This year saw the 27th edition of Atlantic Rally for Cruisers host 226 yachts as well as 1269 people. For the first time since 1989, ARC organisers decided to defer the start of the race from Sunday 25 November to Tuesday 27 November to permit a frontal system to pass through making difficult conditions in the wind acceleration zone South of Gran Canaria.
Oyster 625 sailing yacht Guardian Angel
Racing division boats and some of the larger experienced cruising yachts, including Oyster 625 sailing yacht Guardian Angel, Class 1 winner of the 2012 Oyster Regatta Palma, started on the Sunday as planned and crossed the line in just under 14 days at Rodney Bay, St Lucia. The Oyster 625 has been designed to give increased performance and handling and Guardian Angel’s success is a testimony to that.
The 625 yacht has attracted much acclaim, including European Yacht of the Year, Asia Boating Awards and most recently US Boat of the Year award 2013 for Best Bluewater Cruiser.
Twenty-four Oyster Yachts participated in this year’s ARC, including the Oyster Lightwave 48 yacht Scarlet Oyster, a familiar sight on the UK race circuit, with many trophies to her name crossing the finish line earlier today, closely followed by Oyster 82 luxury yacht Raven and the new Oyster 725 yacht Spirit of Phantom. All experiencing some exciting and fantastic downwind surfing conditions during their Atlantic crossing.
Completing her maiden voyage by crossing the Atlantic independently to the ARC, Eddie Jordan’s Family Trust’s Oyster 885 superyacht Lush arrived into Antigua after 11 days and 23 hours at sea. The 885 had a fantastic crossing in superb conditions and much to the delight of her crew when she hit 21.2 knots.
Lush’s skipper Paul Adamson said: “The perfect wave arrived with the perfect gust of wind – Lush listened to her skipper and dropped into the wave and launched herself like a base jumper off a mountain down the face of what was a magnificent ocean roller. We all jumped for joy when the log topped out at 21.2 knots”.
Oyster 885 sailing yacht Lush will now start preparations in the Caribbean ahead of the Oyster World Rally, which starts on 6 January 2013 from Nelsons Dockyard, Antigua.
