ARC Preparations Underway

Andrew M
Nov 14, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Nov 25, 2024

November 10th was changeover day. In the morning, Cheryl left for Canada (sad face). The ARC crew—David, Rudy, and Byron—arrived in Las Palmas in the afternoon. Amazingly, all three arrived exactly on schedule; there were no flight delays. The ARC leaves on November 24th, so there is plenty of time for familiarization and final preparations.

The ARC has a long list of equipment that all boats must carry. I had purchased most of it in La Rochelle, but there were a few items we still needed to pick up. ARC conducts a safety inspection to ensure compliance and also makes additional recommendations for equipment or setup changes.

For us, the mandatory items included:

1. Two more AIS MOB alarms: When activated, these send an Automatic Identification System message via VHF radio, triggering an audible alarm and marking a MOB (Man Overboard) waypoint on the chart plotter. I had purchased two, thinking the on-watch crew could wear them, but ARC requires one for each crew member. Byron ended up purchasing these for use on his boat. In addition, we already have four personal EPIRB beacons that send a distress signal via satellite.

2. A backup VHF antenna kit: The primary VHF antenna is at the top of the mast, so if the mast comes down, you lose your antenna.

3. Two more red flares, plus gloves and goggles: These are for safely setting off the flares.

ARC also provided some good recommendations:

Install automatic CO2 extinguishers in the engine room.
Reconfigure the jack lines to provide hook-in points at the front and back of the boat.

Now is also the time to fix anything that isn’t working correctly and inspect everything to ensure it is “shipshape.” For us, this list is pretty short as I’ve been trying to address issues as they arise to prevent them from accumulating. Here’s what we’ve done so far:

1. Purchased 10 x 20L jerry cans for extra diesel: These were strapped to the boat. With 500L in the tanks, this should give us enough for 8–10 days at 5 knots. David went on a half-day treasure hunt to find boards to secure the containers to the boat!

2. Applied Dyneema sheathing to a couple of chafe points on lines: Sewing these was a slow and painful process.

3. Fixed the twist on the Code Zero halyard:

The foresail halyard is used to haul up the Code Zero, the Gennaker, and the Parasail. It has a pulley so that two lines run to the top of the mast. The 2:1 setup supports the Code Zero as it is an upwind sail and puts a lot of load on the halyard.

The halyard developed a nasty twist. It looked fine when the line was dropped to the base of the mast, but as you pull it up, the two lines wrapped around each other. The friction prevented the sail from reaching the top and even made it difficult to bring the sail down. Stephen and I experienced this firsthand. The twist wasn’t just in the two strands but also in the individual rope strands, causing a pretzel-like effect! This is a common problem with this setup.

In theory, you can climb to the top of the mast and “milk out the twist.” We tried this several times, but the twist persisted. Ultimately, we removed the halyard from the mast (removing the 2:1 loop) and milked the entire line as I came down the mast. This worked, but it seems like an inherent problem that will likely return.

• Interestingly, at yesterday’s ARC briefing on downwind sailing, the presenter recommended removing the 2:1 setup. Another issue he raised—and I agree—is that with the 2:1, it’s impossible to inspect the main chafe point at the top of the mast without going up there.

The reality is that we are unlikely to use the Code Zero during the Atlantic crossing. Today, I’ll be going back up the mast to remove the 2:1 and will look for a better-quality line for the halyard so it can remain a single line.

It’s a long way up—not a place for anyone afraid of heights—but the views are spectacular.

That speck at the top of the mast is me!