 2021 ended on a very high note with gratitude expressed to the World Cruising Club for Choosing St Lucia year after year as the official home of the annual Atlantic Rally for cruisers. Multi-halls and vessels in the sailing and cruising divisions began to brave the 2,700 nautical mile journey from Gran Canaria to the IGY Rodney Bay Marina on November 21st and just under two weeks later, Italian flagged yacht 12 Narchia 69 was the first to the finish line. On December 17, over 900 crew representing 29 nations on board 146 yachts were celebrated in true St Lucia fashion with a display of culture, culinary experiences and rums as the curtains came down following the successful staging of the 32nd edition of the arc hosted by World Cruising Club. Andrew Pekas Grill represented the World Cruising Club as he announced top winners in various outstanding categories. So the winner of Class B IRC Racing Division, Salamander! And you will all remember a certain green boat that was there in Las Palmas who took the southern route and did quite an amazing job at getting here. Not only are they the winner of Class A IRC Racing Division, they also took the line honours and were the overall winner of the racing division, 12 Nacera 69 or lovingly known as Dodici. In the division, four multi-hauls from Bada took the title in Class B. Gallada Sevol won the Class A category and the overall multi-haul, winner for Class E in Sailing Division I, the Grand Canaria Cup, was captured by Bellamy. The IGY Rodney Bay Marina Award was presented by General Manager Sean Devaux to the winner of Class C, another brick. This year's Spirit of the Arc Award was presented after a thrilling backstory. The crew aboard Bombada stepped in and guided fellow crew members aboard Go East for about 1,000 nautical miles after their instrumentation and their principal navigation system failed. It was the catastrophic steering failure on board Charlotte Change 3 that saw a number of yachts divert to her aid, with one in particular stepping up to evacuate the crew when the situation became untenable. Despite already having seven on board, including three children, they risked their safety to evacuate Charlotte-Jane's crew and eight days later, delivered them safely to the shores of St Lucia to a very enthusiastic welcome by those already here in the marina. La Vel Duboulie of the Events Company of St Lucia noted that the planning process for the hosting of the 2021 Arc event began at the culmination of the 2020 hosting. She expressed gratitude to all governmental agencies and corporate sponsors. Duboulie left all participants present with a heartfelt message. With focus to further develop the yachting niche and generate more economic impact for the destination, St Lucia anticipates welcoming the inaugural Arc January fleets. The January Atlantic crossing should give constant trade winds with few calms, where the rumb line can be sailed more easily. As such, 49 vessels with 250 participants will set sail from the Grand Canaria on Sunday, January 9, with the first vessel expected to arrive at the IGY Rodney Bay finish line on January 17.