17 boats complete World ARC rally in Saint Lucia after traveling over 26000 NM

Seventeen boats have concluded their round the world adventure in Saint Lucia after travelling over 26000 nautical miles. The World ARC rally finished with huge celebrations and ceremonial parade of sail from Marigot Bay to Rodney Bay.

The 2023-23 edition of the rally saw sailors between the ages of 7 and 77 along with 10 children aged under 16. The family boats contributed highly to the friendly, warm and supportive atmosphere.

During the prize giving ceremony, Geraine Goerges of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority said that his team admires the journey which the participants embarked on. She added that as a mother, she is seeing so many young faces and thinking, “wow you did that,” and thanked the parents for giving the children such adventures while training the next generation of ARC leaders.

[caption id="attachment_70552" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Family of four completing the long journey in Saint Lucia[/caption] According to the information, a total of 263 individuals sailed one or more leg of the World Arc Rally 2023-2024. This year has also been one of the most diverse with 21 nationalities sailing in the fleet.

Meanwhile, the World Cruising Club managing director Paul Tetlow said to the participants that all of them can be so proud of their achievements.

He added that everyone of them is a winner, replete with the most amazing memories that will last a lifetime. He also added that it was the team’s pleasure to support them on this amazing journey.

A total of 30 boats sailed in this 12th edition of the World ARC Rally with 14 sailing all the way during a 15 month odyssey. As the rally offers flexibility, a few boats sailed the first half to the South Pacific and Australia while other joined in Australia or Indonesia to sail towards the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, 25 boats in the World ARC 2024-25 are presently enjoying independent cruising in French Polynesia ahead of the next rally rendezvous in Bora Bora. A total of 38 boats will be participating in the upcoming edition of the rally.

Notably, 43 yachts have already signed up for all or part of the next edition of the rally which will be sailing from the Caribbean in January 2026.