Practical preparation advice for an offshore passage from ARC sailors and cruising rally experts
by World Cruising Club 20 Jul 2018 20:02 UTC
Hear from seasoned ocean sailors and rally experts at Southampton Boat Show Forums © World Cruising Club
Sailing rally organisers World Cruising Club (WCC) will be hosting their annual Ocean Sailing Forum this autumn set to inspire sailors to extend their offshore cruising boundaries.
The forum will feature a panel of seasoned bluewater cruisers sharing their personal experiences of sailing offshore passages and living on board, together with industry professionals giving their own practical top tips. The objective is to share their knowledge and experience in a friendly and informative way and audience members are encouraged to participate and to ask questions.
During the two-hour forum, panellists will discuss the planning and preparation required for ocean cruising, with special emphasis on WCC rallies including the ARC and World ARC. Topics covered include preparing a boat, selecting equipment, sail handling, life on board, crew management, route planning and weather. Anyone interested in sailing off across the oceans, whether planning for the future or almost ready to set-sail, is welcome to attend. Space for forum is limited, and those wishing to attend are encouraged to sign up in advance.
The panel of this year's Ocean Sailing Forum, held on Saturday 15 September at a venue close to the Yachtmarket.com Southampton Boat Show, includes a cross-section of cruisers who have all sailed the Atlantic on their own boats.
Bill Aylward and Kate Otty purchased their first cruising boat, a Catana 42 catamaran, in 2013. They spent two years getting to know the boat, sailing her initially around the south England coastline, to the Isles of Scilly, and across to France and the Channel Islands. By 2016, they were ready for the big trip down to the Canaries and across to Saint Lucia with the ARC. They went on to spend a winter in the Caribbean before returning to the UK the following spring.
Pete and Janet Dearden recently featured in Practical Boat Owner's multi-part feature 'From eBay to Rodney Bay' detailing their story of going from novice sailors to live-aboards that wound up sailing the ARC in one of the smallest boats in the 2017 fleet. They joined the ARC+ Cape Verdes route, sailing double handed on Twenty Twenty, a Gibsea Serena 100, just 10m LOA.
The culmination of years of planning, including attending WCC forums themselves, Chris and Katie Russell sailed their Sweden 45, Associate3 on their first transatlantic crossing with ARC 2017. "I have to admit that I was a little cynical and wary about whether I wanted to be organised into a rally environment before signing up but I am now a convert!" said Chris when they completed the crossing after 23 days at sea, particularly enjoying the support and camaraderie. They since cruised the Caribbean for the 2017/2018 season, before leaving the boat in Antigua.
In addition to the Ocean Sailing Forum, specific sessions are also planned for those wishing to find out about World Cruising Club's circumnavigation rally, World ARC and a special Cruising in Portugal seminar, supported by Marina de Lagos. These will give a unique insight into rally life, and give the opportunity to meet others planning their adventures to compare notes and plans.
ARC organisers World Cruising Club will also be on hand following each Forum and on their stand J051 to answer questions about the world's most popular cruising rallies and all aspects of preparing to go bluewater cruising.
Full details of each forum, including venue, times and registration at worldcruising.com/training