Who's Done the ARC Rally as a Couple?

[DoubleWhisky]

Mark... I can be only quite sure You are not the one on the front!

[JPA Cate]

Watch schedules,

Goals: Each person to get 8 hrs. sleep per day when needed.

Six on six off. We do 1800-2400, but one could try 1900-0100, if more compatible. Period. Flexible during the day, but the 6 hrs. at night sees one through the times when sleep is scarce due to vigorous boat motion. And you pick up the other two hours as part of your daytime offwatch. Trust that you will sleep during the day if you're tired enough. You will.

At least, give it a go, because it has worked very well for us for years, and we can slide into it now, because it's familiar, it's part of our repertoire of behaviors.

Ann

[sestina]

I've done the ARC twice. 2003 and 2010. Both times SWMBO and I sailed double handed. The first crossing was in a Contessa 33, a 7/8 rigged cruiser racer and we took 20 days. The wind was kind and we sailed a rhumb line course straight to St Lucia.

The 2010 crossing was somewhat different. The boat was our current one, a 37' Oyster Heritage. The wind didn't co-operate, we had to sail east and south of the Cape Verde Islands and it took us 26 days.

The wind excepted, the 2010 edition was immesureably better than the 2003 one. All organisation in Las Palmas worked properly; social events, seminars etc. The ARC people give a seminar for double handed crews (open to all) which is well worth attending. It's more of an ideas and information exchange than a formal seminar. There are also talks on weather, provisioning, etc.

Do read the ARC handbook and ensure that your boat meets all the safety requirements. This is best done at your home port rather than running round Las Palmas searching for flares, dahn buoys etc. Or as our neighbours did hacking holes in their cockpit to accomodate the mandatory VHF deck speaker.

Your neighbours on the dock are a good source of information. On the second trip, we felt like old lags dolling out suggestions to the new boys. Which were the best supermarkets, which fishing lures to buy, how to preserve eggs. On the shopping front, One of the finest department stores I've ever seen in is in Las Palmas; El Cortes Ingles. Everything form ladies' fashions, to an extensive food hall, pet department, motorbike department etc.

The SSB radio net is great fun. In our group of 12 boats, we had quizes, crew profiles, where each boat described themselves, a children's joke competion etc. Our buddies who only had a SSB receiver and a satphone felt very left out!

Watch keeping is up to you. A relaxed 3 on 3 off system works for us. Watchkeeping starts at 21:00 and runs to 09:00, though if nothing is happening, lie ins are common.

Sorry for waffling on for so long.

[AmyA511]

Hey y'all. Interested topic and relevant to us as well. We are crossing the Atlantic in Nov-Dec this year, Canaries to Bahamas. We may have one other person, but most likely just the two of us. Not doing the ARC, but I expect there will be plenty of boats getting ready to make the jump.

Looking forward to hearing more tips.


Amy
S/V Starry Horizons
Outchasingstars.com
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Simon, routines that work well vary tremendously between couples, so it is good you have time to test it out.

We like the loose schedule as it allows for greater flexibility and that is very necessary when conditions are bad (no more than a couple of hours on watch at a time may be ideal then). It allows rest to be taken rather than pushing on fatigued just because the schedule says it is time for a six hour watch for you.

Also, the five shifts per 24 hours works best if you and your partner work on similar internal time clocks. My husband is a night person and functions extremely well until way past midnight. I am far happier hitting the sack early and then having a 3am watch. So we work best on roughly similar watches each night. Take that into consideration too.

Having dome many long distances, and ARCS, Id agree with this, especially true for a couple, you should work out watch structures based on the sleep patterns, Some people are good power nappers and others are not.

Personally i find anything over 4 hours incredibly long and I prefer 3 hour watches, Thats because Im a light sleeper and wake throughout the night.

Equally you may find that you modify watch times to take account of events, Perhaps the off watch has to work during their off watch, or at times some people need less sleep then others,

I concur re autopilots, electric systems are well capable of crossing the Atlantic, consider spares and ensure yours is of sufficient power to handle the boat, this is the single reason APs fail IMHO.

2 crew is tough, especially if you have not done multi day trips before. 3 crew is nice, 4 is luxury.

