Fiu in Adriatic

Two Hundred and Twenty-five Yachts Heading For Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Cowes, 29 October 2002

As the weather in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean turns cold, the annual migration of cruising yachts towards warmer waters gets underway. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the bustling port capital of Gran Canaria is the destination for many of them, and 2002 is no exception. Already two hundred and twenty-five yachts are either on route to, or have arrived in the warm sunshine of the Canary Islands, in preparation for the largest transocean sailing event in the world - the annual Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.

The ARC is truly an international festival, with entries this year from; Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA; some twenty-six different nations represented in the fleet, and more still if crew nationalities are counted. Yachts from the UK make up just over 40% of the entries, with Germany and the Nordic countries forming the next largest contingents, with 13% of the fleet from each region. There are also large groups from the USA, France and the Netherlands.

Nautor Swan top the table of yacht builders, closely followed by Oyster, Hallberg Rassy, Jeanneau and Beneteau. This year there are five yachts under 10m loa participating, with Canina, a van de Stadt 29, sailed by Alison & Peter Aldred from Britain the smallest yacht at 8.70m. At the other end of the fleet is Tosca III, a giant at 36m (118ft). However, in keeping with previous years, the average yacht size is 14.6m (47ft); over 47% of the entries are from yachts between 12 to 14m loa.

ARC 2002 starts from a line off the harbour at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Sunday 24th November, and will finish some 2,700 nautical miles later at Rodney Bay, St.Lucia.

-Ends-

Notes for editors:

	ARC2002 is sponsored by the Tourist Board of Gran Canaria, the Port Authority of Las Palmas, the St Lucia Tourist Board, and in association with Yachting World.
	ARC2002 starts from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands on Sunday 24th November 2002 and finishes at Rodney Bay Marina, St.Lucia.
	The ARC is the largest transocean sailing event in the world, setting a record in 1999 of 235 starters
	The 2700 nautical mile passage will take most of the yachts between 18 and 21 days.
	World Cruising Club events include the Yachting World ARC Europe from Antigua every May, and the Yachting Monthly Rally Portugal from Plymouth to Lagos, Portugal, plus cruising seminars organised to help sailors with their cruising preparations.
	World Cruising Club, organiser of the world’s most popular yachting rallies, is part of Challenge Business, which was founded by Sir Chay Blyth 12 years ago.
	Southampton based Challenge Business events include the Global Challenge, the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge, and the EDS Atlantic Challenge for Open 60 racing yachts. It also runs Challenge Corporate Events and Challenge Adventure Sailing.
	A selection of maps and free images are available for press use.

Websites:

http://www.worldcruising.com/
http://www.challengebusiness.com/

Contacts: Full details about the ARC can be found on the World Cruising Club website at: http://www.worldcruising.com/arc/index.htm or contact Jeremy Wyatt at World Cruising Club on tel. +44 (0)1983 296060
e-mail: mail@worldcruising.com or Rachel Anning, PR Manager, Challenge Business on +44 (0)23 8071 5300.

World Cruising Club, 120 High Street, Cowes, PO31 7AX, England

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