The prices includes professional crew and all boat costs, food costs are additional and shared between all crew members. Further additional costs include flights, transfers, meals and accommodation ashore and personal insurance.
Taking part in a World ARC leg is both a challenging and rewarding experience. As a crew member you become part of the team and are involved in everything from navigating to cooking. During offshore passages watch shifts will be in place. This means crew are on watch for three hours and off watch for six hours.
The crew will gather a few days before the start to prepare the boat 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, we 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 ‘on-watch’ team handles steering, trimming, and navigation while off-watch you get a chance to rest, sleep and also prepare meals and help out with other duties around 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.
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. Here, the fleet of the World ARC regroups, and there will be time to share experiences between the different crews. Las Perlas is an archipelago with many beautiful and exciting islands, the largest being Isla de Ray.
Start: St. Lucia, Rodney Bay Marina -7th January 2026 – Join S/Y Celeste of Solent
Leg 1 departs (St Lucia – Panama 5-8 days) -10th January
Panama – Colon
Colon – Panama Canal
Offshore Passage to Las Perlas
End: Las Perlas, Panama – 5th February
S/Y Celeste of Solent is always manned by a crew that holds Master of Yacht certification and has a number of skippers available. The crew rotate and for each Leg of the World ARC the skipper has been nominated so you can be confident of whom you will be sailing with. All skippers have many years of experience sailing on board Celeste and other yachts and some are also instructors for Master of Yacht. Leg 1-4 Skipper: Bengt Tarre has sailed on Celeste since 2005 in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea and has also crossed the Atlantic several times.
Legs 1-4 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.
Join in St Lucia & Depart from Las Perlas.
Travel from Las Perlas:
By Air: The quickest way to reach Panama City. Several local airlines offer daily flights from Contadora Island to Panama City.
By Ferry: Another popular option is to take a ferry from Las Perlas to Panama City. The ferry ride lasts about 90 minutes and provides a scenic route through the gulf separating the archipelago from the mainland. Ferries usually operate daily.
On longer passages, over open sea with night sailing, crew alternate between the berths in the aft. Under way, it is most comfortable place to sleep.
The crew of Celeste are very happy to sail with clients who have limited offshore sailing experience. However, we would suggest that at the very least you have experience of an over-night passage on a sailing yacht prior to joining a World ARC leg.
