Is the cost of the Atlantic Cruising Rally worth it?

[stormalong]

When you get to the Canaries ask around. There are many informal radio nets for the crossing. In our case the first crossing we did Canaries to Caribbean included a planned rendezvous with several boats that we had wintered with in Turkey. We were joined by several others. We called it the NARC - Not the ARC. Also, one of the organizers was an English NARC - narcotics officer.

We did a twice a day radio net where we shared position and weather info. It was a lot of fun and something we all looked forward to. It gave us the freedom of leaving when were were ready and arriving at the port of our choice rather than being required to arrive in St. Lucia.

It added a lot of fun to the crossing and didn't cost us a cent.

[gs41escapade]

So happy to have stumbled upon this thread as I am currently planning a west-east crossing this May and was wondering exactly the same thing.

I would NOT depart on a given date just because the itinerary said so regardless of the weather window. That's madness.

I think I'll try to keep track of the specific marinas they stay at and pick different ones.

[Katapult Mike]

Originally Posted by gs41escapade

So happy to have stumbled upon this thread as I am currently planning a west-east crossing this May and was wondering exactly the same thing.

I would NOT depart on a given date just because the itinerary said so regardless of the weather window. That's madness.

I think I'll try to keep track of the specific marinas they stay at and pick different ones.

Thanks for necro-posting on this! You gave me an excuse to do this:

Originally Posted by argonauta1

Common misconception re name Canary Islands: Wikipedia to the rescue. If you go, one sees signs to this effect in main centers

Quote The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs", a name that was evidently generalized from the ancient name of one of these islands, Canaria – presumably Gran Canaria. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the island Canaria contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size".[24]

The Atlantic canary (Serinus canaria), known worldwide simply as the wild canary and also called the island canary, common canary, or canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Serinus in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is native to the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira. unquote

So there ARE canaries on the Canary Islands after alll?!?!? But I spent a season in St. Thomas once, and I can tell you I found no evidence of virgins in the Virgin Islands.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Katapult Mike

Thanks for necro-posting on this! You gave me an excuse to do this:



So there ARE canaries on the Canary Islands after alll?!?!? But I spent a season in St. Thomas once, and I can tell you I found no evidence of virgins in the Virgin Islands.

I think I must have been there before you.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Katapult Mike

But I spent a season in St. Thomas once, and I can tell you I found no evidence of virgins in the Virgin Islands.

Modesty forbids me from explaining why

[Tom and Maje]

We found joining the rally worth it. We did not leave with the rally or join the race. We left a day before because of the weather. Chris Parker did our weather for our Atlantic crossing. You'll have trouble staying at the same marinas because the rally is so large. You also get discounts with the rally.

Maje