ARC Prizegiving & Marina Village 2025

ARC Prizegiving & Marina Village 2025 is the celebratory finale to the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers’ 40th edition, transforming IGY Rodney Bay Marina into a festive waterfront hub as the transatlantic fleet arrives and crews prepare for the big end‑of‑rally awards on Saturday, 20 December 2025. The World Cruising Club confirms the ARC 2025 start from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 23 November, typical arrivals into Saint Lucia around mid‑December, and the prizegiving date of 20 December, with the Marina Village hosting nightly socials, seminars, services, and spontaneous dockside reunions in the days leading up to the ceremony. Visitors can watch spinnakers on the horizon by day and join the marina buzz by night, as Saint Lucia welcomes sailors with rum punches, music, and island hospitality.

Dates, finish, and prizegiving

• Start and route: ARC 2025 departs Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 23 November, sailing about 2,700–2,800 nautical miles to Saint Lucia’s Rodney Bay Marina. Crossing times for typical cruising yachts are 18–21 days, placing the busiest arrival window roughly 10–15 December.
• Prizegiving date: The final ARC prizegiving in Saint Lucia is set for Saturday, 20 December 2025, capping the 40th‑anniversary edition with trophies, flags, and a marina‑wide celebration.
• Finish vibe: Every boat is welcomed 24/7 with rum punch, fruit, and cheers at IGY Rodney Bay Marina, where the ARC Village hosts briefings, socials, and support services while crews rest, repair, and revel.

What the Marina Village offers

• Daily hub: Rally offices, information desks, and sponsor booths line the boardwalk, with evening sundowners and casual gatherings as more boats arrive each day. The marina’s restaurants and shops round out a walkable “village within a village.”
• Support and services: IGY Rodney Bay Marina provides berthing, fuel, chandlery, rigging and yard access, enabling quick fixes or upgrades before crews disperse for Christmas cruising.
• Community events: The ARC Village traditionally features welcome parties, technical talks, weather debriefs, and cultural touches from Saint Lucia Tourism Authority in the lead‑up to the awards night.

The prizegiving night

• Who is honored: Class and division winners across the Cruising “fun competition” and the IRC Racing Division are recognized alongside special seamanship, family, and spirit awards that define ARC’s community ethos.
• The mood: The ceremony is a joyful, photograph‑worthy crescendo of flags and friendships, with crews celebrating safe landfall and ocean miles achieved. As World Cruising Club notes, many yachts then stay in Saint Lucia for Christmas before cruising on.
• 40th‑edition context: ARC 2025 marks four decades of the rally, a milestone highlighted by WCC with special anniversary offers and media attention around the Las Palmas start and Rodney Bay finish.

ARC in brief: divisions and records

• Cruising at heart: ARC is primarily a cruising rally with optional handicap scoring; boats in the fun competition may motor under rally rules, reflecting ARC’s safety‑first, participation‑focused DNA.
• IRC Racing Division: ARC’s only racing division sails under IRC without engine propulsion, competing for corrected‑time honors and line prizes.
• Course record: Rambler 88 set the ARC course record in 2016 at 8 days, 6 hours, 29 minutes, 15 seconds, illustrating the speed possible in tradewinds for high‑performance yachts.

Best time to visit and where to watch

• Arrival pulse: Plan a Rodney Bay stay spanning about 10–20 December to catch multiple finishes and the prizegiving; fast multihulls and racers can appear earlier, with family cruisers flowing in through mid‑month.
• Viewpoints: Pigeon Island headland for horizon and channel views; the Rodney Bay entrance for spinnakers and escort RIBs; and the marina boardwalk for dock‑in welcomes and evening festivities.
• Marina etiquette: Keep clear of the channel when spectating by dinghy or paddleboard; on docks, follow staff directions and give new arrivals time for formalities before requesting tours.

Travel, lodging, and dining

• Where to stay: Book Reduit Beach or Rodney Bay Marina‑area hotels for walkable access to the ARC Village and prizegiving venues; December fills early as the fleet and families converge.
• Getting around: Taxis are frequent in Rodney Bay; rental cars help for day trips to Pigeon Island, Soufrière, and Castries outside the arrival rush.
• Boardwalk nights: The marina’s restaurants and bars provide ideal perches for sunset sundowners, crew meetups, and impromptu celebrations as Yellow Shirts greet incoming boats.

Sailor essentials at the finish

• On arrival: Expect a finish‑line call, berthing instructions, and dockside welcomes regardless of the hour; immigration and customs complete quickly with rally support.
• Aftercare: Technical briefings, weather debriefs, and sponsor support continue through prizegiving day to help crews reset before Christmas and onward Caribbean cruising.
• Stay for Christmas: As WCC notes, many crews remain in Saint Lucia through the holidays to enjoy warm‑water downtime before fanning out to Martinique, Dominica, Antigua, and beyond.

Why ARC’s finish is special for visitors

• Human stories: Dockside reunions, first‑ocean‑crossing smiles, and mixed‑nationality crews swapping sea tales make the marina a living gallery of adventure travel.
• Island welcome: The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority co‑sponsors ARC, weaving local culture and hospitality into the rally experience, from rum punches to music and media moments.
• Photogenic moments: Dawn arrivals under kite, twilight dock‑ins with flags and flares, and prizegiving pomp deliver unforgettable images.

Sample two‑day ARC Village visit

• Day 1: Morning coffee on the boardwalk to watch finishes; lunch at the marina; late‑afternoon welcome party at the Village; sunset at Pigeon Island; dinner in Rodney Bay.
• Day 2: Beach time on Reduit; afternoon back at the marina for more arrivals; evening meet‑the‑crews over sundowners; check the noticeboard for prizegiving details and public access notes.

Verified essentials at a glance

• ARC 2025 start: 23 November, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
• Finish hub: IGY Rodney Bay Marina, Saint Lucia, with 24/7 landfall welcomes at the ARC Village.
• Main arrival window: Approximately 10–15 December for most cruising yachts.
• Prizegiving: Saturday, 20 December 2025, Saint Lucia.
• Divisions: Cruising “fun competition” with handicaps and engine allowance; IRC Racing Division with no engine propulsion.
• Record: Rambler 88, 8d 6h 29m 15s (2016).

Be on the boardwalk as the fleet returns, then stay for the 40th‑edition awards night. With dockside welcomes, nightly Village energy, and a grand prizegiving on 20 December, ARC 2025’s finale is Saint Lucia at its most inspiring—book a Rodney Bay base, raise a rum punch, and celebrate the ocean crossing with the crews who just made it happen.