SALTY DAWGS MARITIME RALLY 2025

Written by Robin Worley, Althea; Nicole Monsees, Highlander;  Stephanie Diliberto, Liberty

The fleet consisting of Illusion (Island Packet 45), Liberty (Valiant 42), Il Songo  (Oyster 56), Highlander (Tartan 37), Althea (Tartan 3800), Salome (C&C  35), No Worries (Island Packet 45) and Jenny T (Valiant 37) departed Rockland ME early on July 18^th for the overnight passage to Shelburne NS.   Unfortunately, due to wind forecast, Salome had to make the decision to abort the crossing and decided to head to Swan’s Island, ME- leaving 7 boats in the group.  

The remaining 7 arrived in Shelburne NS by early evening on July 19^th after a pleasant crossing.  Unbeknownst to us we had arrived in Shelburne just in time for their annual town celebration and those in the anchorage had front row seats to a lighted boat parade and fireworks display. 

The next evening, we were welcomed to Shelburne at a lovely dinner at the Shelburne Yacht Club hosted by the Shelburne Yacht Club Commodore and were given a rundown of anchorages from Shelburne to Bras d’Or by Brad Wilson. 

The fleet made their way to Lunenberg, with Jenny T taking a pause at Port Mouton and arriving a day after the rest of the fleet.  Lunenberg is a quaint UNESCO world heritage site, and we got to explore, shop, and dine in some lovely restaurants.   

From there it was an easy jump to Halifax.  Il Sogno decided to go into gunkhole mode and anchor in two scenic anchorages along the way to Halifax (Betty’s Island and Rogue’s Roost) and Jenny T chose to do the same (Mahone Bay, Rogue’s Roost, and Prospect Bay) while the rest of us made our way to the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron.  The majority of the fleet (minus Jenny T) assembled in Halifax at RNSYS on July 25.  We had cocktails with RNSYS members then a Salty Dawg dinner at the Yacht Club.  In Halifax the fleet said goodbye to No Worries – who had to repair their furling system before moving on and Jenny T who had to remain in Halifax for a crew change. 

The remaining fleet departed Halifax on July 26 for an overnight passage to St Peters. Along the way Il Songo anchored in Tor Bay and Illusion in Liscomb Harbor.  The fleet all made it through the lock into Bras d’Or on July 27^th.  Some boats grabbed moorings or docked at St Peter’s Marina while other anchored – but all took advantage of the warm hospitality of St Peters Marina.  The marina owner, Gerry, and his staff rolled out the welcome mats along with Paul Jamieson and Gaye of sailingcbi.com and treated us to a lovely dinner and Bras d’Or information session.  

The next day we all decided to move onto the Crammond Islands first where a Salty Dawgs pot luck dinner was hosted by Craig and Karene on Il Songo.   The fleet then split up - exploring the numerous anchorages (Maskell’s Harbor, Deep Cove, Little Harbor) available in Bras d’Or on our route to the end point of Baddeck.  Once in Baddeck a number of Dawgs took advantage of the Cabot Trail tour that had been arranged.  Baddeck was a lovely little town to wander around and the Alexander Bell museum was quite interesting. The rally culminated in a spectacular Cape Breton kitchen party hosted by Paul and Gaye with live music, neighbors, great food and a visit from some original Salty Dawgs - Charlie and Jenny.  

Post Baddeck the rally was officially over and as of August 10 and the majority of the fleet, headed back to the US, but kept in touch via VHF and the Salty Dawg app, with some boats meeting up in Mahone Bay and others in Shelburne prior to the jump home.  

The rally introduced a bunch of people and boats – providing a safety net for those with less experience cruising. It’s always nice knowing that you have other boats out there looking out for you – may our sailing paths cross again. 

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