ARC and the requirement to have email

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Paleyma

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Hi,

We are looking to do next years' ARC and in talking to World Cruising, they stipulate that you need the capability to send email on passage - ie either Pactor/SSB or satphone.

I was very surprised at this. My question to those that have done / are doing the ARC themselves - have you all spent the cash and gone down one of these routes? Neither is particularly cheap.

We have an old ICOM 710 which, I am pretty sure, will not support email (although it obviously will support voice TX/RX + weatherfax). To replace with a new ICOM + Pactor appears to be about £3k, which seems an awful lot just to get email - which I didn't even particularly want! And I am not smitten by the idea of a satphone due to call charges.

We are a young family, so we quite liked the security of doing the ARC.

Any views?
 
A bit surprised about it being "a requirement", however, the Icom should be fine - it will need a Pactor Modem - the point about a Modem is that it uses voice frequencies to transmit and receive data.

Others will confirm which level of Pactor would be supported...
 
I did the ARC in 2003. We had an Icom 802 and a Pactor IIex modem. I'm pretty sure that the 710 will drive a Pactor modem.

I didn't use the SSB for email on the crossing, just relied on the daily radio net and the net controller to transmit my position to the organisers for me.

Incidentally, the radio net was one of the highlights of the trip. I also had a private radio schedule with friends too.
 
Don't imagine you'll be on your own if you choose not to do the ARC. There are many more boats crossing independently than signing up for the ARC. The Non ARC boats set up their own SSB nets (with no need for a Pactor unless you want to have one) and we all help each other in the same way that ARC boats do - we share weather info, advice and chat and we don't pay an entry fee to do so.

There seems to be a suggestion that you'll be "safer" with the ARC - personally I don't see the logic in this. The necessity for self sufficiency and the willingness to help another crew should be universal for anyone contemplating an ocean voyage. The ARC is a bit of fun and a social event - it shouldn't be seen as a necessity for anyone planning their first ocean crossing.

Non ARC people have kids too!
 
As others have said there's the same level of security pretty much at any time from November to mid January, as you will always meet many people in the Canaries and then often head off together with your own net on ssb. There are a lot of boats around crossing that will be within ssb contact.

I've only had a receiver so just used to listen in to get local weather, which was more useful on the way back. Maybe I'm a bit old school now, as the first trip we only had the vhf for contact if things went pear shaped, which wouldn't have been much help, although we did see one ship.

With the ARC however you do get an arranged party at each end!
 
I will heartily endorse the Blue Iguana's thoughts above - there is absolutely no need to sign up with the ARC in order to get this perceived (erroneously) factor of safety. I think the entry fee is probably about GBP 300 per boat (or more?), plus a charge per person on top - I was told GBP 100 per head - I guess this is to cover the drinks partis at each end.....

But if you would like to have the reassurance of being part of the ARC flotilla, just leave the Canaries at the same time as them (and many other non ARC yachts). It can almost become a highway out there...... I sailed across in '95, and we left a couple of days after the ARC, and overhauled quite a few of the ARC entries in mid Atlantic. We probably on average saw a yacht (sometimes 2) everyday on the way across.

And you can still listen in on their nets - and be assured that if anything happens, and you seek advice (eg medical, technical etc) on their nets they will embrace you warmly. Because you are a fellow yacht, doing the same as what they are doing, and it could so easily be one of them who is asking the questions.

The same applies to the Trans-atlantic maritime mobile net - altho this is on the ham radio frequencies, and you need a ham license and call sign to check in generally, if you have any emergency on board and check in requesting advice, the net controllers will do all they can to help you, and you will be their priority concern - and they do move heaven and earth when required! The Blue Iguanas had personal experience of this when they consulted the Net on their way across.

For reference, the net operates on 21.400 at 1300 UTC every day - the net controller now is Jack AA3GZ in the USA - my Mum Trudi 8P6QM recently retired from the net after running it for the past 20 years.
 
As Bajansailor says, we had a medical problem on board between Antigua and Horta. Our son (then 12) suffered an extreme allergic reaction to something (still not sure what). His skin was virtually covered in large red blotches, his eyes were nearly closed and his mouth began to swell. Naturally we feared his airways would be affected.

We were not part of any organised rally but the support we received via SSB was phenomenal. It was a huge boost to know people were trying to help even if it wasn't an easy situation to deal with.

In the end we treated Jac with antihistamines from ship's medical kit and the allergy subsided over three days. It was a nasty situation but wouldn't put us off going offshore with kids in future.

A bit of a ramble but the message is the same - you don't need to sign up for a rally to get help and support when you need it and no matter how prepared you are, bad stuff does occasionally happen.
 
Perhaps we could have our own"crossing the atlantic" group, through this forum, if enough people are interested (and perhaps end up in Barbados!)

I've been thinking about the ARC next year too, but wondering about the benefits. My brother did it in 2002 (or 3?) and said he felt it wasn't worth the money. Its £600 (for 12m yacht) plus £100 per crew member .

