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The ARC Race starts in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Venomous will set off from Cowes on or about the 16th October. This passage should take around 7 to 8 days and is an ideal time to get to know how the boat really feels and works for long periods whilst not in racing mode. Time can be spent fine-tuning the yacht and equipment so that she may be in the best possible condition for the Trans Atlantic adventure to follow.
Windward Sailing has for the last 22 years successfully competed in numerous offshore races including the infamous bi-annual Fastnet race and of course the ARC. We gather together like-minded sailors who not only want to compete on fast modern race yachts but also want to go that bit further and win. Over the last few years we have campaigned our race yachts, and have won numerous trophies - all achieved with individual sailors on board. We do always provide a core professional crew who know the yacht inside out and therefore can spend their time teaching and showing and encouraging crewmembers how to get the best from the boat and to mould the crew into a winning team.
After many hugely successful ARCs in 2003, 2004,2005 2007 2008 2010 we are planning again to take part in the ARC on 25th November 2012.
The racing division of the ARC is run under the control of the Royal Ocean Racing Club in conjunction with the main organising body of the World Cruising Club. The 2012 race should be very exciting as Venomous with her exceptional all-round sailing pedigree could be the yacht to win the racing division again.
The course has remained the same for many years and follows the same trade winds that Christopher Columbus sailed by many centuries ago. Luckily nowadays the yachts are more technologically advanced and have all the modern navigation and weather equipment to make the crossing as efficient as it is possible to be. Predominantly a downwind race, So with Venomous there should be no problems with making the most of what the wind has to throw at us.
Venomous is a state of the art race yacht complete with Carbon fibre mast and boom.
She comes complete with a 30 sail wardrobe. With her downwind sail area of 4290sq ft she will certainly get the adrenalin pumping and those muscles burning.
Venomous has been developed as a high performance race machine intended to race – fast.
These yachts have recorded speeds of 30 knots.
During the 2011 season Venomous was 1st in the Big Boat class of the RORC Championship with many podium places. Venomous also won the ARC Race to St Lucia, 2007 and runner up in 2010. She will sail with a crew of 14 so allowing for plenty of room below decks to enjoy the air con whilst off watch.
We have outlined our campaign plan for those who wish to compete with us onboard Venomous. We believe that this is a tried and tested way of bonding the crew and boat.
The yacht will come with skipper and mate who will have extensive knowledge of the boat and all aspects of offshore yacht racing and tactics. The team will be then be made up of people such as you who are enthusiastic about sailing, racing, and winning. Full training in racing comes with the package and our aim at the end of the campaign is that any one of the crew members will have the ability and confidence to step onto any race boat and become a key member of any team.
The ARC Package includes:
| Training week-end Solent based | Race entry fees | |
| Passage from Cowes to Gran Canaria | Food and drink on-board | |
| ARC Race | General boat expenses | |
| Fully qualified skipper and mate | Mooring fees | |
| ARC Party Pass | Crew shirt |
£2,950
If you would like to sign up with us to do our ARC Campaign, please complete and return this booking form.
We are once again offering a staged payment plan, which will be 20% on booking, and then the balance spread out over 5 months from 1 July to 1 November.
We hope that you have found this of some interest and if you would like more in-depth information please do not hesitate to contact by telephone, fax, email or letter. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Once we have received your booking form and deposit we can confirm your place with us on our ARC campaign.
Please follow this link to download the ARC 2012 Brochure from Windward Sailing.
Please follow this link to download the ARC 2012 Booking Form from Windward Sailing.
The ARC race itself starts on November 25th 2012 from Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and finishes 2700 miles later in Rodney Bay, St Lucia. The race as always is organised by the World Cruising Club.
Training Weekend (Date to be confirmed)
The training weekend will be based in the Solent. The weekend will be used for sorting out crew positions and generally getting to know each other. During the weekend everyone will get a chance to try all aspects of sailing the yacht and to find out whether offshore racing is for them. Venomous is technically a very advanced yacht and we will need each member of the crew to be fully conversant with all aspects of the yacht and her gear. For instance everybody will need to be competent on hoisting and trimming any one of the spinnakers of which we have a choice of 5 therefore the training weekends will be physically demanding.
The start line of the ARC is just offshore of Las Palmas and is a great spectacle with hundreds of spectator craft and a Spanish warship at anchor as the start vessel. It is certainly an emotional moment for all those crew involved in the build up to this big day. There will be much jockeying for position in the first few hours as we all race down the eastern side of Gran Canaria, but in a very short space of time most of the fleet will be left behind. Once clear of the Canary Islands the skill of the Navigator will be tested as we try and set the best course that will pick up the stronger North Easterly trade winds. Normally once we are a day or so out we will truly be running down the rhumb line at over 12 knots making good over three hundred miles a day. As we gobble up the miles the weather will be getting warmer and warmer and if past races are anything to go by we will be sailing in shorts by day and night. The daily routine of sailing this yacht at as near optimum as we can will also include the morning ritual of removing the stranded flying fish from all parts of the deck.
All to soon the race will be over and the magical Caribbean island of St Lucia will be sighted. At the finish in Rodney Bay we will be welcomed with Rum Punch as we cross the line. This sets the scene for the coming days with a party every night.