World ARC Legs 1-4 – St Lucia to Las Perlas

**Skipper**: Bengt Tarre, 1,200 NM

This is the start and the first leg of Celeste’s around-the-world adventure, where we participate in the World Cruising Club’s round-the-world rally. World ARC is a sailing adventure taking place over 15 months and covering 26,000 NM. Following the classic trade winds route, the rally avoids regions of political instability, piracy and storm seasons.

Leg 1, approx. 1,200NM, departs from Rodney Bay Marina, St Lucia in the Caribbean for Panama, then travels through the Panama Canal and an offshore passage over to Las Perlas or the Pearl Islands in the Pacific.

Crew will arrive a few days before the start to prepare Celeste for the first leg, stocking up on provisions as well as an opportunity to get to know each other and ‘Celeste’. There will be plenty of social activities organized by the World ARC for all participating yachts. The island of St Lucia also has plenty to explore.

Leaving the dock, on January 10, Celeste will head to the start for the first leg of this World ARC adventure. The first passage of approx. 100 NM will take 5-8 days. We will quickly settle into our sailing routines and the watch shifts begin. You will be on watch for three hours and off watch for six hours. The responsible watch team handles steering, trimming, and navigation. Everyone on board also helps with cooking and maintaining the boat. The skipper and first mate will always be at hand to guide and help when needed, building on your existing experience from offshore sailing. However, previous offshore experience is not a pre-requisite, and the crew of Celeste are very happy to introduce people to the world of offshore sailing.

It’s always special to approach a new coast after several days at sea. Once we arrive in Panama and have taken care of the boat, we’ll celebrate completing the first leg and share experiences with the other participating boats.

From Panama Celeste will sail to Colon and from there start the passage through the Panama Canal, this truly unique construction is exciting to pass through. In addition to locks, the canal also features both a natural and an artificial lake. The passage is about 40 NM.

Once through the Panama Canal preparations will be made for the first sailing across the Pacific Ocean, but before that there will be some time to explore Panama. The passage to Las Perlas it is 45 NM. Las Perlas is an archipelago with many beautiful and exciting islands, the largest being Isla de Ray. Here, the fleet of the World ARC regroups, and there will be time to share experiences between the different crews.