This was Rodolfi's second time taking line honours at an ARC. The first time he achieved this was in 2010, 13 years ago! And that is not the only speciality.
Although the "Berenice Cube" sails under the British flag, it is Italian-owned. And since the Italian "Nessun Dorma", also skippered by Andrea Neri, had already won the line honours at the sister event, the ARC plus, a few days ago, the Italians managed the ARC double this year, so to speak! That had never happened before.
Another triumph for the monohulls
And there is another parallel between the ARC plus and the ARC this year: on both routes, a monohull yacht came out on top in the end, although there were performance catamarans at the start of both rallies that had to be considered stronger. However, just as in the ARC plus, the fastest twin-hulled yacht among all participants in the ARC only came second in terms of time sailed.
Seven hours after "Berenice Cube" was moored in the IGY Rodney Bay Marina, Regis Guillemot and his Marsaudon ORC50 "Ti ana" (FRA) at least took victory in the multihull division.
More about the ARC:
- ARC plus 2023: First ship reaches the finish line
- ARC 2023: 156 crews set off on the Atlantic crossing
- ARC 2023: "We want to turn coastal sailors into ocean sailors"
- Via Cape Verde to the Caribbean: what makes the ARC plus so appealing
- Interview: Two company bosses sail across the Atlantic with the ARC
- ARC 2021: Sailor dies in accident on the Atlantic
Marco Rodolfi revealed how he managed to outpace the Kats, who were faster on paper, shortly after crossing the finish line:
We had opted for a more southerly course. This allowed us to take full advantage of Code Zero, which gave us plenty of speed. And not to forget: My crew is simply very, very, very good!"
In the end, however, it was probably the shorter course and the wind luck that combined to give Rodolfi the line honours. Guillemot obviously sailed significantly longer strokes crossing before the wind and ended up with 3,313 nautical miles on the log - over 260 nautical miles more than the Italians.
Almost curious: Christopher Murray's "Mongoose" (USA), one of Marsaudon's new ORC50 cats, was "only" second to finish in the ARC plus.
German crew finishes fourth
From a German perspective, it is pleasing that Gorm Gondesen reached Saint Lucia in fourth place after the British Southern Wind 100 "L'Ondine". He took part in the ARC with his brand new "Nica".
The "Nica", designed by Roger Hill Yacht Design from New Zealand, is an almost 20 metre long full carbon performance catamaran. It was only completed at the Knierim shipyard in April and initially took part in a few regattas in England in the summer, including the Fastnet Race.
After the ARC, the World ARC
For Gorm Gondesen and his wife Maren, the journey will soon continue: from January, the couple will once again take part in the World ARC, which will take them westwards around the world from the Caribbean.
However, Maren Gondesen was not present at the current ARC. Her daughter Lisa stood in for her. The Atlantic crew was also completed by an old sailing friend of the Gondesens and Steffen Müller. Alongside Gunnar Knierim, Müller is one of the two managing directors of the Kiel shipyard, which specialises in fast yachts.
Shortly before the start of the ARC, we had the opportunity to talk to Gorm Gondesen in Las Palmas about his new boat and the upcoming circumnavigation:
YACHT: Gorm, what appeals to you about taking part in the ARC and later the World ARC instead of sailing around the world on your own?
Gorm Gondesen: The World Cruising Club events, i.e. the ARC and the World ARC, are simply great opportunities to get to know nice people. It also gives you a bit of a challenge when sailing. Even though it's officially a rally and not a regatta and we ourselves sail in the so-called Cruising Division, you always see what the others are doing and how well you're doing.
YACHT: So that's where your regatta past comes through?
Gorm: Yes, you could say that. But that's not all.
The ARC forces you to be ready on the dot with all your preparation"
YACHT: What else?
Gorm:If you want to sail in the ARC, you are forced to be ready on the dot with all your preparation on one day. There is a deadline by which you have to be at the starting line. That disciplines you a lot. It forces you to prepare your crew and boat quickly, not to waste any time. Long-distance sailors are often masters at finding excuses not to cast off the lines because there are supposedly important things to do first.
YACHT: You took your time before you set course for the Canary Islands!
Gorm: That's true, but it wasn't due to procrastination or postponement. The "Nica" wasn't ready until April due to the aftermath of the pandemic and all the associated delivery bottlenecks. But we didn't want to go sailing around the world with a virtually untested boat. So we put together a crew with mostly people from the shipyard, with whom we completed a regatta season in England. This gave us the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with the boat and try out how well it sails and how much it can take.
YACHT: When did you sail south then?
Gorm: In mid-September, we sailed non-stop from Lymington to Gran Canaria. In eight days with six men on board.
