World ARC 2026-27 Second Half Start

Date: 8 September 2026

Location: Darwin, Australia

Organizer: World Cruising Club

On 8 September 2026 the World ARC 2026-27 fleet departs Darwin for Lombok, Indonesia, the start of the second half of this round-the-world cruising rally organised by World Cruising Club. The leg is 920 nautical miles across the Timor and Savu Seas, typically five to seven days at sea, sailed in the dry-season south-east trades. World ARC is a 15-month circumnavigation that leaves Saint Lucia each January, crosses the Pacific, and pauses in Australia, where some crews take a break or leave the rally and new boats join. The Darwin restart is therefore a genuine second beginning, with fresh faces in the fleet and the Indian Ocean ahead. From Lombok the route continues to Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling, then on toward Mauritius and South Africa. It is cruising rather than racing, but the departure of a full rally fleet from Darwin harbour is a sight in its own right.

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