A new European rally that invites sailors to cruise in company to the Mediterranean or the Canary Islands has been launched.

Jimmy Cornell, the founder of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), is inviting owners of boats sailing from Northern Europe to the Canaries or Mediterranean next summer to join the European Odyssey.

Starting from Hamburg in July 2014, the rally will make its way south via the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

First stop will be Hamburg’s twin, the City of London, where cruisers will join the start of the Blue Planet Odyssey round the world rally – a round-the-world sailing event intended to
raise awareness of the global effects of climate change.

The ‘spectacular’ event will see Tower Bridge on the River Thames raised to send the yachts on their way to a port in
Normandy.

The next leg will take
the yachts across the Bay of Biscay to Northwestern Spain, with further stops
along the coast as far as the Portuguese capital.

From Lisbon, boats bound for the
Mediterranean will sail to Gibraltar, while those bound for the Canaries will
head for Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Landfall in the Canaries will be at the
new Marina Lanzarote.

Rally highlights

Participants in the European
Odyssey will enjoy a programme of local activities in all ports along
the route.

Those who intend to cross the Atlantic later in the year will
benefit from special long term discounts on docking fees in Marina Lanzarote.

Further
incentives will be offered to those who wish to join the Atlantic Odyssey I to Martinique,
starting from Lanzarote on 16 November 2014, or Atlantic Odyssey II to Grenada
starting from La Palma on 9 January 2015.

From 2015, the European
Odyssey will expand and is set to call at
every maritime nation in the European Union with scheduled starts from
Istanbul, Odessa and Sevatastopol in the Black Sea, to Venice in the Adriatic
and St Petersburg in the Baltic Sea.

The European
Odyssey is an annual event organised by Cornell Sailing Events, and is
managed by an international team
of experienced sailors with several circumnavigators among them.

Fees will depend on how far participants wish to go, ranging from 600 to 1000 euros.

To find out more email info@cornellsailing.com or visit www.europeanodyssey.org

Pictures: Previous rally starts at Tower Bridge, London