The ARC is great fun, go to all the events and parties in Palma, and the piss-up on the other side. Remember you will be on your own the whole time, so self-sufficient is the word.

dave

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Goals: Each person to get 8 hrs. sleep per day ...

Ann

Thats SLEEP.
Many people seem to think 3 hours off watch = 3 hours sleep. It does not!
10 minute hand over to next shift
10 minute get out of wet weather gear, dry and hang it,
10 minute getting to sleep

Then
10 minute ablutions/ kitting up

Also off watch meals, cooking and cleaning.

Your people need 8 hours sleep. In bed snoring their lungs out.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by AmyA511

(...)

crossing the Atlantic in Nov-Dec this year, Canaries to Bahamas

(...)

Looking forward to hearing more tips.

You may opt for a less direct route, sailing in a SW-W-NW semicircle.

Winter tends to pack systems passing very low on top of sometimes very dissolved atlantic high. If you stick to the more direct route, you have high chance of getting pasted by fronts that will trail behind the systems up N.

Time your plans and stopovers as during the ARC and about 1 month prior to their departure Las Palmas will not take you in. You have decent take off points on other islands too.

Cheers,
b.

[AmyA511]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

You may opt for a less direct route, sailing in a SW-W-NW semicircle.

Winter tends to pack systems passing very low on top of sometimes very dissolved atlantic high. If you stick to the more direct route, you have high chance of getting pasted by fronts that will trail behind the systems up N.

Time your plans and stopovers as during the ARC and about 1 month prior to their departure Las Palmas will not take you in. You have decent take off points on other islands too.

Cheers,
b.

Exactly what we plan on doing. World Cruising Routes has been really helpful with regard to planning.


Amy
S/V Starry Horizons
Outchasingstars.com
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by AmyA511

Hey y'all. Interested topic and relevant to us as well. We are crossing the Atlantic in Nov-Dec this year, Canaries to Bahamas. We may have one other person, but most likely just the two of us. Not doing the ARC, but I expect there will be plenty of boats getting ready to make the jump.

Looking forward to hearing more tips.


Amy
S/V Starry Horizons
Outchasingstars.com
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Leave after the ARC not before. Arc leaves too early for the trades to be established and often results on boats diving way south to find wind.

Dave

[AmyA511]

Hey Dave, that's one of the reasons why we are not doing the ARC. we are not sure we will be there in time and don't want to have to rush to try to make it. I know that time of year the Canaries will be chock full of cruisers getting ready to take off. We may be aiming for Tenerife as a jump off point instead.


Amy
S/V Starry Horizons
Outchasingstars.com
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by AmyA511

Hey Dave, that's one of the reasons why we are not doing the ARC. we are not sure we will be there in time and don't want to have to rush to try to make it. I know that time of year the Canaries will be chock full of cruisers getting ready to take off. We may be aiming for Tenerife as a jump off point instead.


Amy
S/V Starry Horizons
Outchasingstars.com
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Well marina Atlantico in Santa Cruz is a dump , las palmas is better, good chandleries etc. but you'll not get in until the arc leaves. Try staying in Santa Cruz de la gomera ( great but not for fit out ) then pop over to las palmas when the arc leaves.

Dave

[AmyA511]

Great! Thanks for the advice.


Amy
S/V Starry Horizons
Outchasingstars.com
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Oliver L.]

Amy,

we were exactly a year ahead of you. I second much of what has been said, except:

We went just the two of us, and it was our adventure. Had we taken crew with us it would have been very different.

We also stayed away from ARC - again, we wanted to do this our way - and we were very lucky. You could see the ARC participants lining up at the Capverdes to refuel since most of them had to motor into shitty weather. We left a few weeks later and while we had waaay too much wind and waves, we did not encounter any abnormal wind direction and managed the crossing with about 1/2 hour motor time (the generator was on more for water, washing and recharging).

We stayed in Marina San Miguel in Tenerife first and then in Darsena Pesquera on Tenerife - both not really very nice spots if you are used to anchoring.

Have fun! It's an adventure!

Oliver

[AmyA511]

Thanks Oliver!


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