ARC January 2022 events begin in Saint Lucia
by World Cruising Club 27 Jan 2022 15:51 UTC
The ARC Rallies are highly regarded here in Saint Lucia and no better way to recognise this is by the attendance of local dignitaries at the first event in the ARC January 2022 programme.
In celebration of the first boat to cross the ARC January finish line in Rodney Bay, and to acknowledge this new rally in the calendar, World Cruising Partners; IGY Marina, Saint Lucia Tourist Authority and Events Company of Saint Lucia officially welcomed Mowgli at a small gathering in Rodney Bay Marina on the evening of Tuesday 25 January.
Skipper, Slaven Fisher and his crew members, Pavel Car, Kolja Dumanic and Toma Fischer were congratulated on their Atlantic crossing which covered a route of 3,009 NM from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria over a period of 15 days, 14 hours, 01 minute and 20 seconds.
Master of Ceremonies and World Cruising Club's Event Director, Andrew Pickersgill, thanked everyone for attending and firstly introduced Sean Devaux, General Manager of IGY Rodney Bay Marina, who welcomed this new event to the marina and said "with the recent opening of bookings to ARC January 2023, this is testament to what we can offer here in Saint Lucia and we hope this event will become a successful fixture in the ARC calendar."
Following on from Sean's welcome, one of the Directors of Saint Lucia Tourist Authority, Mr Thomas Leonce, recalled his involvement with the ARC over the years and said "thank you to World Cruising Club for bringing the fleet of yachts to Saint Lucia over the last 3 decades and we hope you all have time to enjoy the beautiful island, especially our inland attractions such as walking up the famous Pitons."
The main guest for the evening was Saint Lucia's Minister of Tourism, The Hon Dr Ernest Hillaire. It was a great honour to hear the Minister speak and on welcoming the crew on Mowgli he said "I have the upmost respect for what you have just achieved and find it fascinating and exciting to hear about your crossing." The Minister continued, "We are delighted to see the first boat arrive. The ARC has served us very well and we feel sure ARC January will also do the same. Thank you to all the organisers for your support. Planning is our focus, and we continue this with confidence for the future."
Following on from the speeches the crew on Mowgli were presented with Saint Lucian flowers from Mrs Lorriane Sidonie, The CEO of The Events Company of Saint Lucia. In reply, skipper Slaven said "thank you everyone for this wonderful welcome, thank you also to the World Cruising Club team." He also thanked his boat Mowgli who he purchased in 2018 and in need of a refit post sale, it brought the crew together and consequently all four have been racing together ever since.
With the first arrival safely in Rodney Bay Marina, ARC January 2022 has officially started here in Saint Lucia and everyone looks forward to welcoming the rest of the fleet to the island over the next 10 days.