World ARC Ready for Take-Off

January 23, 2008 1 comment

World ARC, the new circumnavigation rally organised and managed by the UK-based cruising rally experts at World Cruising Club (WCC), is setting off from Rodney Bay, St.Lucia today (Wednesday 23 January) with a group of enthusiastic sailors beginning a 15-month cruising adventure of a lifetime.

World ARC, the new circumnavigation rally organised and managed by the UK-based cruising rally experts at World Cruising Club (WCC), is setting off from Rodney Bay, St.Lucia today (Wednesday 23 January) with a group of enthusiastic sailors beginning a 15-month cruising adventure of a lifetime.

The route and timing have been carefully selected so as to benefit from seasonal weather conditions by planning to be “in the right place at the right time”. Both the Pacific and the Indian Oceans will be crossed during the optimum period, at the height of the favourable trade wind season. Cruising ‘guru’ Jimmy Cornell has helped to plan the route, which calls at some of the most attractive sailing destinations in the world.

World ARC takes in a mixture of open ocean stages, independent cruising and planned meetings along the route. After crossing the Pacific, the Rally avoids the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa owing to political unrest and a heightened security situation in the region and instead rounds the Cape of Good Hope to call at Brazil before returning to the Caribbean.

Throughout World ARC, a multi-lingual WCC rally team will be in each port to look after the participants ashore, whilst a safety and communications net will operate on each ocean stage. Weather and routing advice is being provided, and the World ARC website will track yacht positions and display news, yacht logs and images to enable everyone to share in this great adventure.