The 40th anniversary Atlantic Rally for Cruisers ARC 2025 fleet set sail

Bright sunshine and light winds made for a gentle start as the 145-strong fleet of yachts and multihulls ranging from 34ft to 81ft left Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, for a 2,700-mile voyage across the Atlantic.

Bound for Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, the transatlantic journey is expected to take the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) fleet 18 to 21 days for the average yacht.

The ruby anniversary edition attracted 145 boats with 820 crew.

The smallest yacht, the 10.34m (33.92ft) German-flagged Heartbeat2, was among those jostling for position at the front of the racing fleet among far larger vessels.

The largest boat in this year’s World Cruising Club (WCC) organised event is Stella of RORC, a Swan 82 (24.7m).

Smallest boat in the ARC 2025 fleet

Heartbeat2 skipper Marlene Hedwig Brudek told PBO that she and her two crew would have ‘absolutely no comfort’ as they were sailing with dried food and a Jetboil for provisioning, a bucket instead of a heads and one bunk that they would alternate sleeping in.

Marlene, who set up the first kitesurfing school in Germany, is relatively new to the sport of sailing.

In 2001, she suffered a major accident when, in the days before quick-release safety features for kitesurfers, she was blown over a six-storey building, across the roof, down the other side and across the street, suffering 16 fractures, including to her knees, arms and neck, and was left wheelchair-bound.

After learning to walk again, Marlene resumed kitesurfing and windsurfing, “it was so important for recovery to have a goal.” Then, wishing to explore the North Sea further, Marlene began sailing.

First in a Sunbeam 22.1, then a Seascape 27, and now, “on the next level” with her JPK 1030, bought for the transatlantic voyage.

Marlene, a trained architect and watersports instructor, said: “After my 1m kite board, my Sunbeam 22.1 felt like a big boat, the Seascape 27 was a really nice boat but not suitable for the Atlantic, it was like the baby from this boat.”

She will be met in St Lucia by her son Lasse, aged 30, who is taking his wingfoil. Marlene is keen to try ‘the coolest adrenaline at this moment’ in the Caribbean.

Oldest and youngest ARC 2025 participants?

The joint oldest participants are also the oldest skippers: Australia’s Murray Frederick Jacob aboard 21.31m Aphrodite and Finnish sailor Raija Alapeteri, aboard the 13.54m Carissa, both aged 80.

The youngest in the fleet is Samual Dauber, aged 2, of Germany, aboard the 15.65m multihull Mathilda, while the youngest skipper is Federico Pallesi, aged 21, of Italy at the helm of 14.78m long Whimsea.

This year’s rally has welcomed 29 nationalities, including 50 boats from the UK, 13 from Germany and 11 from France.

British boat, Diamond Blue, a 1996-built Starlight 39 from Southampton, is believed to have the oldest combined crew age with skipper Richard Close-Smith, aged 74, and crew Venetia Kenney-Herbert, soon to be 74 (on the 30th November) and David Briggs, aged 76.

Venetia, who has sailed the Atlantic twice before on larger boats, told PBO: “We only have a fridge, no deep freeze. We’re hoping to eat fresh meat and we’ve had it vacuum-packed and frozen fro the butcher.

“We’re hoping the beef will last the first two weeks, then we’ll have gammon joints the third week and after that we’re on to our tins, but we’re hoping there won’t be too much after that!”

She added: “We’ve got a Hydrovane that’s new but we used it when we came down from Portugal and it was downwind and it behaved extremely well, I was very impressed.

“From our point of view we don’t have a lot of power so wind steering is very desirable, there’s no way we could use an autohelm very much because we can’t carry enough fuel to charge the battery.

“We’ve got a new solar panel that clips on to the lifelines, which we hope will produce enough to at least run the fridge.

“I’ve crossed the Atlantic before but this is much more of a challenge because it’s a smaller boat, restricted water, restricted fuel.

“It’s the 40th anniversary year, four decades ago this would have been one of the bigger boats in the fleet, that’s changed enormously.”

40th anniversary highlights

New for this year is the ARC Radio and the ARC Live videos on Facebook and YouTube, plus a return of the beloved Dinghy Race – a paddle in tenders and small craft of all types around Las Palmas marina that involved 13 local businesses and organisations.

ARC veteran and WCC safety-team stalwart Bones Black said: “The start of the 40th edition has been fantastic. We sailed across in the 30th ARC.

