{"id":144690,"date":"2023-03-30T06:00:46","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T05:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/?p=144690"},"modified":"2023-03-30T06:01:08","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T05:01:08","slug":"the-easy-way-to-sail-across-the-atlantic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/arc\/the-easy-way-to-sail-across-the-atlantic-144690","title":{"rendered":"The ‘easy’ way to sail across the Atlantic?"},"content":"It\u2019s the dream that never fades. The desire to cross the Atlantic<\/a> by boat seemingly doesn\u2019t wane, no matter what the state of the global economy or geopolitical upheavals. Post-pandemic, it is a boom time.\r\n\r\nNowhere do you see this more clearly than in the annual ARC rally<\/a>, which has spawned two parallel events to satisfy demand: the ARC+ rally from Gran Canaria to Grenada via Mindelo in Cape Verde; and the new ARC January early in the New Year. Between them, 278 yachts will have sailed across by the time you read this. The organisers, World Cruising Club, are simultaneously running two World ARC circumnavigation events.\r\n\r\nOf all these, the ARC+ rally is the quiet success. Although eclipsed by the publicity generated by the original and bigger event, it has grown steadily since it was launched 10 years ago and regularly produces its own waiting list. There are good reasons why this is the pick for crews in no particular hurry to reach the Caribbean, which have made it the favoured way for crews of family and friends to cross in company.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144695\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Roz Preston aboard Sweet Dreams, the boat she built with her late husband. Photo: James Mitchell\/WCC[\/caption]\r\n

A lightbulb moment<\/h2>\r\nSweet Dreams<\/em> is the name of Roz Preston\u2019s yacht, though her sailing now has a bittersweet element. Preston, from Edinburgh, sailed throughout her married life with her husband, John. They both had busy working lives and when they had enough of it decided to build their dream yacht.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe saw an article on [traditional wooden] boatbuilding at Lowestoft and had a lightbulb moment. We both gave up our jobs and did a one-year boatbuilding course at Lyme Regis,\u201d she says.\r\n\r\nThe experience spurred them on to commission a design by Bill Dixon and set up a team to help build the one-off 44-footer in a barn in Dorset. Sweet Dreams<\/em> echoes the Eurythmics hit of the same name. It captured their sentiments and had a personal connection; John had been chairman of a record company, and counted Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart as friends.\r\n\r\nThe Prestons spent 10 years sailing in Scotland, the Baltic, Scandinavia and as far south as La Rochelle, then in 2017 John died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage.\r\n\r\nAmong many other bleak decisions Roz had to make was what to do with Sweet Dreams<\/em>. John had been the skipper and driving force. \u201cI felt it was important for me to reconnect with the boat and sailing,\u201d she says.\r\n\r\nBut to go further afield, she needed help.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144703\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" the L\u00e5ngedrag 401 Kaisen poled out for the rollercoaster ride of the ARC+. Photo: James Kenning[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019d always sailed with my husband and if he wasn\u2019t around there was no one in charge. I\u2019m not really in my comfort zone taking the decisions, and physically not strong enough to do some of the jobs so I had to take a different role,\u201d she says. So she turned to two good friends the couple had made at Lowestoft, Ed Phillips and Dick Phillips (they\u2019re not related), and devised a plan that would fulfil their ambitions by joining the ARC+ rally.\r\n\r\nAcross the marina from Sweet Dreams<\/em>, berthed with the larger yachts along the harbour wall, was Ross Allonby on the Oyster 675<\/a>, Alika<\/em>. He is on a \u2018sailing sabbatical\u2019 until next summer with his wife, Poppy, and their two children aged 12 and 14.\r\n\r\nThe Allonbys are a longtime sailing family and also own a boat they keep in the US, a classic 34ft Herreshoff-designed daysailer. The Oyster was bought to be the vehicle for time out from their high-pressure jobs in finance and also for going cruising further afield in future, when the children are older.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe boat is for fun and adventure,\u201d Allonby says. \u201cI believe that life is more round than you think and that it will be a good way of learning for the children, more than they would in school.\u201d\r\n\r\nTheir transatlantic plans were two years in the making and the ARC+ rally the first big stage of the adventure. This part was something they were sharing with Poppy\u2019s brother and sister-in-law, a friend and two professional crew who run the boat and manage it for charter between times.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144704\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Hugh Johnson\u2019s Oyster 625 Nikitoo. Photo: James Kenning[\/caption]\r\n

