2009 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers Wraps Up In St. Lucia

4:33 AM Tue 22 Dec 2009 GMT

'Vahine and Go Beyond finish the ARC - photo by Tim Wright www.photoaction.com ' .

Over 200 yachts have arrived at Rodney Bay Marina, Saint Lucia over the past two and a half weeks, and the celebration on Saturday 19 December, marked the close of the 2009 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.

Upwards of 600 participants and their families attended the prizegiving ceremony at the Gaiety Nightclub, just outside the Rodney Bay Marina in Gros Islet, to applaud the winners and mark the achievements of all the crews.

After two weeks of daily activities and nightly entertainment while the last of the yachts arrived in St Lucia, Saturday evening was the culmination of the rally. The atmosphere at Rodney Bay Marina has been buzzing all week, as arrived crews gathered to welcome other arriving boats and the partying grew each day

As the ARC was designed with the cruising sailor in mind, the traditional categories of prizes (apart from the speed prizes for the smaller number of racing boats) included 'Best Cruising Log,' 'Best Fishing Story,' 'Oldest / Youngest Skipper,' and more bizarrely, 'Best basil plant to survive a transat.'

Not unsurprisingly there was a standing ovation for the crew of Silver Bear for their shadowing of another yacht, Star Fire, for a distance of some 2,000 nautical miles following the latter's rudder loss. Their selfless assistance, delaying their own arrival by several days, was a fine example of the comradeship of the sea, and earned them the much coveted 'Spirit of the ARC' award for 2009.

The entry list is open for 2010 and already over 70 yachts have registered for what will be a very special year, marking the 25th edition of the ARC.

ARC 2009 is sponsored by the Tourist Board of Gran Canaria, the Port Authority of Las Palmas, the St Lucia Tourist Board, Rolnautic, and is run in association with Yachting World magazine.

by Jeremy Wyatt

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2009 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers Wraps Up In St. Lucia

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