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Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (really?)

4K views 25 replies 15 participants last post by  PCP 
#1 · (Edited)
Who else shares my opinion that the desire to "win" sometimes overrides the best original intentions?

From the website of the World Cruising Association (organisers of ARC):

Our definition of a rally is safe and social cruising. We offer an element of fun competition, but it isn't a race! Rallies are about crossing oceans with friends; feeling confident and prepared on departure day; having support and friendship at sea; and providing a welcome to salute your achievement on arrival.

A caption to a picture an ARC article in the Feb 2014 Yachting World: "A welcome bottle of champagne goes aboard Caro as her crew of Volvo Ocean Race veterans celebrate their win".

Say what?!?!?

So the rally is now in two parts, one is a hell-for-leather race and the other is a cruise as it was originally intended. And the article speaks more about the record that was smashed and the tough life the racers had "bashing their way" through storm conditions than it does about ordinary families crossing the Atlantic

And the poor buggers for whom this whole event was originally conceptualised get to the finish line days or even weeks after the celebrations are finished. So the boat who may win on corrected time gets his prize from the security guard at the yacht club because everyone else has moved on.

If I ever had the opportunity to organise a rally, the boats would cross the start line at a time inversely proportional to their racing rating. The VOR-equivalents would start like two weeks after the mom-n-pop production cruiser.

And the winning trophy would be awarded to the boat whose sailing time is closest to the average of the first boat home and the last boat home. Get that into your race planner, Mr V.O.R Veteran!

I'm just saying . . . . .
 
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#2 ·
I'm not sure that the ARC really is like what you are thinking. But; maybe i'm wrong.

If I ever had the opportunity to organise a rally, the boats would cross the start line at a time inversely proportional to their racing rating. The VOR-equivalents would start like two weeks after the mom-n-pop production cruiser.
This idea though is fantastic!! This is how sailing races should be conducted. This way all the boats cross the finish around the same time. I've never seen a boat race set up in reverse. Great idea!
Reminds me of my drag race days, set up the same way.
 
#3 ·
I'm not sure that the ARC really is like what you are thinking. But; maybe i'm wrong.

This idea though is fantastic!! This is how sailing races should be conducted. This way all the boats cross the finish around the same time. I've never seen a boat race set up in reverse. Great idea!
Reminds me of my drag race days, set up the same way.
Unfortunately a two week starting period allows a huge variation in the weather.
 
#5 ·
Weather changes can have happen even if everyone starts together. I was in Bermuda a number of years ago when the Newport-Bermuda race was on. They had perfect conditions for almost two days and there was talk of the the super-maxis (forget the names) might finish in 48 hours. The wind quit and two of the super-maxis and one 52' finished and then nothing for a couple of days. After a week plus boats in the 40' range were giving up and motoring in because they were running out of food, water (and I assume beer) There was also a race from the Chesapeake at the same time and the reverse happened. After the big boats came in, the winds picked nicely and the little guys all had no trouble winning on corrected.

I think pursuit races (slow boat goes first) are great but the real racers miss all the shucking and jiving at the start I guess so they are not possible. I seem to remember they had one at the Youngstown YC at the mouth of the Niagara River where there is a good solid current all the time. You started the race according to handicap and there were two turning marks - one upstream and up current and the other out in the lake. You could choose which one to go to first. At the finish you had boats coming from opposite directions to the line.
 
#7 ·
Know a guy who did the ARC a few years ago and they were fouled on the start and if I recall correctly another boat even bumped them. That is quite something on a race across the ocean with a huge start line. I think they finished 5th.

End of year rum race in Auckland does what you describe. We finished 2nd a few years back racing against seventy some boats.

Sorry I missed you while in NZ Andre.
 
#9 ·
I agree with the OP. When there is some pride on the line, most skippers will push it. Cruising or racing.

I really like the cannonball run idea, for a rally anyway. There is a perfect speed and closest to it should win. However, it would probably need to be calculated after the fact, with actual wind conditions considered. Then adjusted for PHRF. Cool idea.
 
