Following right on the heels of another highly successful Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), is the 2010/2011 Round the World Rally which got underway Wednesday morning from Rodney Bay. The rally is organized by the World ARC—World Cruising Club.

As was the case with the ARC, the St Lucia Yacht Club in association with Marine Industries Association of St Lucia in cooperation with the St Lucia Tourist Board and Island Global Yachting (IGY) Rodney Bay Marina, organized a World ARC Flotilla as a way of saying goodbye to the yachts taking part this year. Yachts that were already in St Lucia (some by way of the ARC) registered for the rally. Four other yachts will join them at the first stop which is Panama.

The rally got underway at 12 noon from Rodney Bay. The flotilla which consisted of several boats accompanied the rally participants as far as the Castries Harbour, said farewell, and headed back to the Rodney Bay Marina to a round of drinks at Cafe Ole.

For the world rally participants, this is just the beginning of what can best be described as an experience of a lifetime. Their first stop is the San Blas Islands in Panama which is 1100 nautical miles away. In total the yachts will cover a distance of 25,000 mile circumnavigation of the world.

The Round the World Rally offers all the fun of the ARC with some added thrills which includes an adventure from the Caribbean, across the World’s great oceans on a circumnavigation of the globe. The itinerary has been planned to give participants sufficient time to cruise independently in some beautiful areas such as the Caribbean, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Society Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Great Barrier Reef, South Africa and Brazil.

Safety is also a major concern and with that in mind, the carefully planned route avoids potential hot spots like the Horn of
Africa and the Red Sea where the political situation and security threats make the route dangerous for yachts.

The rally will finish in the Caribbean with a final party in St Lucia in March 2011. See you there!