Right: a
crewmember
on board Mikael
Ryking’s Class
40 Talanta gets a
soaking at the bowbutter melts’ route well to the south, which adds 300-400
miles’ distance.
On some years, such as 2017, the north-south split of
the ARC fleet can be over 1,000 miles. At the same
longitude, crews may be in completely different weather
conditions: dressed in foulies and sailing beneath dark
skies; or rolling downwind in shorts and T-shirts, lathered
in SPF50.
How much does a fast crossing mean to you? That’s the
ARC’s big question.
When World Cruising launched the ARC+ rally four
years ago, starting two weeks earlier and stopping at
Mindelo in the Cape Verde Islands, managing director i