Last year’s Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) and the ARC+ were joined by 96 boats that sailed from the Canary Islands to St. Lucia in the Caribbean, with the ARC+ making an additional stop in the Cape Verde Islands. All of the boats had initially sailed from Europe to the Canaries so by the time they got to the Caribbean they had almost 4,000 miles under their keels.
A lot can and does go wrong with gear, electronics, sails and equipment over the span of a full ocean crossing and finding out what really works in the long and what doesn’t can be instructive for all of us.
British journalist Ali Wood has been covering the ARC for more than 10 years and has traveled to St. Lucia to interview ARC skippers five times. So, she knows the ropes, so to speak, and can report back with authority.
In her lengthy wrap-up on gear and equipment put to the test in the rallies, she covers everything from communications to weather forecasting to autopilots and self-steering and much more. Even if you are not contemplating an ocean crossing, you’ll find plenty of valuable information in her Practical Boat Owner article. Read more here.
