Yesterday the Coast Guard completed towing back to port the sixth sailboat crippled or disabled by bad weather in the Salty Dawg Rally fleet of over 100 boats. The sailboat Jammin suffered rudder damage and called for help. The CG cutter had been nearby to assist another sailboat, Wings, which had also sought help after rudder and engine failure. These disasters followed four previous CG sailboat assists: Ahimsa had structural damage and was taking on water (helicopter rescue of 4 crew), Nyapa was dismasted but then was able to motor on unassisted toward Bermuda, Braveheart called for assistance for an injured crew but then proceeded on by itself after the CG rescue boat was diverted to assist Zulu, which was disabled and adrift, requiring a 28-hour tow by the CG. Why so many serious problems all at once?
Bad weather, of course - worse than forecast by the Rally's private forecaster. The Rally boats were en route from Hampton, Virginia, to Tortola, British Virgin Islands, when the worse-than-predicted winds stirred up the Gulf Stream to wreak havoc. Some mariners are now suggesting that the Rally organizers should have taken a more conservative approach, as did the Caribbean 1500 Rally, which chose to leave earlier than planned to beat that weather.
The Salty Dawg Rally this year reportedly drew some 115 sailboats, while the Caribbean 1500 Rally drew only 35. It's notable that the Caribbean 1500, which has a registration fee and conducts stringent boat inspections and safety requirements, seems to have lost popularity (it was a much larger fleet when I first sailed in this rally a decade ago) while the Salty Dawg, with no fee and a more "liberal" attitude of encouraging sailors to go it on their own, has grown quickly. Sailors are an independent lot, of course, and don't like to be told what to do and when to do it, but safety is one thing I wouldn't mess with. Fortunately there have been no fatalities in the Rally, as there were in a NARC Rally a few years ago, but if I were about to put my boat into a crossing rally during iffy fall weather, I'd think long and hard about whom to go with.
posted on 14 November at 18:45
I have sailed in 2012 with the Caribbean 1500 and this year's Salty Dawgs. Wouldn't hesitate to go with the SDR again. Individual captains make their own decisions based on their experience and available information. Caribbean 1500 had a death a few years back and I wouldn't blame them for that either. Tired of the Monday morning quarterbacks.