The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers truly is a phenomena. Every year it seems to get bigger as more and more sailors dreaming of escape finally grasp the nettle and head out into the big blue, following in the path of Christopher Columbus in search of adventure and the thrill of the unknown.
As the event has expanded year on year, the organisers – World Cruising Club (WCC) – have been obliged to become increasingly innovative in their manner of handling the simply vast number of entrants. It’s tricky because if you send yachts out into the Atlantic too early, you are still in the tail end of the hurricane season and the weather can be, well, volatile. One solution that the WCC has hit upon is to send a first wave of boats out which plunge further south than normal and stop in the Cape Verdes. This keeps yachts further away from the wild weather in early November and also provides a charming stopover. This has been christened ARC+ and headed out into the in the ARC+ with a further 159 yachts following in their wake as part of the ARC on 16 November.
