ARCING ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

The participating yachts start every leg together but as a rally, not a race, so motoring en route is permitted to keep the boats moving through light winds so they make the next port in time to party.

That sounded like fun, so I accepted an invitation to sail ARC Europe 2019 on Salamander, a Nauticat 55 ketch owned by Chris and Sue White of Lymington, UK. The route is 850 miles from the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) to Bermuda and then 1,850 miles to the Azores where I’d leave the boat. Salamander would continue on to Europe.

The BVIs are south of USA and governed by Britain so the locals drive American cars under British road rules – that puts the driver on the outer side of the road but overtaking safely is the least of the islanders’ challenges. In 2017, Cyclone Irma destroyed marinas, infrastructure and houses throughout the BVIs. Wrecked boats lie jumbled together in harbours and on the shores of outer