Early tradewinds<\/h2>\r\nBecause the route takes a week or so longer than the more direct ARC, the ARC+ rally is not the favoured event by commercial charter yachts, the really big boats or race yachts. Consequently, its atmosphere feels quieter and less excitable. These are, by and large, tight-knit crews long bonded together by a summer\u2019s cruising down the coasts of France, Spain and Portugal. The rally is the centrepiece of several years of preparation.\r\n\r\nThe ARC+ route has some special advantages. First, it removes one dilemma skippers face: how far south to go before turning west. This follows the \u2018south till the butter melts route\u2019. Although some 350 miles longer than the direct route and totalling just over 3,000 miles, it\u2019s the route most likely in November to produce early tradewinds on any average year.\r\n\r\n\u201cI decided to do it because I liked the idea of being part of a smaller group, seeing the Cape Verde islands and also thought that the more southerly route might give us a better wind angle, although in fact I don\u2019t think there was a significant difference, especially after the halfway point,\u201d says Roz Preston.\r\n\r\nHugh Johnson was sailing across the Atlantic for the third time on the ARC (his second crossing in his current Oyster 625, Nikitoo<\/em>). \u201cWe noted that so many boats on the ARC end up 100 miles or so from Cape Verde as they search the Trades, so why not stop over and split the trip?\u201d he says. \u201cIt was the right decision.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144699\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" A mountain village in Cape Verde. Photo: Peter Adams Photography\/Alamy[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\u201cWe were asked by several folk why do we pay for the crossing and not just do it ourselves? Our answer was, and still is, that we enjoy the camaraderie of the group and it\u2019s really nice to know there\u2019s someone just over the horizon.\u201d\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s easy to understand why the Cape Verdes are on so many skippers\u2019 wishlists. You know instantly you\u2019ve left Europe; it feels like somewhere more distant you might hope to visit on a circumnavigation. \u201cThe Cape Verdes are culturally interesting and contrasting to Europe, and the stop is a nice reset for crews, and a chance to meet each other,\u201d says Paul Tetlow.\r\n\r\nTetlow was the event manager for the first ARC+ 10 years ago with his wife, Suzana. Fittingly they are in charge again as the new owners of World Cruising Club following the recent sale of the company by managing director Andrew Bishop.\r\n\r\nThe town of Mindelo has an air of faded colonial grandeur, yet the place pulses with a sense of youthful vigour. The way of life is relaxed. Culturally and ethnically, heritage is a mixture of Portuguese, African slaves once brought here to work the land, and Brazilians from a long-established trade route south to Fortaleza and beyond.\r\n\r\nThe local food is wonderful, and cheap. Cachupa, a corn and bean stew with fish and meat, is sold almost everywhere, tuna is freshly caught. You can have goat\u2019s cheese from the island of Fogo and some of the biggest shrimps I ever laid eyes on.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144697\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Photo: James Kenning[\/caption]\r\n\r\nMany people are poor, though; drink is cheap and problems go hand-in-hand with that. There is widespread deprivation. Take a tour up to the high slopes of S\u00e3o Vicente and you see fields of gravelly volcanic soil still tilled and cultivated by hand.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere is poverty there,\u201d notes Tetlow. \u201cWe have many families on the rally and some of the parents have said they think it is good for their kids to learn about that.\u201d\r\nHugh Johnson admits he was surprised. \u201cWow, was the poverty a shock!\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect it to be so severe.\u201d\r\n\r\nBeyond the town of Mindelo, the coastal and mountain scenery are striking. There are bays so turquoise they look as if they\u2019ve been lit from beneath. The nearby island of Santo Anta\u00f1o has folded, fissured peaks that might put you in mind of Chile or New Zealand. For all of these reasons, the Cape Verde stop has become a central attraction of the ARC+.\r\n

Riding the rollercoaster<\/h2>\r\nLeaving Mindelo, the rally goes straight into the tradewinds. Crews noted how bumpy the conditions were, and the first few days back at sea were an uncomfortable time before they settled into rolling down the Trades.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere was apprehension,\u201d Roz Preston observed on board Sweet Dreams<\/em>. \u201cWhat we all hope for, and the reason for doing the crossing at this time of the year, is to take advantage of tradewinds which typically blow at a steady 15-20 knots, maybe occasionally rising to 25. Our forecast was for \u2018the upper end of the range\u2019, 20-25 knots, and not quite the gentle downwind stroll we were hoping for.