The nonprofit Salty Dawg Rally™ has scheduled a comprehensive series of free blue water cruising seminars to be held prior to the sailboat shows in Newport, Rhode Island and Annapolis, Maryland and in Hampton, Virginia, prior to the early November departure of the Salty Dawg fleet to the Caribbean.
With an emphasis on safety, communication, camaraderie and education, over 400 boats and more than 1,600 sailors have participated in the Salty Dawg rallies since the organization was founded by blue water sailors Bill and Linda Knowles in 2011.
The series kicks off with a day of seminars at The Edward King House in Newport, Rhode Island on Wednesday, September 14th, the day before the start of the Newport International Boat Show. At the seminar a drawing will be held for a McMurdo FastFind 220 PLB, donated by Life Raft and Survival Equipment – LRSE of Newport. Talks will be offered on topics valuable to cruisers, including blue water passage preparations by George Day of Blue Water Sailing Magazine and Multihulls Quarterly, blue water cruising sail inventory and sail trim by Dave Flynn of Quantum Sails, heavy weather sailing and storm avoidance by Rick Palm, blue water boat maintenance by Josh Hodgson and preparation for blue water cruising and a life raft deployment demonstration by Liferaft and Survival Equipment Company.
Next in the Salty Dawg series is a full day of seminars at Mears Pavilion in Annapolis, Maryland on Wednesday, October 5th, the day before the start of the United States Sailboat Show. A Mantus high tech superbright LED headlight will be given away by a drawing at the Annapolis Seminar. Talks will be offered on a broad range of topics of interest to offshore sailors, including sail selection for effective offshore sailing by Dave Flynn of Quantum, blue water boat preparation by George Day of Blue Water Sailing Magazine and Mulithulls Quarterly, heavy weather sailing and storm avoidance by Rick Palm, weather systems and weather routing by Chris Parker, offshore cooking with a pressure cooker by Joan Conover, the value of single sideband radio to the cruising sailor by Curtis Morris, offshore communication equipment – GRIB’s and email by Jeff Thomassen of OCENS, and identification of rigging issues by Steve Madden of M Yachts.
The Newport and Annapolis seminars require reservation due to limited seating. To reserve a seat, email linda@saltydawgrally.org.
Last in the series of Salty Dawg Rally hosted seminars are the talks and demonstrations that take place over five days prior to departure of the Salty Dawgs from Hampton, Virginia to the Caribbean. These seminars will begin on October 26 and run through October 30.
For more information about the Salty Dawg Rally fall seminars, joining a rally or becoming a sponsor, visit www.saltydawgrally.org .
