Preparation Checklist Summary
| Standing Rigging | Inspect every swage fitting and turnbuckle for broken strands and crevice corrosion |
| Running Rigging | Every halyard, sheet, and furling line — replace anything with chafe or wear at the masthead sheaves |
| Autopilot | The single most important system for a shorthanded passage — service it, carry spares |
| Watermaker | Commission, test to rated output, carry membrane cleaning chemicals |
| Communications | Iridium GO or satellite phone required; SSB strongly recommended |
| Safety Inspection | EPIRB registration, life raft service date, flare expiry, jacklines — World Cruising Club inspects all |
| Provisioning | Plan for 21 days, stock for 25 — Atlantic passages average 18–21 days |
| Crew Minimum | 2 for ARC; most boats sail with 3–4 |
Most ARC boats arrive in Las Palmas with six to eight weeks to spare before the late November start, and almost all of them need every day of it. The Canary Islands have become one of the best-served offshore preparation ports in the world precisely because hundreds of boats make this stop every autumn — the boatyards, chandleries, riggers, and diesel suppliers are geared to the ARC calendar. But the preparation itself is your responsibility, and the sailors who arrive in Las Palmas thinking there will be time to sort out the big problems are the ones who miss the start or, worse, leave underprepared.
Standing Rigging: The Item That Keeps You Up at Night
The Atlantic passage puts 18 to 21 days of continuous load on your rig, almost entirely downwind — which means the rig sees different stresses than coastal sailing. The forestay and backstay carry most of the work; the shrouds are loaded asymmetrically depending on whether you're running on port or starboard gybe. Standing rigging failures in mid-Atlantic are a serious emergency. Prevention is the only sensible approach.
Inspect every swage fitting — the cylindrical metal sleeve pressed onto the end of each wire shroud and stay — for broken outer strands emerging from the swage. A single broken strand visible at the swage is cause for replacement before departure, full stop. Look for rust staining at the swage, which indicates water intrusion and internal corrosion even where no broken strands are visible. Check the turnbuckles for corrosion and cracking at the thread roots; look at the toggles for wear. If your rig is more than eight to ten years old and the wire has never been replaced, the ARC is not the right passage to test it. Las Palmas has riggers who do pre-ARC standing rigging inspections regularly and they are worth hiring for an independent eye.
Roller furling bearings — both the forestay foil and the headsail drum — should be checked for smooth operation and lubricated if needed. A furling system that sticks or binds offshore in 25 knots of trade wind breeze is a cockpit crisis. Check that the furling line is in good condition throughout its length and that the drum has no cracks.
Running Rigging: Every Halyard, Every Sheet
Check every halyard by hauling it to the masthead and inspecting the masthead end for chafe where it runs over the sheave. Halyards that have been in service for several seasons develop a worn spot at the masthead from the constant movement; this is the spot that parts when you're 1,000 miles from land. If the sheath is worn through to the core, replace the halyard before you leave. Main halyard, jib halyard, and spinnaker or pole-mounted headsail halyard all get the same treatment.
Sheets wear at the clutch entry points and at the turning blocks. Run them through your hands looking for soft spots where the core is damaged. The genoa sheets take a great deal of load on a trade wind passage and there is limited opportunity to inspect them once you're offshore. New sheets are inexpensive relative to the cost of a mid-ocean repair or a torn sail from a flogging sheet that let go. Carry at least one spare halyard of appropriate length and a spare genoa sheet as insurance.
Inspect the masthead sheaves for wear and binding — seized or cracked sheaves are a common cause of halyard failure. If you don't have a bosun's chair and the confidence to use it, most Las Palmas marinas can arrange a rigger to go up the mast.
The Autopilot: Your Most Important Crew Member
On a shorthanded passage — two to four people crossing an ocean — the autopilot steers for the majority of every 24 hours. A typical ARC crew might hand-steer two to three hours a day in variable conditions; the autopilot does the other 21. That means autopilot failure is the equivalent of losing most of your crew and having to hand-steer across the Atlantic in watches, which is exhausting and potentially dangerous. Autopilot failure is among the most common reasons ARC boats retire from the passage.
Service the autopilot before departure. If it's a wheel pilot, check the belt, clutch, and drive unit. If it's a ram-driven below-decks system, inspect the ram seals, the hydraulic connections, and the electronic compass or fluxgate sensor alignment. Check the control head display and all wiring connections for corrosion. Carry spare drive belts for a wheel pilot, a spare pump seal kit for a hydraulic ram system, and at minimum a spare compass unit if your autopilot's steering relies on a separate sensor. Know how to switch to backup steering — a tiller pilot rigged to an emergency tiller, or a wind vane self-steering system — if the primary fails. Many experienced offshore sailors carry a wind vane as their autopilot backup; the Hydrovane and Windpilot Pacific are common on the ARC fleet.
