PRESS RELEASE – ON Tuesday, November 7 at the breezy Seagrapes Restaurant, Bay Gardens Beach Resort, sponsors of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) gave the all-clear for ARC 2017 by way of a cheque handing over ceremony to national event producers, Events Company of St. Lucia Inc. (ECSL).
Present for the occasion were representatives from various key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Tourism, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA), World Cruising Club (WCC) and ECSL.
The ceremony kicked off with ECSL Public Relations Officer, Mineva Ross, doubling up as Mistress of Ceremony for this special event. She established that the ARC has been a staple of the Saint Lucian events calendar for over three decades.
Noted was the tremendous reach of ARC, which attracts some 200 boats from over 40 countries, with over 1,500 participants expected to visit Saint Lucia during the month of November into December and even into the new year.
As part of their stay in Saint Lucia, ARC participants are expected to be fully immersed in Saint Lucian culture with a planned-out activities calendar to include island tours, cultural concerts and other special events.
Sean Devaux, General Manager of IGY Rodney Bay Marina, who thanked sponsors, partners and the media for their support over the years.
Peta Cozier, Event Manager for the World Cruising Club, spoke to the value of the local partnerships, which has made ARC a success for Saint Lucia and Saint Lucians.
“We cannot emphasize enough the value of the support that Saint Lucia and Saint Lucians have given to ARC. The WCC depends greatly on these relationships to ensure the success of this event and we thank you greatly for your dedication and commitment to hosting ARC each year for the past three decades,” Cozier said.
SLTA’s DonnalynVittet spoke to the value of collaboration, pledging their continued support for this event as the Authority explores international markets and opportunities to grow ARC and other events on the Saint Lucia events calendar.
Leila Williams, Marketing and Sponsorship Officer of ECSL, outlined the role of ECSL for ARC, noting that with the event planning expertise of ECSL, the ARC Planning Committee can give more focus to developing the ARC product and caring for its stakeholders.
Sean Compton, Chairman of the ARC Planning Committee, commended his team for their tremendous work and thanked the sponsors and partners for working closely with his committee to ensure the successful staging of ARC.
The main item on the agenda was the cheque handing over ceremony, where sponsors of ARC generously and publicly stated their commitment to the event by presenting their cheques to ECSL.
Present were Platinum Sponsor FLOW; Gold sponsors SOL EC, The Wave, Windward and Leeward Brewery and Daher Broadcasting Service (DBS); Silver sponsor St. Lucia Distillers; and Bronze sponsors St. Lucia Electricity Services, Mercury, Sixt Car Rental, Constantine Holdings Incorporated and Massy Stores.
The ARC Flotilla departs from Port Castries to IGY Rodney Marina on November 19, which will also mark, in real time, the departure of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers fleet from La Palmas across the Atlantic to Saint Lucia.
It is expected that the first few boats will arrive in Saint Lucia within 10 days, although over recent years the boats have been arriving within a record-breaking 5 days. All participants are expected to arrive by mid-December and certainly in time for a Saint Lucian Christmas.