I am sailing south this fall with the Salty Dawg Fall Caribbean Rally aboard my buddy Bob Osborn’s Aerodyne 47 Pandora. Bob, as it happens, is also the president of the SDSA. We have something like 130 to 140 boats sailing with us this fall, a record. While November 1 is the nominal start, there is no formal start to the fall rally since it is our conviction that skippers of cruising boats should always determine when it is best for them to go to sea. We are not a race and we certainly are not sheep. A core aspect of the rally is the services of weather guru Chris Parker who is famous for his knowledge of the weather in the western Atlantic, Bahamas and Caribbean. Weather windows off the U.S. east coast in October and November are short, 36 to 48 hours at most. And then there is the Gulf Stream and Cape Hatteras…famous enough for challenging conditions. So, for the close to 500 sailors poised to make the 1,400-mile passage to Antigua, all eyes are on the weather as we continue to get our boats and ourselves ready. Here’s to following winds and calm seas.
You can learn more about the Salty Dawg Sailing Association and its rallies here.
You can follow the rally on the Predict Wind tracking chart here.