I've also been looking at rally antigua with bluewater rally people, but see there are very few yachts that do this - unless its a BWRound the world year (not next year).
 
We totted it up and it would cost around £1,000 for a 12m yacht with three crew (£600 for boat, £100 per crew, £100 'joining fee'!)

We will be Non - ARC'ing! A YBW Forum Crossing group sounds good - give a date range to leave the canaries and publish an SSB schedule for a net - hey presto (Maybe I should work for the WCC and charge for this!?)

Can't understand the email requirement - SSB / HF yes - but not email?

Jonny
 
Absolutely!!

BTW I know someone who did Rally Antigua - he rated it very highly and said it was much more of a cruise in company than the ARC which is more of a race / rally. Still waiting to hear prices for next year's Rally Antigua, but with the coffers limited by all the kit we're buying at present, I think we'll be the first people to sign up to YAC (Ybw Atlantic Crossing) - I think we need a new thread for this with dates / locations etc.

Jonny
 
As far as I know a 710 will handle a Pactor - indeed any SSB with a sound socket (output) should be able to.

> Bajan sailor said: But if you would like to have the reassurance of being part of the ARC flotilla, just leave the Canaries at the same time as them (and many other non ARC yachts).

That's an appalling attitude, how cynical can you get.

If you can't afford the ARC or simply don't want to do it then the best thing is to leave later - there will still be other boats to keep in touch with. The reason for the delay is that the ARC leaves relatively early and the trades haven't settled in. Leave later for a better passage.
 
Weather permitting - leave when you like.

The ARC does leave relatively early in the season but those who sign up aren't the only ones who wish to have Christmas in the Caribbean. Those who are on a tight time frame often intend to sail from Europe to Caribbean in December and leave for their return leg before the next Hurricane Season. They'll want to maximum their time in the sun regardless of the ARC's plans.

It's true that the best trades kick in later but to suggest that anyone choosing to sail around ARC time is "piggy backing" is entirely unfair. The ocean can't be block booked.

At least the independents have the chance to pick their weather window for departure (according to their crew and vessel) not being scheduled to line up on the start according to the whims of sponsors and paying crews.

I've no problem with the ARC - it's a great event for those who want it but don't make the mistake of thinking that everyone who crosses the path of the fleet is "cynically" trying to benefit from the event without paying.
 
>don't make the mistake of thinking that everyone who crosses the path of the fleet is "cynically" trying to benefit from the event without paying.

Not everyone maybe, but since Bajansailor has now effectively recommended piggybacking it...
 
If somebody else is going the same way as you, is it not reasonable to assume that it would probably be more fun (and possibly a bit safer, if only from a psychological point of view) if you tagged along with them?

For first-timers sailing across the Atlantic, those who are a bit apprehensive about what lies ahead, what is wrong in leaving at the same time (or a few days before) as 200 other yachts, if you perceive reassurance from the 'safety in numbers' philosophy?
These 'piggy-backers' will not be doing the ARC out of a customer - far from it! The ARC usually gets booked up early on, with the limit set at around 200 yachts - I dont think they have ever been significantly under-subscribed.

I think that the ARC is a brilliant concept, and I 'tip my lid' to Jimmy Cornell for coming up with the first one 21 years ago - I sailed in it, and had a brilliant time.
But this was long before EPIRBs and emails were common on yachts - not many yachts even had an SSB then. When I sailed across in '94 on Stormy Weather, we had SSB comms, and we met an Italian ARC yacht in mid-Atlantic who were feeling a bit lost and short changed, because they only had VHF on board, and they were expecting to be able to chat to all their fellow ARC'ers every day via VHF on the way across..... so we reported them in to the ARC net, and they were very pleased.

I think that it became mandatory a year or 2 later for ARC yachts to have SSB - now there is a requirement for email by SSB or satphone as well. The typical GBP 700 entry fee (on top of the cost of the satphone, pactor et al) would go a long way in an average cruising kitty.
Sailing is still one of the last freedoms in this world, where you dont have to be constrained by rules and regulations if you want to sail across an ocean.
(PS - we listened to Adrian, Kelly's Eye former owner on the SSB each day when sailing across in '94 - they were in the ARC - and they were telling the net some amazing stories about their day to day happenings on passage....)
 
Never done the ARC or likely to though I like the sound of a les formal forum group if I ever happen to be going the same way at the same time

Having said I would not join I think you might be missing the piont a bit about the benifits of the ARC (apart from the parties) they do seem to put lots of effort into the preperation providing kit list, safety inspections etc. If new to ocean sailing I can see having someone more experienced double check your boat and advise on provisions, kit etc could well be a big confidence boost. You can probably get all this advice elseware (RNLI Sea Check, forums, books etc) but nice to have one person to look to for it all.

The catch 22 is that I believe the inspection is in the Azores, 1100 miles SW of Cornwall including the Biscay bit so maybe by then a safety check is a bit redundant!!!
 
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