Growing shift towards catamarans in ARC rally popularity stakes
One of the largest ever transatlantic fleets set off from Las Palmas in November on three different ARC events. A combined total of 185 crews were taking part in the main ARC rally direct to St Lucia and 95 more in the ARC+ fleets, which cross via Cape
Verde and finish in either St Lucia or neighbouring St Vincent.
The growth of the rally was accommodated by creating these two supplementary events, which leave prior to the ARC and arrive earlier, freeing up marina space at each end. But by doing so, the organisers have made events with a different flavour – the ARC+ is particularly popular with families and parents sailing with young children.
The events continue to be a bellwether of sailing trends. There has been a steady increase in the numbers of couples in their forties sailing with young school age children, while the number of male-only crews has dwindled sharply.
But the most notable change this year is the ascendancy of the catamaran, suggesting a potentially long-term shift in boatbuying. Of the total yachts in the ARC this year, 60 were multihulls and 50% of all new boats – those launched in the last 18 months – are catamarans.
“They have really taken off in the last three years,” observes World Cruising director Jeremy Wyatt. “You can understand why catamarans are so popular. They are comfortable to live on, and if you are swinging at anchor in the Caribbean which would you rather be on: a monohull or a multihull?
Although yachts taking part in the rally are, on the whole, getting bigger (in length as well as width), there are more young couples too, taking advantage of the breaks being made possible by ‘portfolio careers’.
“People just need to remember that you don’t need the shiniest, flashiest boat,” says Wyatt. “You can spend a certain amount doing up a good, solid boat that won’t let you down and if you refit it you will also know your boat intricately. It might take three more days to cross the Atlantic but what does that matter? This is often the right boat for the traditional liveaboard sailor. For them it’s not the boat that’s the motivation, it is the adventure, and they have got the same lifestyle as the tech millionaire in the big catamaran, and are going to the same sailors’ bar in the same flip-flops.”
Read about some of the ways couples have planned, prepared and saved for their bluewater adventures on page 44.