#13 ·
I'm guessing it's all about money, again. I think what started as a fun time is once again being perverted by the money big boats and the racing community generate. Way back when, Antigua Sailing Week, was just an end of season party for the charter boats in the Caribbean; no big name sponsors like Rolex, no billion dollar boats and Mt Gay flowed liberally to lubricate the fun.
I'm not saying the organizers of an event shouldn't make some money for all their hard work, but greed seems to creep in and ruin it in the end, every single time.
 
#18 ·
Who else shares my opinion that the desire to "win" sometimes overrides the best original intentions?

From the website of the World Cruising Association (organisers of ARC):

Our definition of a rally is safe and social cruising. We offer an element of fun competition, but it isn't a race! Rallies are about crossing oceans with friends; feeling confident and prepared on departure day; having support and friendship at sea; and providing a welcome to salute your achievement on arrival.

A caption to a picture an ARC article in the Feb 2014 Yachting World: "A welcome bottle of champagne goes aboard Caro as her crew of Volvo Ocean Race veterans celebrate their win".

Say what?!?!?

So the rally is now in two parts, one is a hell-for-leather race and the other is a cruise as it was originally intended. And the article speaks more about the record that was smashed and the tough life the racers had "bashing their way" through storm conditions than it does about ordinary families crossing the Atlantic
Seems to me that might say more about the tone of the article, than the rally itself... The cruising division still comprises the large majority of participants

And the poor buggers for whom this whole event was originally conceptualised get to the finish line days or even weeks after the celebrations are finished. So the boat who may win on corrected time gets his prize from the security guard at the yacht club because everyone else has moved on.
Well, I haven't seen the article you're referencing, but I've gotta wonder where that notion comes from...

The fleet left Las Palmas on 24 November last year. The awards ceremony in St Lucia was held on 21 December. Now, last year turned out to be an unusually light and slow passage for many, but with a fleet whose average size is roughly 50 feet, that seems a very generous time allowance to make that passage. In fact, with the awards ceremony scheduled so close to the holidays, wouldn't surprise me if many of the crew along for the trip might have already returned home by that date...

The "poor buggers" for whom this rally was originally founded have never been the typical Mom & Pop cruisers many might think. The ARC has long been dominated by the brands like Oyster and Swan, then in the last decade or so morphed into a conduit for large charter boats relocating to the Caribbean from the Med for the winter. The racing division serves to add some spice for the professional crews delivering such yachts, but I hardly think it exemplifies what the ARC is still really about...

I'm not saying the organizers of an event shouldn't make some money for all their hard work, but greed seems to creep in and ruin it in the end, every single time.
Well, these rallies are certainly not my style, but if they have in fact become "ruined", why are they more popular than ever before? Why does the close of entries occur earlier and earlier each year?

This year's ARC opened to entries in September and was already full with 245 yachts by January.
It would appear today's sailors can't get enough of these things. The number of Transatlantic rallies is now up to FIVE...

Besides the two ARC rallies, there will be three other cruising rallies this November and December: the new Christmas Caribbean Rally from Lanzarote to Antigua; plus two others created by ARC founder Jimmy Cornell: the Atlantic Odyssey from Lanzarote to Martinique; and Atlantic Odyssey II from the Canarian island of La Palma to Grenada.

Read more at Transatlantic rally boom? | Yachting World
Hell, the rhumb line from the Canaries to the Caribbean has become almost as well-trodden and crowded as the route up Everest :)

 
#19 ·
Well, these rallies are certainly not my style, but if they have in fact become "ruined", why are they more popular than ever before? Why does the close of entries occur earlier and earlier each year?
Possibly because more and more unskilled sailors are wanting to do an ocean voyage and live under the misconception that being in a rally, you'll have a friendly neighbor to call on if you get it wrong.

There are several rallies in NZ that head for the South Pacific each year and some boats leave thinking that they will be in sight of other boats all the way to Fiji but by nightfall they have seen their last accompanying boat until they pull into the destination anchorage.

The "poor buggers" for whom this rally was originally founded have never been the typical Mom & Pop cruisers many might think. The ARC has long been dominated by the brands like Oyster and Swan
I also think that there is a misconception about the boats in the ARC being mostly Swans and Oysters. The misconception probably created by the same yachting mags that portray it as a race because nobody wants to read about the large number of production boats involved - there's no glamour in that.

