SVG offers some of the best sailing in the world – Wyatt

Director of World Cruising Club Jeremy Wyatt says that St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) offers some of the best sailing in the world.

The World Cruising Club is the organizer of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), an annual transatlantic sailing event for cruiser yachts held since 1986. It touched SVG for the first time this year.

Speaking at an ARC event on December 13, Wyatt said that the first-time edition of ARC and SVG has been an amazing success.

He thanked Owner of the Blue Lagoon Marina and Hotel Kelly Glass for making ARC SVG possible.

“It was through his dogged determination and persistence that has resulted in this first edition of ARC+ SVG.

“His hospitality and generosity and his dogged determination to martial the troops in SVG…lovely people and lovely islands some of the nicest cruising in the Caribbean but they just don’t like telling people…,” said Wyatt.

He stressed that he is very pleased that the SVG edition happened and the 15 boats with 66 crew members and 12 nationalities that took part are also pleased that they are here “to enjoy the best sailing in the Caribbean.”

“It has been an epic achievement, we are so pleased. It is very special to be the first of something, it’s the first edition…and those that will sail in your wake in the future years will enjoy it, but you have been there and done it first and I am really pleased to announce that we already opened the entry list for 2019 and we have 12 boats already registered and I am very confident that we will have a fleet of 25 boats coming here in November next year,” said Wyatt.

Owner of the Blue Lagoon Marina and Hotel Kelly Glass

He said that it is an achievement to sail across the Atlantic and although it is a long journey, the reward is an amazing climate.

“The Caribbean in the winter is superb. You have this amazing trade wind blowing through keeping it cool. It is a great a place to be for sailors and I never felt so welcome anywhere in the world and I have been to many places,” Wyatt added.

Commenting on ARC, Glass said that the first edition sailors have made history, being the first people to arrive on an ARC.

“This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for many persons and they have ticked something off their bucket list. Sailing tourism is fantastic for the country, stated Glass.

He said that the money from sailing tourism goes to almost all aspects of society, including the farmers from whom fruits are bought, the merchants and supermarkets which sell beers and other products to the sailors and the tradesmen who work on the boats.

Some of the persons in attendance at the recent ARC event

“The money trickles down right through the whole society here, so that the money you come and spend here in St Vincent and the Grenadines is fantastic and we really appreciate it,” commented Glass who is also urging locals to be respectful and professional to the sailors.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority (SVGTA) Glen Beache said that he is glad that the ARC sailors came to SVG as they have now experienced the most diverse destination in the world.

“We want you to have a unique experience. We are not a destination that has mass tourism and for us that’s good. It gives the people who actually visit St Vincent and the Grenadines a chance to experience exactly what the Caribbean is like,” said Beache.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority (SVGTA) Glen Beache

He added that when persons hear the word Caribbean, an image comes up, and that is what SVG is about.

“Sailing and yachting is our biggest niche market and something we take pride in. One of the great things with us with the 32 islands and Cays, there is always an island in sight.

“I am not a sailor, but I think that the unique thing is there is something for a novice and something for the expert in terms of our waters in terms of the quality and type of waters we have,” stated Beache.