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144701\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Fra Diavolo tails Piment Rouge. Photo: Vincent Henry[\/caption]\r\n\r\nTypically, the north-easterly trades are accelerated by and bent between the Cape Verde islands, and it can be a bumpy first few days. Crews reported a 3-4m swell from the north.\r\n\r\n\u201cA crazy rollercoaster,\u201d Preston noted, while adding they were making \u201cfantastic time\u201d under twin headsails.\r\n\r\nThese sea conditions caught out Alika<\/em>, sailing ahead of Sweet Dreams<\/em>. On Monday 21 November, two days out from Mindelo, the crew reported that they\u2019d experienced a sudden loss of steering and in the resulting broach or gybe two crew were injured.\r\n\r\nOne suffered a compound fracture to the ankle and another had concussion. Alika<\/em> put out a Pan Pan and also reported they\u2019d damaged their mainsail. \u201cThey said they couldn\u2019t get the mainsail down and that the hydraulics were a problem,\u201d says Paul Tetlow.\r\n\r\nSeveral ARC yachts stood by, and MRCC Ponta Delgado nominated a nearby motor superyacht, the 75m Planet Nine<\/em>, to assist and take the casualty on board, as it could make the crossing faster. In 3m swells, however, it was too risky and the two vessels continued on a more northerly route towards Antigua until conditions moderated.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144698\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Bavaria Vision 46 Tui on the horizon[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBy Friday, four days later, a transfer was finally possible. When that had been done successfully, Planet Nine<\/em> continued west until in range of Martinique, when the injured crew was airlifted to hospital for surgery.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe medical supplies that Alika<\/em> had on board were 100% and the access to medical information they were getting was the very best, and they managed to look after the casualty for five days with some complex injuries,\u201d notes Paul Tetlow. \u201cThe only thing that prolonged the incident was the sea conditions.\u201d\r\n\r\nSeveral boats reported rudder problems and autopilot failures. The spinnaker pole on Sweet Dreams<\/em> broke with a \u2018tremendous snap\u2019 one night. On Oyster 56 Mistral of Portsmouth<\/em>, Karen Parker bravely went aloft to cut away their Code 0 when the sail wrapped. As she was coming back down, a gust knocked her flying. She was thrashed around the rigging, terrified and severely bruised, before managing to free the preventer line again to be lowered.\r\n\r\nA crewmember on Estonian skipper Indrek Prants\u2019s Lagoon 50 Sirocco also had to go aloft \u2013 four times \u2013 to fix a problem with a mast fitting. \u201cIt was a little bit challenging, but we were able to sail with our downwind Parasailor most of the time and only lost a couple of days because of it,\u201d he said laconically. \u201cOverall, for us, the crossing was perfect and we actually enjoyed the swells and rolling seas.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144693\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Roz Preston and the Sweet Dreams crew arrive in Grenada. Photo: WCC\/Arthur Daniel[\/caption]\r\n\r\nHardware such as steering gear, goosenecks and poles, and sails, sheets and halyards are most prone to breakages and chafe when yachts are sailed downwind in vigorous tradewinds, heavily laden and fully powered up. Duration at sea is a factor in itself: a 14-day crossing is the equivalent of several seasons of coastal sailing.\r\n\r\nBut in such conditions it isn\u2019t necessary to push hard and even yachts sailed quite conservatively, either wing on wing or under poled out furling headsails, had a fast crossing from Mindelo in 12-14 days.\r\n

Exhilarating speeds<\/h2>\r\nRecords were set this year on this transatlantic expressway. Vincenzo Addessi\u2019s Mylius 60 Fra Diavolo<\/em> was first to arrive in Grenada in a time of 9 days, 5 hours, a course record for the rally. It was \u201can exhilarating passage\u201d, said crew Giulio Gatti, adding: \u201cWe were reaching speeds of over 20 knots in sometimes confused seas, and at night. There were times when we were certainly not in our comfort zone!\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144694\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" The Mylius 60 Fra Diavolo was first to arrive in Grenada. Photo: WCC\/Arthur Daniel[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn the multihull division a one-on-one match between sister ship Outremer 51<\/a>s Piment Rouge<\/em> and Helia 2<\/em> was settled only in the final hours of the crossing.\r\n\r\nPierre De Saint Vincent\u2018s Piment Rouge crossed first, after 10 days at sea, and immediately headed back out to accompany the crew of Helia 2 across the finish line.\r\nThe ARC+ has never really been about racing though. It is about getting across safety and enjoying the experience. The sense of solidarity created within this smaller, cohesive group is perhaps that bit stronger than in the main ARC rally. Typically people make friendships with other crews that they carry on as they cruise south afterwards to Grenada or make their Christmas and New Year plans.\r\n\r\n\u201cI enjoyed it and found in particular the camaraderie among the women really positive,\u201d says Roz Preston. \u201cWe formed a WhatsApp group to exchange info, gripes and support, and that was great. Lots of us were the only women among male crews so it was good to support each other.