So here are a few stats from the entry list of the ARC2104:

Number of entries 254
Number of Swan (any length) = 14
Number of Oyster (any length) = 16
Number of "production" boats (Bavaria, Beneteau, Jenneau, Hanse, etc.) = 80

And that's not counting the "one-offs" like Roberts, Etap, Moody and so on which number another 73.

So the Oysters and Swans are not that prolific at all.

Number of boats less that 14 metres = 121
Number of boats 14 to 15 metres = 39

So the "up to 46 footers" account for nearly half the entries - another 16% are mutlihulls.

Number of boats in I Cruising division = 173 (68%)

Average LOA of boats in I Cruising division 14.24m

So the perception of large Oyster/Swan dominance is just plain wrong.
 
#23 ·
I guess when the time comes I will revisit the Rally question. But it just seems to make one more dependent on a cruisers worst enemy, a schedule!
 
#24 · (Edited)
I know my comments aren't directly in line with the thread title but I believe my comments are inline with the rally concept. In March I sailed with the WARC (circumnav ARC) from the Galapagos to the Marquesas. Before and after that leg I spoke with many of the participants and listened in on the twice daily radio net. My impressions:
1) There are some very good sailors. I met people who had already done a circumnavigation, or two! They understand their boat, weather, communications and navigation.
2) There are some people who have spent time on boats. I witnessed people that couldn't trim a sail worth a darn and could barely run their SSB.
3) There are some people with little sailing experience. I met people who have lived and been around boats but really didn't understand their boats systems and how to fix them when they fail. They thought the rhumb line was the fastest way to sail between two points and didn't seem to care about weather forecasts or pilot charts.
4) There are some very wealthy people. I met people with massive sums of money spent on stuff to help make up for their lack of experience. There was a gentleman with a very expensive boat that had never anchored before the rally. NO kidding. He had top notch gear but didn't know what he was doing.
5) Yes there is a radio check and generally you know where boats are but for the boat that lost all electrical power a few hundred miles after the start, they just had to sail on... It's not like you can just raft up in 12' seas with another boat to share a beer and troubleshoot things.
6) Scheduling comments. There was a SNAFU in the Galapagos regarding sealife on boat hulls. One guy more or less said "screw you" to the Galapagos and sailed on without playing the games. A few boats left before the start of the leg because they were ready to go. Some boats left later for a variety of reasons.

If you don't know what you are doing, I think there is some comfort in the rally. If you like to socialize, there was a lot of that. If you think the ARC is going to come "save" you if you get into trouble, think again. Reading the official ARC press releases and then reading the blogs of the participants is very interesting. The ARC doesn't mention much of the negatives like injuries, major boat damage and how local vendors jack up prices when the ARC boats arrive. It's marketing and I get that. Whether a rally is for a person is a very individual decision with many variables to consider.

I had a great passage cranking out a few 200+ mile days and I'm very thankful I had the opportunity to go.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I don't see nothing wrong with the ARC and its popularity says that I am not the only one: They have to create another rally for the ones that could not find place in this one.

The formula seems also a good one to me, allowing for the semi-top racers to have fun while the ones that want to just cruise or family "race" have plenty of classes to do so and have fun pretending they are racing. You can even use the engine while "racing":D

I believe the rally represents a good panorama of all cruising styles and extended itself to semi-professional racing. Not all on the racing division are top racers (there are not really top racers here) or professionals and many enjoy kind of a sportive cruising.

The second boat to arrive in 2012 was a cruising Pogo 50 with a relatively short crew (5) having among them the boat designer, the owner of the Pogo shipyard, the boat owner and a couple (both good sailors).

(the men that seems younger is the boat designer)
They made it in 8 days 20 hours, beating lots of boats with a full racing crew. It seems good fun to me and a good way to learn in what regards the NA and the shipyard owner.

I believe less and less people care about compensated time. Cruisers are there to have fun and the fun among 300 boats is that you can actually see how fast your boat is and how fast your crew are, catching and beating in real time other boats (in so many boats there always will be someone slower, I hope). No fun in catching boats on the paper:D

By the way, those 8 days and 20 hours in took the Pogo to cross the pond transformed themselves in 17 days and 13 hours on the paper: Slow on the paper, fast on the water. Do you prefer otherwise: fast on the paper slow on the water:p
 
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