Even through the pandemic over the last year, the Salty Dawg Sailing Association found ways to run rallies for cruisers. The most impressive effort was a year ago when the SDSA organized the Homeward Bound rally for cruisers in the Caribbean who wanted to sail in company back to the States, often with crews that were not as numerous or experienced as they would have been in normal years. Some 184 boats made the passage while the SDSA provided daily weather information, communications and tracking for each boat. And, they ran the rally for free. It was an amazingly complex and generous effort. Well, in 2021, the SDSA is offering a full calendar of rallies for cruisers that emphasize, as always, safe offshore sailing and cruising with an emphasis on camaraderie, cooperation and fun. Here’s the schedule for 2021 with links to the rally pages. The rallies are open to all cruisers and have some qualification requirements.
EAST COAST RALLY The SDSA East Coast Rally to the US departs the United States Virgin Islands May 1, weather permitting and is expected to last 7-10 days.
DELMARVA RALLY THE SDSA DelMarVa Rally circumnavigates the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia Peninsula departing from Hampton, VA June 1, weather permitting and is expected to last 6 days.
DOWNEAST RALLY The SDSA Downeast Rally has departure locations from the Chesapeake Bay and Narragansett Bay areas. The departures from Hampton and Annapolis are on July 8 (weather permitting) and Newport July 13 with final landfall in Maine July 16.
CARIBBEAN RALLY
The 2021 SDSA Caribbean Rally departs the U.S. East Coast on November 2, weather permitting. This rally goes to the Caribbean and the Bahamas. A crossing to Antigua usually takes 10-14 days. The crossing to the Bahamas 7-8 days.
In 2022, the SDSA will offer two additional rallies that had to be canceled in 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions. They are:
BERMUDA RALLY The SDSA Bermuda Rally departs from Hampton, VA in early June, weather permitting. This rally is not being held in 2021 due to COVID-19 quarantine requirements.
MARITIME RALLY The SDSA Maritime Rally is held in alternate years and departs from the Northeast U.S. coast for points in Nova Scotia. This year’s Rally spans July 31- Aug 11.
Check out the Salty Dawg Sailing Association here. It only costs $75 to join.
