World Cruising Club
eNews
Summer 2019
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Greetings!
Welcome to the latest news from World Cruising Club!
In this edition, we are encouraging you to visit our
Bluewater Weekend
in Lymington UK in June. It
promises to be a melting pot of inspirational stories and practical top tips to get you cruising the world's oceans and living the dream. If you're in the planning stages of your adventure, this is a great first step to compare boats, routes, training and equipment before you set sail.
You can also find plenty of inspiration by reading the June edition of
Yachting World
. Featuring the insightful results of the ARC survey, a profile of World Cruising's Andrew Bishop, and cruising couples from the recently concluded edition of World ARC share their advice for happy and harmonious sailing with your partner.
Entries are now open for
World ARC 2021
and we were delighted to welcome our fist sign up within an hour of opening online registration. The current fleet have just waved farewell to French Polynesia; the photo above shows them leaving the idyllic island of Bora Bora earlier this week.
Regular visitors to our cruising information website,
noonsite.com
will have noticed a few changes to the site in the past month. Re-launched with a fresh new look, and now mobile-friendly, noonsite has many exciting new features on the way and continues to be an essential planning tool for ocean sailors around the world.
As always, the WCC team and I are happy to help with advice for your next sailing adventure and we hope to see you at
one of our forums
or on the start line of a rally very soon.
Happy sailing!
Jeremy Wyatt
World Cruising Club
T: +44 (0) 1983 296060
Skype: wccmail
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ARC Bluewater Weekend
22-23 June 2019
Warning – attending the Bluewater Weekend may result in you changing your life and going sailing!
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Advice, ideas and inspiration are on offer for anyone dreaming of offshore cruising at the annual Bluewater Weekend in June. This unique get-together is designed to encourage visitors think about all aspects of living their bluewater dream, providing the opportunity to view a wide range of offshore cruising boats and meet experts in refits, sails, communications and boat equipment, all whist mixing and chatting with experienced offshore cruisers – all previous ARC skippers - in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. It is a great social weekend and completely free!
Pre-registration needed as spaces are limited.
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World ARC 2021 -
Entries are now open!
Join the ultimate adventure sailing around the world.
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Are you dreaming of tropical islands and faraway places? Are you wondering what to do after the ARC? Looking for a safe, supported and social experience cruising the world's oceans?
Then join us and a varied fleet of yachts from all over the world for the adventure of a lifetime and sail the world's oceans with World ARC. Entries are now open to join us for the tenth edition of the rally, departing from the Caribbean in January 2021 to sail on the ultimate trade-wind sailing adventure
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If you are thinking about sailing with us for the ARC this year, then don’t delay as the last few spaces are expected to fill soon! Total entry numbers in the ARC each year are restricted by available space at the start marina in Las Palmas and at the finish in Saint Lucia, where all the boats are docked together.
If you're already signed up to join us, you should be thinking now about your plans to get to the start of the ARC in Las Palmas in November; we recommend that boats get to the Canary Islands by early October to make the most of favourable weather in the Mediterranean. If you are setting off from home ports in northern Europe, then be mindful of weather windows to cross the Bay of Biscay. Leaving it later in the season increases the risk of strong winds in the Bay, so we advise being across Biscay before the end of August.
There are some charming towns along the coast of Portugal, with excellent marinas that make cruising this coast easy, and don't forget you also get discounts at many marinas along the way by flying your ARC Flag.
If you plan to leave your boat in Portugal before heading to the Canary Islands, then we recommend
Marina de Lagos
as a safe and convenient location. The passage on from Lagos to the Canary Islands takes 4 to 5 days depending on weather. For more advice on marinas in Portugal and the Canary Islands, visit
noonsite.com
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ARC Youth Team Initiative Announced
An exciting opportunity for residents of Gran Canaria and Saint Lucia to join the greatest ocean rally!
2019 marks the 30th consecutive year that the ARC has arrived in Saint Lucia, as well as the 40th anniversary of the Caribbean country’s Independence. To celebrate and acknowledge this landmark anniversary, the organisers of the rally, World Cruising Club, have created a unique and incredible opportunity to allow up to twelve young people a funded position to sail across the Atlantic as a team in this year’s ARC.
The opportunity is open to twelve young residents of Gran Canaria and Saint Lucia, aged 18-25. Successful applicants will act as true international ambassadors for their respective islands and countries.