YACHT: Did you encounter any orcas along the way?
Gorm: No, fortunately not. However, we didn't sail close to the coast of Portugal either. But not because we were afraid of the whales. Rather, a depression forced us far out into the Atlantic, on the back of which we were then able to sail southwards with a rough wind."
The World ARC is unfinished business for us. That's why we're taking part again"
YACHT: The World ARC is set to continue for the second time in January. What's tempting you to travel abroad again?
GormYou could say it's unfinished business. We had to cancel the World ARC back then due to the global Covid pandemic in New Zealand. This time we want to go there again and spend a season there. After that, however, we want to complete the circumnavigation with the following World ARC.
YACHT: Why the one-year stop in New Zealand?
Gorm: Well, we want to show the designer what a great boat he has drawn for us (laughs). But above all, I would like to explore New Zealand under sail. Around the South Island, that must be a dream. When do you ever get the chance to do that! And the World Cruising Club makes such longer stopovers possible during the World ARC. You can simply get off in between and get back on board for the next rally the following year.
The World ARC gets rid of all the organisational stuff. That saves a lot of time, racing and hassle"
YACHT: And is it once again the "two-boats-are-a-race" principle that appeals to you to sail around the world as part of a rally?
Gorm: No, at the World ARC this idea is more in the background. It's more important here: You don't have to deal with all the organisational stuff. You don't have to worry about visas, places in the marinas, agents for the Panama Canal passage or authorisations to sail to the Galapagos Islands, for example. This saves a huge amount of time and probably also trouble with customs and harbour authorities.
YACHT: And there are probably nice people there again, right?
Gorm: Yes, and this fact is even more important for the World ARC than for the ARC!
YACHT: Why?
Gorm:You don't have to retell your life story from start to finish every time you reach a new destination. You already know the others who are already at anchor or on the jetty. Or those arriving after you. On a normal circumnavigation, on the other hand, you don't know anyone when you arrive somewhere. This means that you take the dinghy to the next mooring, introduce yourself, ask where the other person is from and to, and tell them your own life story. And you do this over and over again. This constant "starting from scratch" doesn't suit me. I prefer to pick up on conversations and topics that were started last time and can now be deepened at the next stop.
A cat is simply better suited for a long voyage. Life on two hulls is simply more comfortable"
YACHT: Now a completely different question: Why did you switch from a monohull to a catamaran? You were a die-hard monohull sailor.
Gorm: That's true. But even on the first World ARC, which also included cats, I had to admit to myself that life on a long voyage on board a twin-hull boat is simply more comfortable. It starts with the fact that you have much more space, of course. When there are guests on board, the two hulls mean you always have the opportunity to retreat. Everyone has privacy if they want it. And it ends with the fact that a twin hull rolls significantly less in swell in the harbour or in the bay than a monohull. And you do spend a lot of time in a bay when sailing around the world.
YACHT: Maren told me that there was a particular event that finally persuaded you to make the switch. What was that?
GormIt was a regatta off Fiji that we took part in back then with the old "Nica". We were ahead until shortly before the finish, and then a cat actually robbed us of victory in the last mile. It simply passed us downwind. Up until then, I had always tended to smile at cats.
YACHT: So why did you decide in favour of a Roger Hill design?
Gorm: Well, we did want a catamaran. But it was definitely going to be one that sails fast. "Nica" is a full carbon cat with an empty weight of just 13.5 tonnes. In ideal conditions, the boat sails at up to 18 knots. However, we will take it easy at the ARC, as we are sailing in cruising mode.
I brought professionals on board to familiarise myself with the boat. I wanted to know how much it could handle"
YACHT: How easy or difficult was it to suddenly have to deal with a catamaran?
Gorm: Clearly, I first had to learn how to sail a catamaran. Fortunately, I was able to get professionals on board who would deliberately push the boat to its limits. I wanted to know how much "Nica" could handle. But I also had to practise mundane things like harbour manoeuvres first. Initially, I tried out how the boat would react outside the harbour. We don't have bow thrusters, so "Nica" is quite sensitive to crosswinds. The moorings in the harbours of the estuaries, which in England often have two finger piers at the sides, were a real challenge. You have to go in almost dead straight, no matter how strong the wind pushes sideways or the current shifts you.
YACHT: And did that always work out?
Gorm: Let me put it this way: the first scratches hurt. But we now feel confident in handling the boat - and ready for the oceans.
YACHT: Then we wish you a mast and sheet break for your circumnavigation and thank you for the interview!
"Nessun Dorma" takes line honours at the ARC plus 2023
Impressions from the start of ARC 2023
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Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
