World Cruising Club’s World ARC 2024-25 finished on Saturday April 19 in IGY Rodney Bay Marina, Saint Lucia, from where the boats set sail 15 months and 26,000NM ago. In total, 330 people aged from a toddler to over 80 years of age sailed on one or more stages of the rally.

Published 4 days ago

Yachts Complete Circumnavigation

Source:  World Cruising Club

In total, 39 yachts took part in the 13th edition of World Cruising Club’s World ARC rally with six crews completing a 15-month circumnavigation with the rally.   Twenty yachts sailed in the first half of the rally from Saint Lucia to Australia via Panama, Galapagos, French Polynesia, Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu and 13 joined the rally for the second half from Australia and Indonesia to Saint Lucia via the Cape of Good Hope.

Martin and Caron Wagstaff own Oyster 47 Escapade of London (GBR) and started their circumnavigation with World ARC in January 2023, taking time out to explore Australia and Indonesia before joining the 2024 fleet in Lombok to complete their voyage around the world. One of two couples who sailed without additional crew, Martin said, “Although we sailed double-handed, we were never alone”, summing up the ‘floating village’ atmosphere of sailing with a rally.

After so many sea miles, the final passage was the traditional parade of sail, just 12NM from Marigot Bay to Rodney Bay. Everyone was met at the dock in IGY Rodney Bay Marina with rum punches, hugs and a few happy tears. Marina Manager Sean Devaux said, “It’s tremendous to be able to welcome you back to Rodney Bay Marina, and with heartfelt warmth, we congratulate you on what you have achieved.”

Within the fleet were seven multihulls and 31 monohulls, averaging 16.5m in length and 15 years old. The smallest boat was Garland & Jennifer Mann’s Lagoon 380 S2 Esperanza (USA), and the largest was Philip Wilson’s Oyster 725 Isabel (GBR). The oldest boat in the fleet was Whit Waldo’s Nauticat 43 Bountibou, which was launched in 1988.

At the prize giving, the Honourable Dr. Ernest Hilaire, Saint Lucia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture & Information said, “We hope you feel that Saint Lucia feels like coming home. You have done an amazing job, and I am so proud that you have made it back to Saint Lucia.”

Genevieve Chase, co-owner of Beneteau Oceanis 50 Sea Monster (AUS) summed up the emotion at the final rally prize giving: “The best part of this rally has been the friendships with every one of you. The onshore activities organised by World Cruising Club brought us all together in a way that I couldn’t have dreamed of.”  The Chases joined the rally in Australia, sailing across the Indian and Atlantic oceans with World ARC.

It’s not just the sailors who find the final days of the rally emotional and uplifting, the World Cruising Club team celebrate alongside the participants. Managing Director Paul Tetlow said to the triumphant sailors, “I want to thank you, the participants of World ARC, for putting your trust in us to support you in your adventure of a lifetime”.

2025 and 2026 Round-the-World Rallies

World ARC sets sail every January from Saint Lucia, circumnavigating via the Panama Canal, Australia, South Africa and Brazil and visiting 18 countries. The 2025-26 fleet are currently in French Polynesia enjoying independent cruising ahead of a rally rendezvous in Bora Bora before sailing on to Niue and Tonga.

The 2026-27 edition of the rally starts in Saint Lucia on 10 January 2026 with 33 boats already confirmed, many of them old friends from the ARC transatlantic rally. You don’t even need to own a boat to enjoy the experience of sailing round the world, as Swedish charter Farr 65r Celeste of Solent is offering berths for each stage of the rally.

The route, pricing and entry list for World ARC 2027-28 will be released in summer 2025.

World ARC 2024-25 Information

• World ARC 2024-25 Route: The fleet left Saint Lucia to visit Santa Marta, Colombia, before transiting the Panama Canal and into the Pacific. There are a mix of rally legs/stages and independent cruising, covering the Galapagos, Marquesas, Society Islands, including Bora Bora and Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu before making landfall in Queensland, Australia. The yachts cruised the Great Barrier Reef before departing Darwin to Lombok, Indonesia, then across the Indian Ocean to Cocos Keeling, Mauritius and Reunion to South Africa for Christmas 2024. In January 2025 the fleet departed Cape Town for Namibia and then across the Atlantic to St Helena and on to Recife in Brazil, cruising the Brazilian coast during carnival season before sailing to Grenada, then to the finish in Saint Lucia.
• The rally started on 12 January 2024 in Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia and finished on 19 April in Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia.
• 2024-25 rally is the thirteenth edition of World ARC, and the fifteenth round-the-world rally organised by World Cruising Club.
• 39 boats (31 monohulls and 7 catamarans) sailed in World ARC 2024-25, 6 sailing all the way round, 20 joining for a half rally to Australia, 13 sailing the second half – some completing their circumnavigation from Australia.
• Smallest boat: 11.56m Lagoon 380 S2 Esperanza (USA) – circumnavigated
• Largest boat: 23.6m Oyster 725 Isabel (GBR) – completed a circumnavigation that started with World ARC 2023-24.
• Boat brands: 24 brands in total took part – a very diverse fleet. 7 Oyster, 3 each from X-Yachts and Beneteau, 2 each from Jeanneau, Nautitech, Garcia, Hallberg-Rassy and Lagoon.
• Boat flag nationalities: 15 in total, including 15 UK, 8 USA, 3 Germany, 2 Switzerland.
• 330 crew come from 20 nationalities – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.
• Sailors on the rally are aged between 6 months and 81 years.
• Boats can join for the whole circumnavigation or for half a rally to and from Australia or Indonesia.
• World ARC 2025-26 is currently at sea in French Polynesia, enjoying independent cruising.
• World ARC 2026-27 will depart Saint Lucia on 10 January 2026 and already has 33 confirmed entries.

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Related Links

• World Cruising Club
• Rally Website
• World ARC 2024-2025 Finished Entries

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