BLUEWATER, NEW HORIZONS
Each December, the docks at Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia are abuzz as the fleet of the ARC—the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers—arrives to much fanfare. No matter what time of day or night, the staff of the World Cruising Club, organizers of the 33-year-old rally, are there to catch the dock lines of the weary sailors who just crossed the Atlantic. A steel-drum player, a basket of fresh fruit and other ARC participants welcome giddy sailors running on the last of their adrenaline, the excitement of having just made an ocean passage plainly visible on their exhausted faces.
The ARC was launched in 1986 by Jimmy Cornell and is now headed by Andrew Bishop. The concept has since grown to 11 events that variously include “ARC” in the name and take place around the globe. Per Bishop, the idea is to “smooth the way” for sailors as they make an ocean passage, or in the case of the circumnavigating WorldArc, as they transit from one country to another.
The ARC has also grown a sibling in the form of the ARC+, which adds an extra stop at the start. Instead of running from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands directly to St. Lucia (a distance of 2,700 miles), ARC+ participants sail to the Cape Verde Islands first (850 miles) and then on to the Caribbean. This year’s ARC and ARC+ included a few twists, among them the fact it was a record-setting year for the number of multihulls (54 in total) and there was an alternative finish at the Blue Lagoon on the southern tip of nearby St. Vincent. According to Bishop, the continuing popularity of the rally necessitated a second finish line farther south as the IGY marina in Rodney Bay was at capacity. Fifteen of the total 261 boats sailed to
