The NARC Rally will be helping the SDSA launch a new departure port from New England by merging their two rallies. They will join us departing from Newport RI. We expect the combined fleet to double from 20 to 40 boats this year. While still organizing and collecting rally fees separately this year, the intention is to have one event under the SDSA banner next year in 2023. Hank plans to continue entering his Swan Program into their event moving forward. This year we will they will be sharing the departure port, (The Newport Yachting Center), weather forecasting and support (Chris Parker and WRI), party venues (Benjamin’s) in Newport, The St. Georges Dinghy & Sports Club in Bermuda, with the help of Bermuda Yacht Services. Rather than compete and make choices difficult for boat owners who just want to get south safely, we will work together. For boats based in New England and not living aboard full time, there is little reason to lose 200 miles of Easterly and travel to the Chesapeake Bay to depart for the Caribbean. They can now depart from Newport, sail to Bermuda and finish in Sint Maarten (SMX) or Antigua. Boats departing from the Chesapeake Bay will now have an option to officially stop in Bermuda and have the same welcome that the NARC Rally fleet has enjoyed for the past two decades. NARC Rally boats and boats departing from Newport can also finish up in Antigua directly from Bermuda or after a short stop in St. Maarten.

Update:
Given this year's weather, the handover of the NARC Rally to the SDSA (Salty Dawg Sailing Association) did not occur this past fall, so we will try again in the fall of 2023. The original plan was for the SDSA to organize the NARC Rally. As the weather did not cooperate, many boats were delayed departing the Chesapeake Bay and the fleet did not meet up in Bermuda as planned. As a result, we were not able to introduce the SDSA to our contacts in Newport or Bermuda properly. So, we will try again next year. Look for more information on our website and in print throughout the year. Until the handover is complete, Hank Schmitt will continue to oversee the Rally business for an additional year.

Short SDSA History

Blue Water Sailing magazine had been a huge backer and driving force to getting The Caribbean 1500 Rally started in the 1990’s with founder with Steve Black. The British company World Cruising Club bought the Caribbean 1500 several ago and required a lot more safety gear and requirements that made it much more expensive to participate. They lost a large number of entrants who joined the new Salty Dawg Rally first organized by Linda and Bill Knowles to offer a more affordable and friendly offshore experience organized locally rather than from the UK. With the full backing of a Blue Water Sailing magazine, it was able to take over the American fleet departure from the Chesapeake Bay. The WCC cancelled their event this year.

Originally the Caribbean 1500 started from Newport and only Newport the first few years. Then Steve Black added a Chesapeake Bay start. In 1998 seven boats from the Swan Charter fleet signed up for the Caribbean 1500 start from Newport and went to Spanish Town Virgin Gorda. I was one of the skippers in that Swan fleet. In 1999 Steve dropped the Newport start and all the boats had to go to Hampton Virginia to join the only rally leaving from the US East Coast at the time. Since Steve dropped the Newport start and I took over the Swan Charter fleet Program in 2000, it was easy to invite private boats owners to join us to help create more passage opportunities for OPO members through my Offshore Passage Opportunities crew network.

The rally was never about making money, but rather opening up more passage opportunities for members and also making it more fun for people who signed up in the Swan Program so they could meet more people doing what they aspire to do. Plus, the logical way to sail from the US East Coast is to sail to Bermuda first and then sail south down “I-65” rather than beat hundreds of miles into the SE trade winds by starting further south. I half-jokingly tell people that “God put Bermuda there for sailors sailing north and south and it is sin not to stop.” I am frustrated by insurance companies that tell boat owners that they cannot sail more than 250 miles offshore so some less experienced skippers have to sail back from the Caribbean via the Bahamas and take 6 weeks to make the passage rather than 10 days. Very silly. I also happen to think Bermuda is a very nice place to stop.

The other difference in the two rallies is their final ending destination. In the past both the Caribbean 1500 and SDSA Rally started from the Chesapeake Bay and ended in the BVI. Since the storm season in 2017 and covid the past two years the BVI have not been a very good place to make landfall in the Caribbean. Both the Caribbean 1500 and the SDRA moved to their final destination to Antigua. The biggest advantage that Antigua has over Sint Maarten is their 365 beached and better cruising options. Sint Maarten is the first island in the Eastern Caribbean when sailing from Bermuda. Antigua is about 80 miles further south and you pass SXM and St. Barts on the way.

The NARC Rally sails to Sint Maarten for the following reasons. 1) It is very easy to fly home from it has the biggest airport in the Caribbean with more direct and less expensive flights to more destinations. 2) The entire island is duty free which makes everything from provisions, labor and boat parts cheaper. The largest Budget Marine store in the Caribbean is in SXM and has competition down the road from Island Water World. There is also a two-story Ace Hardware Mega-Store. 3) Sint Maarten is great for getting your boat worked on and getting parts flown in without having to go to customs to pay a duty. After a long ocean passage in the fall there is always work to be done and a Caribbean season to get ready for. Many boat owners sail there boats south in November and then fly home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They come back after the December Christmas Winds have died down, and only then start exploring the rest of the Caribbean after the weather settles down. SXM is well situated to visit the rest of the Caribbean whether you turn downwind and go to the BVI and Puerto Rico or head south and close reach to points further south.

Other Differences

Leaving from Newport is more challenging as it is colder and the Gulf Stream is 150 to 200 miles offshore. I have sometimes not allowed questionable boats with a first-time offshore skipper to depart in our fleet and would suggest they start further south. The SDSA can help those boats and they can join the traditional Chesapeake Bay departure. The SDSA Rally will finish in Antigua. They do not recommend a long Bermuda stopover. All rallies want to end the rally and have their sponsored events and parties well attended by a set date. It is why boats can turn on their engines and this is not a race. If boats linger in Bermuda or make other stops some crews may miss the parties that organizers work so hard to put on. I get that, but I have always wanted to do what is best for the boat owners. If an owner or family is taking only one year off and only sailing to the Caribbean this one season, they may want to spend more than two or three days in Bermuda. I do not want to rush them and make them think they are missing out by staying a few more days.

As the fleet grows there is a good chance that there will be a few boats that need to get to the closest port to fix a bigger problem. They may need to get hauled out or have a rigging issue. Sint Maarten is closer than Antigua. SXM is well knows as having the best marine services in the area. It is also very cheap to provisions and buy libations ($5 bottles of Rum, no tax). Plus boats in the rally get two free days dockage and 10% off as long as you stay at sponsor IGY Marina in SXM.

My thoughts are that the combined NARC/SDSA Rally grows to over 100 boats. Antigua will be happy to split the parties as they will not be able to accommodate 300 people at most venues and extend the welcome for a week or two. Even if a boat’s crew plan a longer stop in Bermuda or want to stop in SXM for two free days dockage they will still make it to Antigua for some of the events. For those not wanting to leave SXM we will have a week of tours and gatherings planned and will encourage boats to also visit Antigua early in the season when they are ready. Maybe we will be able to get a little friendly competition between Antigua and SXM to offer the rally participants better parties or more events for visiting. This is in keeping with the philosophy of doing what is best for the boat owners and crew.

Hank Schmitt
August 2022