ARC and the requirement to have email

A little story about safety checks and briefings.

Prior to the start of the first ARC in 1986 (when it came to Barbados, rather than St Lucia) the organisers gave very comprehensive briefings about what we could expect on the crossing, along with pilotage notes, advice on provisions, pretty much everything relevant in fact.

I seem to recall that the list of essentials back then was fairly minimal - basic safety equipment, and I am not too sure if even a liferaft was compulsory, although it probably was.
There was a very strong entry in the smallest class, with various boats under 27' including a Frances 26, an Achilles 24, and a Hurley 22 (called Raggles, whom Silkie on this forum knows) with a young couple (and I think a dog as well) on board.
SSB radios were not compulsory, and I doubt that everybody had satnavs (I think that GPS units were still the preserve of the defence agencies then, if they had even been 'invented', similarly EPIRBs?), as they were still very expensive in those days.

We were all told about the hazards when approaching Barbados, especially the offshore reefs on the south-east side of the island, and were urged to stay well clear if approaching from the south (I would always advocate approaching from the north - this is much easier, and some boats chose this route).

No vessels were lost at sea in the '86 ARC. Yet one yacht piled up on the reef off Sam Lords Castle at night. after having a textbook crossing, complete with (I think) 4 crew on board, so it was not an issue about nobody being on watch (or it shouldnt have been).

The message re the hazards of these reefs was stressed even more at the Briefing prior to the 1987 ARC. And what happened? Another yacht ran aground on the same reef at night. Both vessels were lost, and fortunately both crews managed to make their way ashore OK.

This is rather rambling, but I think that the point I am trying to make is that no matter the amount of safety equipment carried, or briefings attended, it ultimately comes down to the crew on board to practice good seamanship while sailing across.
 
We went with the ARC in 2005. I far as I recall, the need for email is more about sending your position for the daily updates (and also to receive weather info). If you don't want the expense of the kit involved, you can I believe hire a transponder for the trip from WCC. I'd get/rent/borrow a Inmarsat phone (can be cheap via ebay (preferably with the data attachment). You can also buy short-dated PAYG cards from ebay too.

We didn't have SSB (though we did have a receiver). We had Inmarsat as well as a Fleet 33 (which is indeed an expensive bit of kit to buy, and use!).

As far as it being crowded on the way over, over the the first 2 nights, we saw just one other sailboat before seeing a fellow forumite about 100 miles off St. Lucia. In addition, we saw just 4 ships. Sailing 'in company' it's not.

Certainly the cost of ARC ain't cheap but there is a lot of support available. There are reps flown in to Las Palmas from many of the major equipment suppliers which in our case (knackered autohelm course computer) proved really useful. The safety inspection is thorough and also there's a whole load of seminars in the week before departure which are useful for crew and skippers alike. You are very unlikely to be able to berth in Las Palmas (lots of chandleries etc) unless you are ARC registered. When set against the kit preparation costs for the trip (which I believe average about £15K) the fee is just one more painful expense! The atmosphere on leaving and arriving IMHO, makes the fee worth it!

My only gripe is that the ARC leaves too early but this is I suppose primarily designed to ensure arrival pre-Christmas for crew/family etc.
 
I agree entirely with Zefender.
We crossed the Atlantic on the Arc 2006 and it was very reassuring as first-timers.
The berthing at Gran Canaria was discounted, the free seminars were particularly useful, the support from the big supermarkets involved was excellent and hassle-free and it is possible to go to some sort of organised party everynight, once the event has oficially opened.
Not having ssb, we found that an Iridium satphone was the cheapest option and it has a reasonable resale value.
We used it for the daily position report, to receive the event forecast, to keep track of the rest of the fleet and to deal withour own email. The map on the ARC Website was excellent, allowing the folks back home track our progress.
I can thoroughly recommend Mailasail for their email compression and for the availability of additional weather forecasts and grib wind data.
After Day 1 we saw almost no one and were rarely within vhf range of any of the fleet. The ability to listen in to the event on the ssb net could be considered useful, but personally I preferred to left in peace!
Next time I would probably not sign up for the ARC, but go it alone, either setting off from Lanzarote or turning up at GC once the ARC has left. The marina at Las Palmas is of course rammed and the atmosphere is special, but the facilities are streched, with toilets, in particular, virtually non-existent. My biggest criticism is that the ARC has becomed over focused on the racing and is less interested in the cruiser. This is evidenced by the whole conduct of the final prize-giving and closing ceremony; very little of the original Jimmy Cornell's original Corinthian Spirit remains. And be aware if you are less than 40ft loa, you will be in the minority, be at the back of the fleet, knowing you have probably missed many of the organised events at Rodney Bay and hoping you make it in time before the ARC closes.
So you pays your money and you takes your choice!
 
The Icom M710 will connect to a Pactor 3 modem, I have that arrangement. Mine is an open set which, as a radio ham, is convenient albeit technically it is not legal for use as a marine set. I use Winlink (the amateur email service) and Sailmail which costs $250 per year and works on the marine frequencies, not the amateur frequencies. If you have an Icom M710, Pactor 3 and Sailmail you have a very effective worldwide email system. You can send faxes via email for about 10p per fax as well. With the modem and appropriate software you can also obtain weatherfax and RTTY weather.

Undoubtedly the Pactor 3 solution is the cheapest for you. You will need to get a Long Range Certificate if you haven't already got one. Ignore the pirates who say you don't need one; it's misery seeking the company of misery or in this case, ignorance feeling more comfortable when everyone else is equally ignorant.
 
We should be crossing next year, if SWMBO doesn't get her way and we go to Turkey!!! Still, wintering in Portimao has its benifits as we can easily go east or west.

Anyway when we go, we're not going to join the ARC, we'll head for the Cape Verde and then to Senegal and over to Brazil/the Caribbean. We'll see how it pans out, thats what cruising is all about.

By the way we will be 2 handed with 2 children under 10.

Why pay for parties - we've never had a problem in finding them or them finding us so far.
 
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Hi Aberman,
I'm not sure you'd be interested but FYI there is a French Rally that runs from Cape Verdes / Sengal over to Brazil and then expolores the Amazon in company. We've pals doing it this year not just for the parties, but also to ease formalities and local knowledge.
Cheers
JOHN

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That's the Iles du Soleil rally. I haven't done it, but a few years ago I was sailing exactly the same route, and met up with them a couple of times. It left the Canaries about the same time as the ARC. There were about 20 yachts, every single one a catamaran over 40'. There were minimum speed requirements (6 kts from memory) in the Amazon section. The working language is French. Its expensive, I was quoted 6000 euros just to do the Brazilian section, though in the end I did the same route on my own.

The level of satisfaction amongst participants seemed very high, much more so than among those who take part in the ARC.
 
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