ANTIGUANICE YACHTING INSIDER NEWSLETTER

Oyster Yachts has announced the dates of its fourth Oyster World Rally, allowing a limited number of lucky sailors to reserve their places for the voyage of a lifetime.

The forthcoming Oyster World Rally 2022-23 is fully subscribed, and high demand from Oyster yacht owners wishing to take part in a world circumnavigation has resulted in Oyster Yachts announcing its fourth event, starting in Antigua on 14 January 2024.

With strictly limited spaces, the announcement of the 16-month, 27,000 nautical mile circumnavigation of the world, opens up the Oyster World Rally 2024-25 event booking process, and a number of Oyster owners have already committed to take part.

The rally departs Antigua on 14 January 2024, and heads south through the Panama Canal, to the Galapagos Islands, and on to French Polynesia, Tonga, and Fiji before arriving in Australia at the end of July 2024. Sailing north up the east Australian coast, stopping off at the Whitsundays, Cairns and Darwin, the fleet then sails to Southern Indonesia and across the Indian Ocean to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Mauritius and Reunion before arriving in Durban, South Africa. A short hop to Cape Town for Christmas precedes the journey to St Helena, before heading back across the Atlantic to South America and northwards, returning to Antigua in April 2025.

"The Oyster World Rally is the only circumnavigation of the world organised by a yacht manufacturer, providing full support right from the pre-planning stage and all the way to the finish. A few aspiring round the world sailors have already contacted us to sign up. In some cases, these sailors have only just started the process to either buy a new or pre-loved Oyster but are keen to ensure that they have secured their spot for the 2024 Rally," says Allie Smith, Head of Group Events at Oyster Yachts.

The Oyster World Rally provides a fully supported experience for any Oyster owner who has always dreamt of taking part in a global circumnavigation which involves crossing three oceans. Allie says, "Whether a life-long experienced sailor, or new to offshore cruising, we help provide all participants with the specialist training and learning to ensure they have the skills needed to stay safe at sea and enjoy the voyage of a lifetime. Oyster's longstanding relationships with the industry's leading suppliers and organisations mean our yachts have access to the best equipment and training available, and our rally partners always go that extra mile to ensure participants are ready for anything."

Oyster World Rally - photo © Oscar Jackson

The Oyster World Rally team provides world-class technical and logistics support from sign-up to attending each major destination along the rally route. As well as pre-rally technical training, this includes boat preparation and service, boat health checks, liaising with local agents, assistance with Panama Canal transit, managing clearance and immigration procedures, finding berthing in marinas, offering tips on provisioning and even providing professional crew through Oyster Yachts Crew Finder service.

"We help and support our Oyster family through every step of their journey," says Allie. "From finding crew, to helping set up systems to run their businesses on-board, to destination guides, technical training, understanding weather and navigation, right through to being a welcoming face on arrival and organising some awesome parties! It's a 27,000-mile support service enabling our owners to have the experience of a lifetime, without any worries. By limiting the number of yachts, we create a real family feel and people make friends for life during the 16-month lap of the planet."