For 1307 sailors sailing to the Caribbean coast of the island Saint Lucia, the long-awaited ocean voyage has begun. Throughout the dock, one could feel the air filled with excitement. Friends, families, and locals alike lined up along the pier to celebrate the start of the ocean race. Tourist department Gran Canaria, port authorities and local authorities Las Palmas organized an excellent two-week training and provided tremendous support to the participants.
The boats had to identify themselves before leaving the port and heading for the "gate" on the way to the starting line. Since ARC is a cruise rally, there is a start and finish line and all boats are divided into divisions - size, type and competitiveness. A total of 212 yachts flying the flags of 31 countries have crossed the starting lines today.
ARC Atlantic Rally for Cruise Yachts 2016 kicks off
V ARC 2016 29 multihull yachts are taking part in the year, including the spectacular APC78 Allegra from Nigel Irens Design and Outremer 5X Nemo Knut Frostad. The multihull crews took off first, at 12:30 local time.
They were followed by 34 racing-class boats. Boats VOR70 Trifork and Swan 46 Aphrodite, ended up behind the start line prematurely, for which they received a three-hour penalty.
The 152 monohull cruising yachts that made up the 70% of the ARC fleet this year enjoyed classic launch conditions, with an extraordinary variety of colored sails sailing shortly after the beep at 1:00 pm local time.
Launch conditions are set for a lighter first night at sea, with winds remaining constant at about 10-12 knots coming from the east and northeast. All ARC boats are equipped with satellite tracking sensors to keep track of the race onlinewithout leaving home, or through the app Yb races.
Of the 216 boats, 4 are still in Las Palmas; 3 with technical problems delaying their start, and one boat returned to port following a collision in the prelaunch row of racing cruisers.
Most boats will take 18 to 21 days to cross the Atlantic and arrive at Rodney bay Marina on the island of Saint Lucia, where the ceremonial presentation of awards to the winners of ARC 2016 will take place, December 17.
20.11.2016