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The stage is set for the 25
th
Edition of ARC Portugal
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Mayflower Marina in Plymouth has begun to welcome participants set to join ARC Portugal 2019 ahead of their departure from the Plymouth Sound on Sunday 2 June, bound for Bayona in Spain. The offshore passage, due to take 4-6 days, is the first leg of a three week adventure to cross the Bay of Biscay and explore the Portuguese coast on their way to Marina de Lagos on the Algarve.
ARC Portugal has been taking boats south to Marina de Lagos since 1994 and this year marks the 25th edition of the rally. It combines an “ARC style” fleet crossing of Biscay, with social day cruising and sight-seeing along the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal. Each of the stopovers are at enchanting port locations which offer opportunities to conveniently visit historical sights, enjoy local cuisine and experience the warm hospitality of hosting yacht clubs and marinas in Povoa de Varzim, Figueira da Foz, Peniche, Oeiras and Sines. This year’s participants are certainly in for an exciting mix of great sailing and great sightseeing in the weeks ahead.
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Don't Miss Yachting World this month!
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If you are joining the ARC this year, or planning for the future, we recommend taking a look at the June edition of
Yachting World Magazine
which features the results from the extensive bluewater gear survey. It is valuable reading for the ARC or any long offshore passage with input from over
250 ARC skippers with over one million miles between them on the transatlantic rally from Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia on what were their most valuable items on the passage.
For those who are considering long term cruising as a couple, find out from our World ARC crews if sailing around the world with your partner really is the ultimate bluewater dream.
There's also a profile of World Cruising's very own Andrew Bishop. Find out about the man behind the our rallies and read his top tips for ocean cruising.
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Radio Communications at Sea – It’s good to talk
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Staying connected is important both for safety of boats at sea and for the social interaction between crews that adds another level to the enjoyment of sailing offshore. During ocean stages of our rallies there are daily SSB (HF) radio nets, which are a mix of safety messages, discussions on weather and routing, and social contact between the boat crews.
Read our latest feature about the basics of SSB Radio, and it's importance on the World ARC rally.
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Fresh New
Look for noonsite
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With over 50,000 pages of useful information Noonsite covers every cruising destination in the world making it the ultimate cruisers planning tool. The site, which has been operating since 2000, has just had a major upgrade giving it a fresh new look and enhanced navigation via a slick modern platform, that is faster to load, more stable to operate, and is now mobile friendly - the first step towards an exciting future with many new features and services now able to be supported. New features include “review a business” and our exclusive Member Discounts – membership is free, you just need to register.
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Bluewater Internet Bundles
We are thrilled to be joining WCC at the ARC Bluewater Weekend in Lymington on Saturday 22
nd
June. With over 14 years experience of supporting the ARC fleet in Las Palmas, MailASail have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to bluewater communications
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Satellite Phones
From handheld (mobile) devices such as the Iridium 9555/9575 through to faster, fixed units such as Iridium Pilot & Iridium Certus or Inmarsat Fleet Broadband, we can guide you through the range and help you select the device that best suits your requirements.
WiFi and 4G
Wherever possible, you will want to use WiFi and 4G rather than your (slow) satellite system. Marina WiFi can often be congested but with our specialist WiFi and 4G boosters, you can achieve stronger signals and enjoy a more satisfactory experience:
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Roam-Free WiFi Bat
Excellent reviews from every major UK yachting magazine. Stretch and boost weak marina WiFi signals - up to 10 miles range! Easy installation via high quality USB cable (15m)
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Bluewater Weekend offer: £199 +vat! (normal price: £299 +vat)
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Roam-Free 4Gateway
Our specialist 4G router is especially designed for travelling yachts and works seamlessly in both Europe and the Caribbean. Fantastic 4G coverage and increased speeds; fast & future-proof internet access
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Bluewater Weekend offer: £299 +vat! (normal price: £349 +vat)
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Talk to us about your complete Roam-Free solution (WiFi, 4G and satellite) for trouble-free internet onboard!
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Find Crew – Connect with Captains – Have Amazing Adventures
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Sailing the Stockholm Archipelago; Crossing the Indian Ocean from Thailand to Madagascar; cruising from Panama to the Marquesas; Crossing Biscay from Ireland to Northern Spain; around the world on a Neel 51, trimaran – these are just some of the amazing sailing opportunities available now on OceanCrewLink, World Cruising Club’s crew match service. Boat owners use Ocean Crew Link to find crew for rallies and independent cruising. Each month there are around 150 opportunities to sail as crew available on the site. Many boats sailing on the current rallies found crew via the site, bringing together people of different backgrounds and personalities to fulfil their dreams of sailing oceans together.
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