VO65Team Brunel  has broken the ARC Course Record sailing from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia in an elapse time of  eight days, seven hours, 39 minutes and 30 seconds.

This is the third consecutive year that the course record has been beaten. One year ago, Mike Slade's super-maxi Farr 100 Leopard by Finland took over two days off the previous record set by Caro, a Knierim 65 in 2013.

Near-perfect conditions for this year's crossing have helped propel Team Brunel towards Saint Lucia and into the ARC history books for breaking the record on the rally's 30th edition.

The 15 strong crew on the 'round-the-world racing yacht consists of five professional sailors and 10 experienced amateurs who were chasing a bucket list adventure. From the day ARC 2015 set sail from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Team Brunel sprinted to the sun-soaked shores of Saint Lucia, with an average VMG of 13.5kts, and top wave surfing speeds of double that figure. Persistent north easterly winds due to the well-established Azores High have allowed them to zig-zag the rhumb line route for much of their crossing. Interestingly, the total distance covered on their transatlantic route is greater than the two previous record holders at 3342NM.

But their ARC experience has not been without its challenges. On Sunday, on-board reporter Koen Lockefeer announced a potentially disastrous mainsail tear had occurred during a routine gybe. After a night reefed down, it was all hands on deck for a race ready repair the following morning.

Team Brunel was welcomed to Saint Lucia at 16:24 local time (20:24 UTC) and greeted by representatives from the Saint Lucia Tourist Board and IGY Rodney Bay Marina. The crew was presented with champagne and welcome basket of island gifts to celebrate their arrival.

Celebrations are likely to continue for much of the evening around Rodney Bay. Team Brunel's nearest ARC rivals, Durlindana 3 (ITA) are still some distance away, and are currently expected to arrive around 20:00 local time on Thursday, Dec. 3.

In the ARC Multihull division, trimaran La Caravelle (FRA) has consistently led the fleet and is expected to arrive on Dec. 5 if conditions hold. Boats in the Cruising Division will enjoy life at sea for a while longer; over the coming days many will celebrate their own milestones reaching half-way and are enjoying calmer conditions after a breezy departure from Las Palmas just over a week ago.

However the Team Brunel crew will no doubt be embraced by their fellow arrivals from the ARC+ fleet. Departing from their stopover in Mindelo, Cape Verdes five days earlier than the ARC fleet left Las Palmas, and with a shorter distance to sail to Rodney Bay, 18 of the 59 ARC+ boats have made landfall so far.