240 yachts set off from Las Palmas in November to cross the Atlantic to Rodney Bay in St Lucia. There’s an option to race or cruise, but in all fleets there’s plenty of rivalry among the crews of course, and prizes. However, the main aim of the event is to enable yachts to cruise in the safety of each other to get to the warm Caribbean winter destination.
Admiral Yacht Insurance has had a long association with the ARC. The company insures all nationalities but more UK based yachts than any other in this event, and we have provided advice and support on the dockside prior to the event, for a number of years.
Admiral’s Robert Holbrook was on hand in Las Palmas prior to this year’s departure to help all policy holders ensure that their insurance was ship-shape, newly purchased items were covered, and to be available to handle any claims that might have arisen during the long delivery trips to get to the start line.
Admiral clients were also able to benefit from a complimentary rig check, providing valuable peace of mind prior to the trans-Atlantic crossing! Admiral offers many exclusive benefits to ARC participants in addition to a very hands on personal service!
The first yacht finished on 1st December after just 11½ days at sea. With favourable winds for the entire crossing, the line honours not surprisingly went to a 15.2m lightweight trimaran, Rayon Vert, followed closely by the Franco-Russian team on mighty 28.7m super-maxi Med Spirit (ex Bols).
By 17th December all but two of the fleet who had to divert elsewhere for repairs had safely finished in time for the prizegiving, with the final finishers experiencing a mixture of light winds and the occasional squall.
