Atlantic Rally for Cruisers arrive soon

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ARC records are expected to be made today as the first of the 217 boats crossing the Atlantic from Gran Canaria arrive in St Lucia after some 2,700 miles of sailing.

Five boats have led the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers fleet since the start on 20 November. The 50′ trimaranRayon Vert (FRA), skippered by transatlantic veteran Alain Delhumeau, has set the pace in the Open Division, closely followed by 92′ super‐maxi Med Spirit (FRA/RUS). Classic Whitbread maxi Rothmans (SWE) leads the Invitation Racing Division, with Gunboat 66 Phaedo (USA) leading the Multihull Division.

The most extraordinary performance of the ARC so far comes from Akilaria 40 Vaquita (AUT), skippered by Christof Petter. Vaquita is within 50 miles of the leading pack, and over 250 miles ahead of her closest rival in
the Racing Division. Racing under IRC, 12.19m Vaquita is likely to make the fastest ARC crossing ever for a monohull under 60′.

With a forecast for lighter winds as the boats approach Saint Lucia, the chances are fading for smashing the ARC crossing record set in 2006 by Rinaldo del Bono with Capricorno (ITA) of 11 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and
30 seconds. To beat the record, the boats must finish before 18:17:30 UTC today, Thursday 1 December.

Once the boats are within 100 miles of Saint Lucia, the positions will be updated hourly on the Fleet Viewer www.worldcruising.com/arc/viewer.aspx The majority of the boats have passed the half‐way point and are expected to arrive in Rodney Bay Marina over the next week and a half.