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_144706\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Time for some rest and recuperation aboard Mistral of Portsmouth. Photo: Karen Parker[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe enduring popularity of rallies can be a mystery to independent minded cruisers, but it is completely obvious to everyone who signs up, or comes back year after year. Rui Sim\u00f5es Da Silva from Portugal, sailing his Lagoon 450S Attitude<\/em> on his third ARC rally, explained why he keeps returning to take part.\r\n\r\n\u201cI have no desire to do the Atlantic crossing on my own. You\u2019re alone anyway, you run your own boat etc, but there\u2019s always the fact you have the support of World Cruising and someone looking at what\u2019s going on, or helping you if you need it. That sense of community helps you to cross.\u201d\r\n\r\nOne of the crew of Swedish skipper Ulrik Wehtje\u2019s Xc45 Xenial<\/em>, described their arrival: \u201cWe sat on deck watching the lights get closer and closer and looking at the mile count get smaller and smaller. We listened on the radio as boats and friends who had not seen each other in weeks greeted each other with joy.\r\n\r\n\u201cEveryone has a story, and each of them resonates with us and brings up an anecdote from our own crossing. It\u2019s all part of a unique and incredible experience.\u201d\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n

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","excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the dream that never fades. The desire to cross the Atlantic by boat seemingly doesn\u2019t wane, no matter what the state of the global economy or geopolitical upheavals. Post-pandemic, it is a boom time. Nowhere do you see this more clearly than in the annual ARC rally, which has spawned two parallel events to satisfy demand: the ARC+ rally from Gran Canaria to Grenada via Mindelo in Cape Verde; and the new ARC January early in the New Year. Between them, 278 yachts will have sailed across by the time you read this. The organisers, World Cruising Club, are simultaneously running two World ARC circumnavigation events. Of all these, the ARC+ rally is the quiet success. Although eclipsed by the publicity generated by the original and bigger event, it has grown steadily since it was launched 10 years ago and regularly produces its own waiting list. There are good reasons why this is the pick for crews in no particular hurry to reach the Caribbean, which have made it the favoured way for crews of family and friends to cross in company. A lightbulb moment Sweet Dreams is the name of Roz Preston\u2019s yacht, though her sailing now has a bittersweet element. Preston, from Edinburgh, sailed throughout her married life with her husband, John. They both had busy working lives and when they had enough of it decided to build their dream yacht. \u201cWe saw an article on [traditional wooden] boatbuilding at Lowestoft and had a lightbulb moment. We both gave up our jobs and did a one-year boatbuilding course at Lyme Regis,\u201d she says. The experience spurred them on to commission a design by Bill Dixon and set up a team to help build the one-off 44-footer in a barn in Dorset. Sweet Dreams echoes the Eurythmics hit of the same name. It captured their sentiments and had a personal connection; John had been chairman of a record company, and counted Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart as friends. The Prestons spent 10 years sailing in Scotland, the Baltic, Scandinavia and as far south as La Rochelle, then in 2017 John died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage. Among many other bleak decisions Roz had to make was what to do with Sweet Dreams. John had been the skipper and driving force. \u201cI felt it was important for me to reconnect with the boat and sailing,\u201d she says. But to go further afield, she needed help. \u201cI\u2019d always sailed with my husband and if he wasn\u2019t around there was no one in charge. I\u2019m not really in my comfort zone taking the decisions, and physically not strong enough to do some of the jobs so I had to take a different role,\u201d she says. So she turned to two good friends the couple had made at Lowestoft, Ed Phillips and Dick Phillips (they\u2019re not related), and devised a plan that would fulfil their ambitions by joining the ARC+ rally. Across the marina from Sweet Dreams, berthed with the larger yachts …Continue reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":448,"featured_media":144696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113,972],"tags":[208,1633],"review_manufacturer":[],"acf":[],"introduction":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144690"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/448"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144690"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144708,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144690\/revisions\/144708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144690"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=144690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}