Cruisers migrating north for the summer may want to join the Spring Salty Dawg Rally. The rally, free to sailors with blue water experience under their belts, departs on May 15th from the B.V.I. en route to Bermuda and the U.S. east coast’s Chesapeake Bay. “We find cruisers particularly like the Spring Rally because it is a safe way to return to the U.S. for the summer,” says rally spokesman Hank George, who with wife Seale are long term “dawgs” and sail the rally aboard their performance catamaran Flash. “The spring rally especially allows cruisers to build on the friendships made and good times they’ve experienced over the winter cruising with other Salty Dawgs. Plus, it’s a great way for new dawgs to experience the rally.”
New this year, the Spring rally offers an expanded set of activities in the B.V.I. prior to launch. Included is a gathering in North Sound, Virgin Gorda, for musician Michael Beans’ pirate show at the Leverick Bay Resort, and dinner at the famed Bitter End Yacht Club. The fun continues to the west at Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola with a pizza party, beach BBQ and weather briefings by Chris Parker as well as final preparations for the cruise. Bristol, Rhode Island residents and long-time cruisers Bill and Linda Knowles, along with their namesake Salty Dawg, a Jack Russell terrier named Brie, founded the nonprofit Salty Dawg rallies in 2011. Since then, more than 470 boats and 1,880 sailors have participated. saltydawgrally.org
The dying art of Caribbean boatbuilding
Little did Alexis Andrews know that purchasing an old Carriacou sloop that had sunk off Antigua back in 1997 would change his life. Rebuilding this West Indian-style wooden boat and sailing it 300 miles south to meet its original maker launched him on an incredible journey. Now, after 15 years of research and 3 years of filming, the Greek native, long-time Antiguan and professional cinematographer has released his 88-minute feature film Vanishing Sail: The story of a Caribbean tradition. This documentary vibrantly illustrates the nearly lost art of boatbuilding on the island of Carriacou, a tradition that started when Scottish settlers arrived in the 19th century to this Grenadine island located north of Grenada. Inter-island trading served as the lifeblood in the southern Caribbean for centuries.
The storyline follows elder, Alwyn Enoe, who uses all of his family’s resources to build one last boat and hopefully incentivizes his sons to keep this seafaring tradition alive. In his final push, Enoe wants to finish the sloop in time to race in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta (ACYR). There’s no spoiler alert here. This is a must-see film if you’re a lover of nautical history and native boats. Vanishing Sail is being screened on April 17th in front of the Copper and Lumber Store in Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua, as part of the ACYR and will debut to its world premiere at the St. Barths Film Festival, as part of the West Indies Regatta on April 30th in Gustavia, St. Barths. vanishingsail.com
— By Carol Bareuther, Southern Boating Magazine May 2016