The most popular sailing rallies
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The most popular sailing rallies
We require all boats to carry specific items of safety and communications equipment. You will probably have some, if not all, of this equipment on your boat already, and other items should be easily obtained from a local chandlery - we don't require specific brands. Read the current Safety Equipment Requirements.
The requirements are based on the World Sailing Special Offshore Regulations and our 40 years of experience running rallies. We believe that our requirements are no more than a sensible skipper would wish to have when sailing offshore in any case.
The rally handbook is full of advice and information on choosing and using safety equipment, and we're always happy to answer your questions.
For ocean rallies, we require an ocean liferaft(s) with capacity for at least all of the crew. The required standard is ISO 9650 Type 1 Group A. We do not accept coastal or aviation rafts.
Our advice: Join a practical in-water session at a sea school to see what it’s like to launch and board a liferaft.
Every member of the crew must have a lifejacket/combined harness with:
Children under 40kg can have a permanent buoyancy jacket.
Lifejackets are obviously useless unless they’re worn. The best advice is for each crew member to get a jacket that is comfortable for them – some people say comfortable enough to sleep in.
It is good practice to have an agreement within the crew about when lifejackets must be worn and when crew should be clipped-on. This could be at night, in wind speeds over a certain value or when leaving the cockpit. The details will depend on the layout of your boat and the experience of your crew.
If someone falls overboard, you need to be able to recover them quickly. We require you to have three key items, but you may decide to have more.
The rally handbook is full of advice on how to set up and use man overboard recovery equipment.
Our advice: Spend time on the water practising man overboard drills and testing different methods for bringing a casualty onboard.
A boat on an ocean crossing is under more strain than when coastal cruising, and leaks from rudder bearings, through-hull fittings or deck hatches are not unusual.
We require each boat to have two main bilge pump systems – one manual pump operable from on deck and one manual or electrical pump operable from below deck. Multihulls must be able to pump out each hull.
A high-capacity pump is required for emergencies. This must have a minimum capacity of 200 litres per minute. A submersible pump can be placed in the area to be cleared, with a long hose running out into the cockpit or over the side. Lay-flat hose is easy to store.
Ocean sailing puts a huge strain on the steering system, especially in strong trade winds or big seas. How would you steer if the wheel and steering system breaks, or more radically, if the rudder is disabled or breaks away?
You will need an emergency tiller that can be fitted to the rudder stock if the wheel/tiller system becomes disconnected (for example, the wire breaks or hydraulics fail). This is usually a small T bar that slots onto the stock. To steer effectively, you may need to rig ropes to the main winches or make a long tiller.
If the rudder is broken off, you will need a backup steering system. This could be a windvane self-steering system with an auxiliary rudder, like a Hydrovane, or it might be a drogue controlled by the sheet winches.
Minor damage to the rig, maybe caused by an uncontrolled gybe, is not uncommon, but full dismasting is much rarer. If it does happen, you may need to cut the rig away to stop it from damaging the hull or to cut the rigging to create a jury rig.
Try out different methods on wire of the same gauge as your rig. For exmaple:
19 Sep 2025
Jim Macdonald of Mactra Marine demystifies watermakers, what they are, what you need to run one and how to choose a watermaker
19 Nov 2024
Sailors can obtain almost all medical supplies in Las Palmas. The pharmacies are well-stocked and used to dealing with ARC sailors.
18 Nov 2024
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has an excellent range of services for boat owners looking to buy equipment or to undertake repairs.
Tel: +44 1983 296060
Email: [email protected]
120 High Street, Cowes, PO31 7AX, United Kingdom
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