Forests, Bluewater Cruising and Trees…

Photography © World Cruising Club

Berthon and World Cruising Club who run yachting’s favourite bluewater rallies have worked together for years. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, known to all as the ARC, is a ‘must do’ event. A large percentage of the Berthon bluewater brokerage fleet have participated, sometimes multiple times, through different ownerships.

The World ARC is another great event which takes bluewater sailors around the planet in the company of a diverse fleet. A huge advantage of this annual rally is that it allows yachts to sail around the world at their own pace, whether that means staying longer at a stopover to cruise the area or laying up to focus on other aspects of life. When the next season comes around, the rally is there again, ready to take you off on another adventure.

Bluewater sailing is an opportunity to experience the best of Planet Earth, powered by the breeze (and some diesel too of course), together with the solar array and water power that is used by many cruising yachts today. Travelling this way is kind to the planet and good for the soul.

Good but not perfect. Our GRP and carbon fabricated chariots mostly have diesel engines, generators and a myriad of petroleum based parts both moving and otherwise. Our crews fly to rendezvous via 747 and much of the needed equipment needed on stopovers arrives in exactly the same way.

World Cruising’s Rallies are busy events. The ARC for example normally has a fleet of 150+ and approximately 1,000 of crew, together with visitors, technicians and all the other paraphernalia that accompanies such a large event – and that’s on both sides of the Atlantic.

World Cruising understands the need to tread gently on the wonderful parts of the planet that their fleets visit, to treat them with respect, and to pay back. They have therefore formed their POSITIVE IMPACT FUND with the aim of putting back, paying for initiatives that will benefit the glorious places their fleets visit and help to protect them for the future.

One such project is a Tree Planting project in Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, starting point for the ARC. Since 2010, World Cruising have been sponsoring Fundación Foresta [https://fundacionforesta.org/] which is a private not for profit organisation running the programme.

Berthon also love trees! After all, our HQ in Lymington is situated in the New Forest, on the south coast of the UK. Not that new, it was founded in 1079 by William the Conqueror and has been an essential part of the fabric of the UK since. The mighty oaks with their grown frames, used to build Henry VIII’s fleet of battleships at nearby Beaulieu, all came from the New Forest, and the preservation of the Forest has been managed down the ages by the Verderers, and this management continues today.

With this in mind, we are delighted to sponsor the transport from the ARC fleet in Las Palmas to the ARC Forests in Lomo Vacas near Firgas, and to near Teror in Pico El Rayo in the north of Gran Canaria. Sailors are asked to turn forester for a day and to pick up a shovel and plant trees. Since 2010, World Cruising’s ARC fleet sailors have planted no less than 4,037 native trees and we are hoping that by working with them, many more young trees will be added.

Fundación Foresta has been planting trees since 1998, aiming to recover, look after and restore the forests in the Canary Islands. In Gran Canaria the focus is on expanding and ultimately connecting what remains of the ancient Doramas Forest. Named after the Guanche Chief Warrior who is famous for his bravery in fighting off the Spanish colonisers in the fifteenth century, today his namesake is getting the help it needs to recover from the deforestation that occurred on the island to make charcoal for sugar cane mills, and also for agricultural expansion.

Aside from the importance of replacing what has been lost down the years, it’s a shot in the arm for biodiversity. The project also captures CO2 and sequesters much needed rainwater. Foresta calculate that the ARC Forest trees, on their own, will capture around 870 tonnes of CO2 over 30 years – which is deeply cool.

Of course these guys are what make it all possible. So, it you are contemplating an ARC, be sure to take the Berthon bus and head to the mountains, ready to dig like mad. See you there!

THE ARC FOREST IS COMPRISED OF A VARIETY OF TREES, NAME CHECK BELOW –

38% are Faya which is a native fir tree that grows in the Canaries and in Madeira. Also known as the wax myrtle, it has a light green leaf which darkens with age and has edible drupes which can be used as an astringent remedy for catarrh.

29% are Brezo which is a tree heather also called Brezo Canaria. It’s a shrub or small tree growing up to 4 metres and as much as 10 metres in the Canaries. Its young branches are whitish and the bark is dark with long and thin leaves and tiny pink and white bell shaped flowers.

7% are Follao – otherwise known as Quercus Canariensis, originally from southern Spain, a slow growing hard wood.

7% are Acebino which are holly trees endemic to the Canaries. Evergreen, they grow up to 10 metres with white flowers in the spring and red and yellow berries later in the year. They love wild woodland areas.

Apart from these, there are some other lovely species included in the mix –

Palo Blanco – the Canaries Olive – from the Oleaceae family and only found in the Canaries and Madeira. They can grow up to 50 feet and have a rough bark, leathery leaves and the fruit is a fleshy drupe – similar to an olive.

Madrono, which is an evergreen relation to the strawberry tree with white flowers, red berries and lovely glossy leaves.

Barbusano, known locally as the Canary Laurel – it is the only species of flowering plant belonging to the genus Apollonias of the Laurel family. It is endemic to the Canaries and Madeira.

Vinatigo Laurel – another laurel that flourishes in the Canaries and neighbouring islands.

Castano – the Spanish for chestnut – the Sweet Chestnut is a deciduous tree loved internationally. In the UK it is also called the Spanish Chestnut. It grows up to 35 metres and is related to the oak and beech.

Read Another Article
Download The Berthon Book 2025-2026 XXI (22.1MB)