This fall the Salty Dawgs have nearly 100 cruising boats signed up to sail in the rally to the Caribbean and Bahamas from Hampton, VA and Newport, RI. About 80 boats are sailing from Hampton and of those about 20 are heading to the Bahamas while 60 will make Antigua their destination. In Newport, the Dawgs joined forces again with the NARC to form a fleet of about 20 boats. Six boats departed Newport on October 28 for Bermuda and then the Caribbean and the remainder were scheduled to depart in synch with the Hampton boats on or after November 1. After 24 years, Hank Schmitt, the founder of the NARC as well as Offshore Passages Opportunities, is stepping down as the NARC’s rally director and will hand the rally’s reins over to the volunteer Salty Dawgs. In the photo above, taken by David Lyman during the pre-rally dinner at Benjamin’s restaurant, Hank at left is presented with a testament to his contributions to the cruising community and rally sailing to the Caribbean. In the photo, SDSA President Bob Osborn is at the right and SDSA Newport rally coordinator Bennett Kashdan is in the middle. For the next two weeks, the western North Atlantic will be home to roughly 400 passage makers in the rallies. You can track their progress on rally sponsor Predict Wind’s website here.
We wish them all fair winds, following seas and safe landfalls.
