Ginormous fish, a daring rescue, ripped spinnaker and whale encounters are just a few of the tales we heard as the crews of this year’s ARC+ arrived in Grenada.

For 64 of the 66 boats who’ve completed the rally, Thursday’s prizegiving marked the end of their Atlantic adventure, which began in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria six weeks ago.

The boats had a stopover in Mindelo, Cape Verde, before sailing on to the beautiful island of Grenada. The final arrivals, who departed late from Mindelo, are expected in the coming days.

Those visiting the stage to collect their prizes included the Norwegian crew of Arya, an Arcona 465, who were awarded line honours in the monohull division. Outremer 51 Piment Rouge was first over the line in the multihull division, but topped by Neel 47 BigBird (USA) on corrected time, with Swedish family catamaran Tortuga in 2nd place and Scat Cat (GBR) in 3rd.

Tactics varied, with some boats sailing the rhumb line and others doing more miles and heading south. The southern route seemed to pay off, with crews reporting more wind.

The Cruising Division was split into three classes based on handicaps, with Najad 490 Albicilla (NOR) topping Class C, Beneteau First 456 Daisy (DNK) 1st in Class B, and Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 50DS Adelante (NOR) 1st in Class A.

Many other awards were handed out – including the closest finish and longest distance sailed – but arguably the most hard-earned award this year was the Spirit of the ARC+, which went to the British crew of Coco, who found a dismasted vessel, and towed the boat and exhausted skipper to safety in extremely challenging conditions.

“The ARC massively helped us in the last part,” said skipper Alfie Moore, following the ordeal. “It’s nice having people we can rely on ashore. Overall it was a great passage, a great crossing. We’re here in the Caribbean now and we can relax.”

Grenada and World Cruising Club

Grenada is situated at the southern end of the Windward Island chain, and is the perfect base from which to cruise the Caribbean.

You can find out more about the Atlantic Rally for Cruising (ARC) on the World Cruising Club site, and more about Grenada here.