World ARC 2015-16 To Depart Saint Lucia This Weekend

Weeks after bringing the curtains down on a highly successful 2014 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), the sun drenched Caribbean island of Saint Lucia is again getting ready to bid bon voyage to close to two dozen yachts participating in the World ARC 2015-16.

Unlike its affiliated ARC-branded sailing events, namely ARC Plus and the traditional ARC, World ARC both begins and ends on Saint Lucia.

Having moved from a bi-annual to now an annual event, World ARC, which involves the circumnavigation of the globe, will begin its 2015-16 season from the IGY Rodney Bay Marina this coming Saturday, January 10 and will see the fleet of 22 vessels retuning to the island in April of 2016.

Like the ARC+ and the traditional ARC, the island, via the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, is providing technical and logistical support towards the hosting of World ARC 2015-16.

“As a destination we are delighted to not only be the finishing point, but critically the starting point of the World ARC yet again. It represents yet another endorsement of our island’s ability to not only host but manage events that boast strong international appeal,” noted Tourism Minister Lorne Theophilus.

Meanwhile the World ARC 2014-15 adventure began on Saint Lucia in early January of last year, when the fleet crossed the start line and headed south to Panama and the gateway to the Pacific Ocean. Over the last eight months the rally has visited some of the most idyllic bluewater cruising destinations, including the Galapagos; HivaOa and the Marquesas; Bora Bora; Tonga; Fiji and Vanuatu and will end in Saint Lucia in April 2015.

World ARC 2015-16 is the fifth edition of this rally, and the tenth round-the-world rally organized by World Cruising Club. The final destination is Saint Lucia, after more than 26,000NM and 15 months sailing around the world.

World ARC is a fun rally for cruising yachts. Participants come from a wide range of backgrounds, nationalities and age ranges.