a bigger inverter, which led to much larger batteries, solar panels, and a watermaker. That necessitated a more robust engine with a larger alternator, so he repowered. And that’s how Magnus learned every bolt in the boat.
Other than breaking two whisker poles at four in the morning in gusty winds, they had very few issues on their crossing. Their number one rule to keep the peace is, “what happens while docking, stays at docking.” Jodi made sure I knew they came in with all clean laundry and hadn’t even touched their emergency chocolate supply. “That,” she says, “is a sign of a good passage.”
Vitamin Sea – Lagoon 42 (Germany) 20 days, 3 hours
I caught up with Peter Hegemann as he was flying their enormous mainsail in the slip. “There’s a design flaw in the way the reefing lines are led on these cats,” he explained as he restrung it. “I wish I had brought a spare.”
Peter sailed with his wife, Doreen, and two kids Nicolas, 19, and Anna, 16. Doreen crossed the ocean while working remotely via Starlink, which Peter used to Google troubleshooting solutions on the passage. Nicolas was the fisherman, and every time he hooked one, their cat, Flash, was on scene to get his first bite of sushi.
The kids had a unique one-year window in their schooling calendar that led to the trip’s timing. “The plan was born about five years ago, so the kids and I did all the training and certifications, Peter said. “We also watched a lot of YouTube videos and sailed 1,500 miles before we took off from Las Palmas. It was a surprisingly calm trip even with two teenagers aboard.”
Carrick – Rustler 42 (UK) 19 days, 23 hours
Everyone wanted to congratulate Jonathan Hutchinson on his first ARC. At 89, he was the oldest sailor in the rally and had crossed with his two sons, both in their 60s. They were all retired military. Simon was army, John junior navy, and Jonathan senior air force. “Well, at least we don’t have a marine in the ranks, thank goodness,” joked Jonathan.
Jonathan started sailing in 1940. He instilled the love of the sport in his sons, and he didn’t step back much until he became too old to scrub the bottom. Their autopilot broke after the first three days, and Jonathan stood regular watches during daylight as they hand steered across the ocean. He’d been lauded in the past at their yacht club when his sailing log was made into a book titled My Life Sailing. Simon pointed out that now they’ll have to add an epilogue.
“It was good fun to surge along under spinnaker with my two sons,” Jonathan said. “At my age, I thought I had better get a move on, and my biggest problem out there was keeping my hearing aids dry.”
Horizon Discovery – Excess 15 (Malaysia) 19 days, 12 hours
Despite their boat’s Malaysian flag, Hiroshi Hamada and his crew of four are from Japan, and Hiroshi is an Excess catamaran devotee. “I have the Excess 11 back in Japan, but my dream was to do my first Atlantic crossing on the flagship,” he said. “So, we picked up this boat at the factory in Les Sables-d’Olonne in May and we’ve done 7,000 miles in the past six months.”
Knowledgeable but self-effacing, Hiroshi noted that he’s only been sailing 12 years, which is a decade more than many of the other ARC participants. “I would only consider a catamaran for a downwind crossing,” he added. “I love cats, and this layout on one level gives us a feeling of oneness and teamwork.”
Their watermaker broke on day three, which was unpleasant, and when they caught a blue marlin, they ended up eating fish three times a day for 10 days. He’s considering shipping the boat back and running the ARC again to better his time. “Next year, we’ll prepare even more because I have the time,” he said, and then pausing a moment added, “I am one of the luckiest men.”
Mojo – Hanse 505, (UK) 20 days, 12 hours
Paul and Colin Worthington welcomed me aboard their Hanse 505 that sported only half a boom. It had broken just ahead of the dodger during a particularly random movement of boat and ocean when the preventer was backed off. “It looks like it was built this way, so we call it a limited edition,’’ laughed Paul.
Initially, they shredded the downwind sail in 29 knots of wind and their bowsprit peeled up after 10 days of running with the spinnaker. “After that we were just on the main and self-tacking jib–until we didn’t have the main either.”
