The Salty Dawg Maritime Rally

Feb 10, 2022

by Bennett Kashdan 

If you are looking for an exciting adventure, come along with the Salty Dawgs on the Maritime Rally. Nova Scotia has an attractive sea-bound coast with quaint fishing villages, numerous isolated coves, and historic sites. The Rally takes participants to beautiful Cape Breton Island and the Bras d’Or Lake. Explore all of Cape Breton with its distinctive Celtic, French Acadian, and English culture all blended together on one island. And remember, in Nova Scotia you have no lobster pots to contend with in the summer! 

This year, the Maritime Rally will have departures both from Provincetown, Massachusetts on July 15, 2022 and from the Penobscot Bay, Maine on July 16, 2022. Boats first traveling to Rockland with the Downeast Rally can enjoy the Rockland events and the Penobscot mini-cruise, and will be rewarded by facing a shorter passage to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Departure from Maine will be early morning on July 16 for the 180 Nmi passage which will include one overnight for most participants. Experienced Maine cruisers who wish to bypass Maine and go directly to Nova Scotia can now participate with full SDSA support. Boats from Provincetown will start out for Shelburne on July 15 for a 270 Nmi passage. Regardless of point of departure, tailored pre-departure briefings and social events will take place in each location. 

In Shelburne, crew may stretch legs and explore the village, which is now maintained as a living museum of how life used to be in a typical Canadian fishing village. The journey continues on July 19 with additional stops planned for the colorful old fishing and swift schooner building village of Lunenburg (remember the Blue Nose), and to Nova Scotia’s capital city of Halifax, bustling and modern, but full of rich history and tradition. On July 21 a reception dinner will be held at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax. Then On July 22, on to St. Peters, at the south tip of Cape Breton Island, where a rousing reception with food and music is planned at St Peter’s Marina on July 23. 

Lunenburg

The following day participants will then enter Bras d’Or Lake via the St. Peters Canal, the southern entrance to the Lakes. The rally concludes with a boat parade into the village of Baddeck on July 27, early enough in the season to allow for extensive cruising in the Bras d’Or Lakes or beyond. Baddeck and its surroundings present an unforgettable mix of history, dramatic coastal scenery, music, and fun. The Alexander Graham Bell Museum is fascinating. While in Baddeck and the north portion of Cape Breton, don’t miss experiencing the 298-kilometer-long Cabot Trail, a winding mix of roadway, paths, stairs, and stunning beauty that takes you from unreal ocean vistas to quaint fishing villages. Self guided or group tours will be available. Summer is the perfect time to explore and enjoy all that Cape Breton has to offer, and even though the Baddeck arrival marks the official endpoint of the rally, participants are encouraged to explore an unlimited number of beautiful and isolated anchorages and harbours of the Bras d’Or Lake, before starting the return voyage. 

Baddeck

Bras d’Or Lake is an inland sea– “A basin ringed by indigo hills laced with marble. Islands within a sea inside an island.” The south end of the lake is connected to the North Atlantic by the Strait of Canso by means of a lock canal completed in 1869—the St. Peters Canal. at the southern tip of the island. In addition, two channels connect the northern Lake to the Atlantic, serving as gateways to the Laurentian Channel and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Covering an area of approximately 424 sq mi, Bras d’Or Lake measures roughly 62 mi in length and 31 mi width. Although there is some deep water, (the maximum depth is 942 ft in the St. Andrews Channel), there are innumerable shallow water anchorages. 

Surrounded almost entirely by high hills and low mountains, the lake is dominated by the Washabuck Peninsula in the center-west, Boularderie Island in the northeast, and a large peninsula extending from the center-east dominated by the Boisdale Hills. The Washabuck Peninsula and Boisdale Hills divide the lake into northern and southern basins, linked by the Barra Strait. The most adventurous may even wish to explore further north and east, to Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French archipelago south of Newfoundland, or Newfoundland itself. 

Cape Breton Boatyard

Wherever you choose to explore, participants are advised to plan wisely for their return trips south, before the early autumn conditions begin. The Rally includes weather routing by The Marine Weather Center, position tracking by PredictWind, and an extensive level of coordination and support during the offshore passage. VHF radio communications equipment is required. Offshore communications equipment are not required, but highly encouraged, especially if you have plans to participate in the Caribbean, or Bermuda, or East Coast Rally. While offshore, vessels may travel in company, maintaining VHF radio contact where possible. Salty Dawg Shoreside Coordinators are accessible through Sat phone, cell phone when in range, and email if capable for any questions, issues, or to relay messages from family. (Only if the boat is equipped for email, such as an IridiumGo, or equivalent.) Sailing CBI Inc. from Cape Breton Island is partnering with the SDSA to bring the hospitality and Maritime Magic of Nova Scotia to our rally participants. 

While in Lake Bras D’Or, there are many good marine services to serve you. St. Peters Marina is one of the largest marinas in the Bras d’Or and has full boating services. Baddeck is home to two marinas, two full service boatyards and the Bras d’Or Yacht Club.

Visit The Ultimate Cruising Destination: The Bras d’Or Lakes and download a free Cruising Guide.

• July 13-14  Pre rally arrival to Provincetown

• July 14:  Briefing, pre-departure dinner

• July 15-17: Passage to Shelburne from Provincetown, MA or Rockland, ME

• July 17-18 All boats in Shelburne

• July 19 Lunenburg

• July 20-22 Halifax.  Reception July 21

• July 22-23 Halifax to St. Peters

• July 23 St. Peter’s Marina Reception

• July 24-27  St. Peters to Baddeck

• July 27:  Boat Parade Baddeck

• July 28: Free day

• July 29: Cabot Trail tour

• July 30: Begin independent cruising

https://www.saltydawgsailing.org/maritime-rally