ARC crew returns after 20 years to sail same boat from their 2005 crossing

The ARC 2025 fleet left Las Palmas on 23 November and is now making steady progress across the Atlantic towards Saint Lucia. Among them is a particularly special crew: a family returning to complete the ARC on the same boat they sailed 20 years ago.

The Sage family, consisting of father Joseph and his son and daughters Matthew, Victoria and Elizibeth, will be completing the trip on their Moody 44, Ocean Strider. 

Two decades later, Joseph says the ARC looks and feels very different.
“The ARC set-up has become much more professional, and the team seem to be very slick with everything,” he said. “We’ve definitely prepared the boat more this time, and we’re enjoying more of the social aspects. The sundowners were lovely for meeting other crews.”

This crossing holds deep emotional significance for the family. Joseph’s wife, who joined them on their first ARC in 2005, sadly passed away from cancer several years ago. Sailing the ARC again is their way of honouring her memory and continuing the dream they once shared. “My wife always wanted to do this again”, Joseph explained. “While cancer stopped that for her, she wanted us to carry on the original dream.”

Mathew, Victoria and Elizibeth were only 9, 11 and 14 during their first crossing and many aspects of how they divide responsibilities onboard may have changed, but the fundamentals of the trip as a special experience for the family will remain. Before setting sail they already had eyes on certain aspects of the Caribbean.  

Daughter Victoria said: “I’m really excited as I can’t remember a lot of things from our trip 20 years ago. I have some memories, but I’m really excited to see if being in those locations again are going to bring back all those memories. 

“We’re really looking forward to the lovely snorkelling in the Caribbean and we want to visit the volcano areas, the boiling lake in Jamaca and Willoughby Bay.”

Most of the fleet is still around two weeks from arriving in Saint Lucia, where they’ll enjoy a warm welcome, social events, and of course, the ARC Prizegiving on 20 December.

If you’d like to follow the fleet’s progress, you can track their journey by clicking here