16th January 2001

1st December 2000

20th September 2000

1st May 2000

12th March 2000

30th January 2000

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Seminar - Preparations and Christmas - 16th January, 2001

The next Trade Winds seminar will be held at the Royal Air Force Yacht Club, Riverside House, Hamble on Saturday 3rd February, 2001.

Top of the Agenda are sessions on Radio - in particular long range communications, SSB and its installations and a review of the new GMDSS procedures - and Medical matters. Experts will also advise about Gas and Electrical supply in the States and Club member Jim Dixon, who has just returned from the B.V.I. will talk about Christmas at the Bitter End Yacht Club.

The seminar is free and all are welcome but numbers are limited by the space available. Therefore it is essential to write or telephone for an invitation / ticket to the address below.

Meanwhile the Rally itinerary has now been finalised and an outline is available here.

First Seminar - 1st December 2000

The first winter seminar for the Rally was held at the Royal Air Force Yacht Club on 4th November. Several interesting speakers contributed their expertise and Rally Commodore, Malcolm McLaren introduced participants to the route in more detail.

Malcolm confirmed the fleet will sail from Lagos, Portugal, to Tenerife and thence transatlantic to Antigua. After Christmas in the B.V.I. it will go on to spend nearly a month rediscovering the strikingly different waters of Cuba, which has more miles of coastline than the rest of the Caribbean islands put together. This interesting and unusual Rally then continues northwards, via the Inter Coastal Waterway, along the eastern seaboard of the United States taking in a lot of American history on the way. Promised excursions en route include visits to Disneyland, Cape Canaveral, the White House and New York. The trip home to Europe via the Azores will start from Newport, Rhode Island at the end of July.

The Rally is now taking shape and the growing number of entrants underlines that the project is well on the way to its start date in October, 2001. The next seminar will be held at the Royal Air Force Yacht Club, Hamble on 3rd February, 2001 and another interesting programme is already in place. Meanwhile, courtesy of Nauticat, members of the Rally Committee will be available on stand 78D at the London Boat Show to give advice about the Rally and the Club.

Winter plans - 20th September 2000

It is clear that the Rally concept has aroused the interest of some of the most prestigious clubs in the United States and they are already enthusiastically planning for our visit in 2002. In the meantime here is an update on the latest progress.

Rally itinerary

The final draft has now been approved. Based on a professional routing, commissioned especially for the Rally, this is intended primarily as a useful aid for planning the free cruising opportunities between the principal stop overs which are also highlighted. Copies of the itinerary will shortly be distributed to those who are already committed to the Rally and will be made available to others as they sign on.

Winter seminars

The first three seminars will be held on 4th November, 3rd February 2001 and 24th March 2001. A detailed programme will be available shortly. In addition to covering the routing in some detail a number of guest speakers will be talking to participants about their specialist subjects particularly relevant to the Rally such as HF/MF radio communications, safety and preparation of yachts for long distance cruising, weather - not so much management in heavy weather but consideration of the conditions likely to be encountered en route - etc. A pre-departure party at the Club is also planned to wind up the Winter proceedings.

Rally Handbook

Whilst it is not envisaged as a substitute for Pilots and other recognised guides, the Handbook will bring together conveniently in one volume relevant port information for the principal stop overs, details of local services and tradesmen, customs and immigration requirements and other practical information. It will also contain the programme arranged for each stop over and information about local sightseeing possibilities. These matters will be discussed during the winter seminars but publication of the Handbook will be postponed to nearer the date of departure so that it is up to date.

With less than a year to go the project is coming together nicely and we are looking forward to the winter programme. Because of the pressure on accommodation this must unfortunately be restricted to confirmed participants and to others by invitation only. It is also quite clear, from discussions with the American clubs, that we will have to cap the numbers sailing with the fleet on the eastern seaboard of the United States so if you haven’t already signed on but are intending to take part in the Rally do please make your intentions clear as soon as possible.

Introductory Seminar - 1st May 2000

The introductory seminar held at the Royal Air Force Yacht Club on 29th April was very well attended. There was a "full house" for the celebratory dinner which concluded the proceedings at which the principal guests were Captain and Mrs Lionel Hall. Lionel is Boat Steerer of The Cachalots - otherwise known as Secretary of the Southampton Master Mariners Association! Mr and Mrs Derek Worrall of Bolton, entering their 40' ketch LOURDES, were the first to sign up for the new Rally. Derek was a crew member on several of the Pacific legs of the Club’s first Trade Winds Rally. Another get together is planned for July followed by a pre-departure party next year. Four one day seminars will also be held during the winter covering specific aspects of the event which will be of particular interest to first time passage makers.

East Coast Reconnaissance - 12th March 2000

Our representatives have now completed a comprehensive and very successful reconnaissance on the eastern seaboard of the USA from Key West to Boston. They were warmly received everywhere and have some exciting news for the seminar in April. Meanwhile the Rally continues to take shape as evidenced by the growing list of Clubs on the Associates page.

Planning the Route - 30th January 2000

Most of the preliminary planning has been completed and we have already established useful contacts along the route with Clubs and others keen to be associated with the Rally. These will be followed up by personal contact during the next few weeks and the project will be introduced in more detail at the first seminar to be held at the Royal Air Force Yacht Club, Hamble, on Saturday 29th April.

The seminar is free, by invitation only, but participants are also warmly invited to stay on for Dinner at the Club afterwards. Meals will be available in the evening at normal Club prices but if numbers are sufficient we plan to lay on a special inaugural dinner to mark the opening of what, above all else, is sure to be a friendly and convivial event.

Meanwhile, as an indication only, the route has been planned to take best advantage of generally favourable winds and currents. The fleet will leave Lagos, Portugal and sail via Tenerife and the Cape Verde Islands to Antigua and on to the British Virgin Islands for Christmas at the Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda.

B.E.Y.C. is part of an American owned world class hotel and water sports complex. Participants will have the option of joining in the hotel’s extensive Christmas programme or simply relaxing and enjoying some idyllic sailing, swimming and diving over the holiday - or both! The hotel facilities will also enable family and friends to join the fleet.

In the New Year of 2002 the voyage will continue on to Cuba, with its unspoilt cruising grounds just waiting to be rediscovered, and thence to the United States and through the Intracoastal Waterway - stretching over 1000 miles more or less north/south and encapsulating a voyage through american history as well as some of the most beautiful cruising areas in the United States - to New York and perhaps Boston before returning to Europe via the Azores arriving back in the U.K. in September 2002.

The round trip will be scheduled to take approximately 12 months. However provision will also be made for those with less time available to return to Europe during April and May sailing from St Augustine, Florida, via Bermuda and the Azores. Founded in 1565 St Augustine is one of the oldest towns in America.