“It’s lovely, the cameraderie that everyone has here, the fact that we now have the ARC Radio and the videos through ARC Live is great, it gives that real regatta feel.”

When asked about the quirkiest boat, Bones added: “In the cruising division on a 36ft Farr, the skipper has built a carbonfibre emergency rudder, which is amazing.

“And even by the side of the cooker he has made a little carbonfibre pouch for the matches.

“There’s a few quirky things going on, which is really nice. Everyone has their own little take on it.

“We’ve got quite a few new boats but we also have a couple of old Swans from the ’60s and ’70s.”

Carbonfibre spare rudder

Skipper Henrik Teichmann, of 45 South II, a Bruce Farr 11.04 with an added bowsprit, told PBO: “Since I bought the boat in 2000, I’ve done a project every year, either something visible or invisible.

“Refurbishing the bottom for osmosis treatment, all that kind of stuff. Projects have included building lockers within benches and adding combing and teak decking. I’ve moved the traveller too.

“I’ve added a double v-berth in the bow and a double berth in the back of the boat, I’ve added a heads and tried to move it from a pure racer to a cruising boat. Most people are surprised when I tell them that this boat is 50 years old.

“I think that there’s not a single part of the boat that I didn’t touch.

“The rudder was stainless steel and had a weight of 72kg and that got upgraded by a friend of mine to a 26kg full carbon shaft and full carbon blade. I upgraded the bearings too.

“We experienced the biggest change in boat performance, because before we had sometimes spin outs, now with this rudder the spin outs are completely gone, you’re always in 100% control of the boat.”

Henrik, a technical engineer by trade, was inspired to do boatwork by his father, and has added many carbonfibre features including a mast base, companionway hatch board, match holder and engine locker lining.

He added: “What’s blown Bones’ mind is I built a carbonfibre emergency rudder and tiller for an alternative method of steering, which I keep in a locker. The 2m rudder blade is in a cabinet in the heads.

“I was reading articles about the Transpacific Yacht Race where this type of alternative steering is mandatory, and other people’s experiences of DIY fixes at sea, and so that is why I was building this system and then tested it and it’s working as intended.”

Talented crew

Among the six-man crew aboard Finngulf 41 (12.5m) Shenavall, are three qualified doctors, including a heart surgeon.

Skipper Douglas Gray, who is a forensic surgeon, showed PBO his extensive medical kit including three different antibiotics, catheters, steristrips and sterile burn kits, sterile water, two strengths of adrenaline and tablets for allergic reaction, plus superglue for emergencies.

He said common injuries included ‘head injuries from the boom from accidental gybes and because we’ve got a gas cooker, if people are splashing boiling water, burns are a major one at sea as well.’

Douglas added: “I’m doing the ARC because I want to cross the Atlantic in a small open cockpit boat.

“I’ve been sailing for years in fairly rough waters off the West Coast of Scotland, for example I’ve sailed to St Kilda and back from Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland.

“I’ve been told the Atlantic’s a bit gentler and will be a lot easier than what I’ve sailed previously.

“And I think the hard bit’s probably over because I brought the boat down from the Clyde via Cork and the Bay of Biscay, avoiding orca and we got here [to Las Palmas] safely.

“We saw two orca but they were 300 miles from Biscay so they probably weren’t from the pod that attacks boats. They were more interested in the dolphins and porpoises than us thankfully.”

Skipper Andy Ardron of Southerly 38 Arabella, and his partner Heidi Lawson, have learnt to do the canning process n preparation for their first Atlantic crossing.

Andy said: “It’s a big thing in America and although it’s called canning, you can do it in Kilner jars with an airtight seal it creates a vacuum in the jar.

“The cooking and sterilising in a pressure cooker does take some time and uses quite a bit of gas. We did it at home and in an airBnB while the boat was out of the water.

“You pressure cook it for 90 minutes at high pressure, it kills everything and then the jars will keep for up to two years without refrigeration.

“You then just reheat them for a fresh meal.”

Their menu includes beef stew, which they will add cannelini beans from a can to when it is reheated; Thai green curry, and the secret of that is not to add the coconut milk to the pressure-cooked version, just when you heat it up; a sausage and beef casserole which cannelini beans will be added to when it is reheated, and lamb tagine which they will eat with coucous.

11th hour engine repairs

The Swedish charter yacht Celeste of Solent suffered engine failure on approach to Las Palmas.

Skipper Mats Eriksson told PBO: “We came from Lagos, Portugal where we had a renovation of the engine.