Watermaker: Commission Before You Need It
A watermaker transforms Atlantic passage comfort. Without one, you're managing a fixed water supply for three weeks and rationing becomes a crew stress point in ways that seem trivial beforehand and become significant on day fourteen. With a functioning watermaker, a typical 40-footer making 10 to 15 litres per hour can meet the crew's drinking and cooking needs in a two-hour daily run.
Commission the watermaker in Las Palmas well before departure. Run it to its rated output and taste and test the product. Carry membrane cleaning solution (citric acid flush for biological fouling, low-pH chemical flush for mineral scale) and know the procedure for pickling the membranes if you need to lay the system up for more than a few days. Carry at least one spare pre-filter cartridge. The most common watermaker failures are pre-filter blockages — which are simple fixes — and membrane fouling from turbid nearshore water, which is preventable by not running the system in port or close to polluted anchorages.
Communications: SSB and Satellite
The ARC requires either an SSB radio or a satellite communication device. In practice, the Iridium GO or an Iridium satellite phone has largely replaced SSB as the primary daily reporting tool — it's simpler to operate, doesn't require an antenna tuner and ground plane, and provides reliable coverage across the Atlantic. But SSB remains valuable for reasons beyond ARC compliance: the offshore weather nets (Herb Hilgenberg's Southbound II net, the Caribbean Weather Center net) broadcast detailed forecasts daily, weatherfax still works, and SSB allows voice communication with other boats without consuming satellite minutes.
If you're fitting SSB for the ARC, install it early enough to tune the antenna and ground plane properly and to get comfortable with the operation. A poorly tuned SSB installation is worse than no SSB because it creates interference with other boat electronics and transmits poorly. The installation requires a proper ground plane — a copper foil run under the cabin sole, connected to a backstay or a dedicated antenna — and patience with the antenna tuner during the tuning process. Get it done in Las Palmas while riggers and marine electricians are available.
The ARC Safety Inspection
World Cruising Club safety inspectors come to your boat in Las Palmas, typically in the week before the start. The inspection is thorough and non-negotiable — boats that fail cannot start until the deficiencies are corrected and a re-inspection is passed. The inspector will check: EPIRB registration (it must be registered to the vessel and the registration must be current), life raft service date (the certificate must show a service within the last three years, or the manufacturer's recommended interval), personal PLBs or AIS beacons for all crew, flare pack (all flares must be in date — check the expiry stamps yourself before the inspection), jacklines rigged and in serviceable condition, fire extinguishers charged and in date, bilge pump accessible and operational, and the communications system.
The inspection is also an opportunity to ask questions. Inspectors are experienced offshore sailors and they're not there to fail boats — they're there to ensure the fleet is seaworthy. If you have a borderline item, ask. If something is in marginal condition, replace it before the inspection rather than after a failed check-in.
Provisioning for Three Weeks Offshore
The ARC Atlantic average is 18 to 21 days. Some boats make it in 14 days in a good wind year; slow boats in a light year take 24 or 25. Provision for 25 days and you will not be rationing anything regardless of conditions. Provision for 18 and a light-wind year will have you on strict rations for the last week.
Las Palmas is an excellent provisioning port: Spanish supermarkets (Mercadona and others) stock European and some international brands, the central market has fresh produce and local goods, and the wholesale suppliers who know the ARC calendar will deliver to the dock. Provisioning in Las Palmas is significantly cheaper than in the Caribbean, so stock as much as the boat will carry. The key categories: protein (tinned meat, fish, eggs — a dozen or more eggs wrapped in paper and stored in a cool locker will last three weeks), carbohydrates (pasta, rice, tinned beans), fresh produce for the first week (onions, garlic, and root vegetables last longest), fruit (citrus lasts well in a cool locker), and comfort items (good coffee, treats, alcohol in moderation). Most experienced ocean crews also carry a generous supply of long-life or UHT dairy and a range of condiments and sauces, which matter more than you expect when cooking becomes difficult in a rolling sea.
The Las Palmas Boatyard: Last Haul-Out
If the boat needs a bottom job before the crossing, Las Palmas is the practical last opportunity for a haul-out before the Caribbean. Several yards operate adjacent to the marina and in the industrial port nearby; they are busy in October and November and advance booking is essential. A fresh antifoul coat at the Las Palmas haul-out means you arrive in the Caribbean without a foul bottom, which matters for performance on the passage and for the months of Caribbean cruising that follow. While the boat is on the stands, inspect the cutlass bearing, the shaft seal, and the propeller for any damage or electrolytic pitting.
Crew Management and the Downwind Rig
The ARC minimum crew is two. Most boats sail with three or four, and the difference in passage quality between two people and four is significant — two-person crews are handling watches and cooking with no margin for illness, injury, or mechanical emergencies. If you're sailing shorthanded, be realistic about the watch schedule: two people doing 3-hour watches continuously for 21 days is a grind. Three or four people allows proper rest cycles and someone always available for a situation.