When the boom broke, the furling mainsail was connected only by the sheets and halyard with sharp bits of boat flying everywhere, but nobody got hurt.
Paul had waited 29 years to realize his goal of crossing the ocean, and despite the carnage aboard, he was happy. “We had a watermaker, big freezer, ice for our gin and tonics, and a posh coffeemaker,” he added. “It’s the little luxuries that become important out there. Who needs a whole boom anyway?”
June – Nautitech 44 Open, (Canada) 18 days, 15 hours
Peter and Natalie Hunt aboard a new Nautitech 44 Open sailed with their two kids, Sonnen, 11, and Remy, 7. They also had Max, their broker, aboard who was certifying them for their Yachtmaster credentials on the crossing. In their 30s, the parents were retired for the moment, and they had already sailed more than 7,000 miles on a boat that was less than six months old.
They had originally planned to buy a pre-owned boat on the West Coast of Canada but couldn’t find one during Covid, so they eventually went to France to purchase June, their sparkling cat that was clocked doing 17 knots at one point. Sonnen and Remy were being homeschooled via Starlink. They were learning about ocean currents, conservation, whales, tectonic plates, and flying fish like the one that hit Sonnen in the head.
A ridiculously good-looking group, this family donned their team gear for me to take a photo of them. A few days later, they received the “Best Instagram” award at the ARC prize-giving ceremony.
Peristera – Oceanis 473 Clipper (Sweden) 23 days, 6 hours
Laughter wafted over the water as Peristera came into her slip. Six women and their female captain had just crossed an ocean and they were having a wonderful time with the rum punch that each group receives as they tie up. Linda Lindenau, their skipper, had three Atlantic crossings and a circumnavigation under her belt and she let me know immediately why she runs sailing charters for women. “Men always think they’re good at everything while women never think that,” she said. “That’s why women are at risk of ending up in the galley.”
The ages aboard ranged from 20 to 66 years with one mother-daughter team also participating. They didn’t know each other three weeks earlier, but you’d never have guessed that because they seemed like fast friends. In fact, they were so congenial, they were already planning to crew for one of their own when she purchased a boat.
Their trip was filled with activities. Like proper Swedes, they had a formal Nobel dinner on December 10 when the official ceremony was held back home. They also had Friday afternoon lectures that included five-minute presentations on a variety of topics including the Korean alphabet, dream interpretation, meditation, and dead bodies. Aboard was Maria the engineer, Sofia the iPhone wiz, Charlotte a nurse, her daughter, Sora, the aspiring boatowner, and Karin the doctor who wrestled a 3-foot dorado on the swim step, finally dispatching it by jamming a knife into its brain stem.
They were quick to point out that they had all taken turns cooking. Linda thought a moment and added, “What you need is desire more than experience to do this. The rest can be taught, so women should get out there and make a go of it.”
Easter Snow – Southerly 42 (UK) 22 days, 9 hours
We now come full circle back to John and Richard on Easter Snow. The two brothers sailed with two others from a crew list on their first ARC and first Atlantic crossing. They developed a crack in the box of their swing keel which led to them pumping out 5 to 6 gallons every hour all the way across.
Their gear box had also disintegrated, and without a genset, they relied on a hydrogenator for their power needs. “All our troubles came from gear I thought was bulletproof,” said John. “Although I bought the little hydrogenator as a backup, it saved us.”
The ARC has been running consecutively for 38 years, which means more than 35,000 people have sailed it, many repeatedly. Some come for the sociable community and others for the preparation, guidance, and security.
“The ARC isn’t a ticket to a safe passage,” Tetlow said. “But our success stats are high.” Tetlow is already making special plans for the upcoming 40th edition of the rally in 2025.
“In 2008, I reached out looking to join the ARC as crew,” he said. “Instead, I found a job, and soon I’ll be presenting the 40th running. It’s an exciting world out here.”
The 2024 ARC starts in November. For more information about the rally and how to join in, visit worldcruising.com.
April 2024