“Past Fuerteventura, we started our engine and three hours out from Las Palmas I heard a very strange metallitc sound.

“We stopped the engine immediately and the engine compartment was smoking heavily. I checked the oil, it was not that, the gasket in the top of the engine had blown out.

“We were towed in, I spoke to an engineer in Sweden and said we needed to get the engine out to repair it.

“We checked with WCC and the plan was to sail the ARC without an engine but then the local Rolnautic store said there was a chance they could get the engine we were looking for.

“We had an hour to decide to get the engine on the ferry, the Yanmar warehouse in Spain stayed open an hour extra for us to pick up the engine.

“We had to drive fast to the ferry.”

Mats had to disconnect the old engine and buy a special machine saw to get it out through a hatch in the boat, the new engine arrived by ferry last Monday morning.

He said: “The yard got it in at 4pm the same day but we had a problem that the engine bed had to be cut as the engine was too high and needed to be made level.

“The boat was then put back into the water and we were out testing the engine two days before the rally start.

“The yard were really proud with how quickly they were able to turn things around and we were happy to have an engine as we’re doing the World ARC and are going to be away for two years.”

Poignant family sail

The family sailing aboard Moody 44 Ocean Strider are the same crew and same boat that sailed in the 20th anniversary ARC, with the sad exception of their beloved mum Kim being their only in spirit, having passed away six years ago due to breast cancer.

Dad Joseph Sage, aged 60, and his grown up children, Matthew, 34, Elizabeth, 31, Victoria, 29, are completing the crossing in Kim’s memory and have brought her ashes in a box.

Retired finance businessman Joseph said; “My wife and I always meant to retire at 55, that plan didn’t happen because of the illness. We always wanted to go back out to the Caribbean because we love it there.

“We’ve had a few holidays to the Caribbean since our ARC 20 years ago but there’s nothing like doing it on your own boat.

“Victoria came up with the idea of doing it for the 40th ARC and it seemed a poignant date being 20 years on from the first one.

“We’ve brought Kim with us on the trip, her ashes are in a box, as she was always meant to come to the Caribbean again.”

Adaptions to the boat in ths time have included adding a holding tank and self-tacking, plus version 2 of a freezer Joeseph made 20 years ago.

He added: “This time we’re much more prepared boatwise, but there’s always boat jobs to do.

“I’d advise anyone planning to do the next ARC to do as much as you can in the UK and get spares in the UK.

“Our electric toilet is making a funny noise and we can’t get a pump here so fingers crossed it doesn’t fail on us during the trip.

“We can get a spare brought out to the Caribbean as we’ve got people coming out to meet us.

“I’ve got other spare pumps but the heads is only three years old so I didn’t have that one.”

The whole family had enjoyed all the WCC shoreside activities, dinners, fancy dress parties, seminars and tree planting on St Lucia.

Joeseph said: “Some other people moan it’s a lot of money but it’s definitely worth it.

“You benefit from the people you meet, you get lots of help and you’re all going to be out there so somebody is going to be not too far away if you get into trouble.

“The activities you do here and the whole organisation is excellent.”

Victoria, who was nine during her first ARC, said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing the moon.

“I remember it was so big and bright, especially around the Equator. With nothing else around us it was so beautiful.”

‘Enjoy the journey’

Celestial navigation guru Stokey Woodall, who held popular ARC seminars on ‘Emergency Nav. “Satellites to Frying Pans”, told PBO: “People doing the ARC this year are very fortunate in the respect that there’s a lot of activity in the night sky at the moment.

“We’ve just had a recent Super Moon and they get another one, I think it’s the 6th December, and they’ve got two sets of meteor showers, the Leonids, and the classic one for the year will be the Geminids, which they’ll get in December and they predict them because of the set of the moon and the dark skies.

“After midnight they’re looking at anything up to 150 meteors an hour. They can see stars they’ve never seen before, they can see the Southern Cross, Equatorial stars and Northern Stars, it’s just wonderful, no light pollution, it’s going back to nature.”

He added: “Most people just want to get over the other side, they don’t seem to realise that the journey is what’s important and to enjoy it.

“It’s interesting, last year was my 37th crossing of the Atlantic and 37 stories have been different and I’ve enjoyed every one.

“My first crossing took 28 days and I still remember it like it was yesterday. That was in 1978 and I’m still in contact with the people I went across with and I felt as though I’d really achieved something.

“And every time I still get that little buzz when I see that land pop up again.”

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