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05th
January 2010
Another
ARC Takes Off
By Ernie Seon
 With
the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) long over,
attention now shifts to the World ARC, with
some 30 participating yachts sailing from the
IGY Rodney Bay Marina, on Wednesday January
6.
An official of World Cruising Club (WCC) organizers
of the event said 17 of the participants took
part in last month’s ARC and the remainder
joined them at the marina.
The World ARC, a spin-off from the annual Atlantic
Rally for Cruisers, is a round the world event
and takes about 16 months to complete. The event
is held every 18 months and it will be the second
time that Rodney Bay Marina will be the starting
point.
World ARC 2010 will follow a similar route to
2009, circumnavigating via Panama , Australia
, South Africa and Brazil , avoiding South East
Asia and the dangerous Red Sea region.
Routing and weather advice is provided for yachts
at sea and daily positions are tracked via the
rally website. World ARC yachts are also eligible
for free entry in World Cruising Club’s
ARC and ARC Europe transatlantic rallies for
those wishing to start and finish in Europe
.
General Manager of IGY Rodney Bay Marina Adam
Foster said that his company was pleased to
host the World ARC event for the second year
running, and looked forward to the safe return
to the Marina of the participating yachts a
year from now.
“We welcome those who have assembled here
for the start of the World ARC and bid farewell
to those who have been docked at our facility
for the past few weeks having taken part in
the journey from Las Palmas.”
“IGY is pleased to have hosted so many
vessels here during the past couple months as
we are well aware of the significant impact
the presence of so many visitors has had on
the local economy, particularly for businesses
in this area.”
“We look forward to their safe return
not just as part of either of the two ARC events
but as regular visitors to St.Lucia and the
IGY Rodney Bay Marina,” Foster said.
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Managing
Director of WCC Andrew Bishop has already hailed
last month’s ARC as another outstanding
success, saying that one of the big achievements
was the fact that all the participating boats
arrived at Rodney Bay Marina earlier than usual
which gave the sailors the opportunity to spend
more time here and enjoy the island.
He was full in praise for the additional improvements
at the Marina , and said the World Class facility
had been a hit among all who visited.
Another thing that pleased the organizers, he
said, was the automatic tracking of several
of the yachts during the 2,700 mile trip from
Gran Canaria. It was the first time that ARC
yachts had been fitted with these automatic
tracking devices and Bishop expressed satisfaction
with the results.
And while Bishop said he had no immediate concerns
about the future of the event in St Lucia ,
he said he however had concerns for the island
itself. He referred to recent reports of crime.
Said Bishop, “You can’t help but
hear of the incidents that are happening seemingly
and unfortunately every day. You hear it on
the talk shows every day where people are expressing
concern about what is happening to the society
when crime is accepted as a normal part of every
day life. The crime that is taking place seems
to be a bit disproportionate to the size of
the island. Whilst measures are put in place
to look after the ARC sailors one has to wonder
what is being done during the rest of the year.”
He referred to the murder of a newly-wed British
couple in Antigua early last year and its effects,
which included several yachts leaving the island
all at once. Bishop added: “You do have
to take the fight against crime very seriously.
Everyone has the responsibility to bring it
under control. There are similar situations
around the world and in the Caribbean so it
was not unique to St Lucia .”
But hypothetically, if things got a lot worse
then it would have an influence on the decision
of the ARC organizers to take the requisite
action, Bishop said. But, he added, no such
decision was being contemplated at the moment.
Discuss
Story
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