The downwind rig deserves specific attention before departure. The trade wind passage is almost entirely a broad reach or run, which means you'll sail primarily on the spinnaker, parasailor, or twin headsails poled out. If you're using a spinnaker, practise the hoist and douse in Las Palmas harbour before you leave — a spinnaker wrap offshore is a multi-hour emergency. Twin headsails poled out is the standard ARC cruising rig: both genoas deployed, each on a whisker pole or a conventional pole to opposite sides, sheeted flat. It requires a symmetric set-up and adjustment but once up and trimmed it runs for days with minimal attention, which the autopilot appreciates. Inspect your poles and their end fittings, and check that the topping lift and downhaul for each pole are in good order.
The Start Day Weather Window
The ARC start is set by date, not by weather — the fleet departs on the scheduled day regardless of conditions, within certain limits. In most years, the northeast trades are well established by late November and the start day is straightforward. In some years, the Canary Islands are under a slack high in late November and the first few days of the passage see light and variable winds before the trades fill in south of the islands. The weather briefings in the rally village in the days before the start will give you the current picture; the professional forecaster World Cruising Club provides is worth listening to carefully for their assessment of where the trades are currently established and whether dropping south quickly or staying north is the better initial strategy.
Continue the Preparation Sequence
Las Palmas Guide: Marina, Boatyards, and Provisioning → | Trade Wind Passage Tactics →
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Frequently Asked Questions
What specific rigging defects disqualify a boat from leaving for the ARC? A single broken outer strand visible at a swage fitting is cause for replacement before departure, full stop. Rust staining at a swage indicates water intrusion and internal corrosion even where no broken strands are visible. Cracking at turnbuckle thread roots and worn toggle fittings are also replacement triggers. The Las Palmas marina has riggers who do pre-ARC standing rigging inspections regularly; the 18–21 day Atlantic passage puts continuous load on the rig in conditions different from coastal sailing, and anything marginal will find a way to fail offshore.
Why is the autopilot the 'most important crew member' on the ARC? On a shorthanded passage, the autopilot steers for the majority of every 24 hours — a typical two-to-four person ARC crew might hand-steer 2–3 hours a day while the autopilot does the other 21. Autopilot failure is among the most common reasons ARC boats retire from the passage. Servicing the autopilot before departure includes checking drive belt or hydraulic ram seals, compass or fluxgate sensor alignment, and all wiring connections. Many experienced offshore sailors carry a Hydrovane or Windpilot Pacific as their autopilot backup.
What does the ARC safety inspection check, and who conducts it? World Cruising Club safety inspectors come to each boat in Las Palmas, typically in the week before the start. The inspection checks: EPIRB registration (must be current and registered to the vessel), life raft service date (within the past three years), personal PLBs or AIS beacons for all crew, flare pack with current expiry dates, jacklines in serviceable condition, fire extinguishers charged and in date, bilge pump accessible and operational, and the communications system. Boats that fail cannot start until deficiencies are corrected and re-inspection is passed.
How much food should be provisioned for the ARC, and why? The ARC Atlantic average passage time is 18–21 days. Slow boats in a light wind year take 24–25 days. The provisioning standard is to stock for 25 days regardless — provisioning for 18 and encountering a light-wind year produces strict rationing for the final week. Las Palmas is an excellent provisioning port: Spanish supermarkets stock European brands, the central market has fresh produce, and wholesale suppliers geared to the ARC calendar will deliver to the dock. Provisioning in Las Palmas is significantly cheaper than in the Caribbean.
What are the watermaker commissioning requirements before the ARC? The watermaker must be commissioned in Las Palmas well before departure and run to its rated output with product tested. A typical 40-footer producing 10–15 litres per hour can meet a crew's drinking and cooking needs in a two-hour daily run. Carry membrane cleaning solution (citric acid flush for biological fouling, low-pH chemical flush for mineral scale) and at least one spare pre-filter cartridge. The most common watermaker failures are pre-filter blockages — simple fixes — and membrane fouling from turbid nearshore water, which is preventable by not running the system in port.
What communication systems does the ARC require, and what is recommended beyond the minimum? The ARC requires either an SSB radio or a satellite communication device. In practice, the Iridium GO or an Iridium satellite phone is now the primary daily reporting tool for most boats — simpler to operate and reliably covering the Atlantic. SSB remains valuable for offshore weather nets (Herb Hilgenberg's Southbound II net, the Caribbean Weather Center), weatherfax, and voice communication with other boats without consuming satellite minutes. If fitting SSB for the ARC, install it early enough to tune the antenna and ground plane properly in Las Palmas while marine electricians are available.