sail-world.com -- Calling Caribbean sailors: New Rally to the Amazon Basin from Trinidad
Calling Caribbean sailors: New Rally to the Amazon Basin from Trinidad
Tue, 19 Mar 2013
So you've finished your sailing season in the Caribbean and now you have to either fly home (whether home is in Sussex, Ohio or Australia) or hunker down for the season and do some maintenance. No, it's not true - there's another option – there's the new Nereid's Rally to some exotic destinations of Guyana and French Guiana.
The rally organisers say there's a lot of misinformation about sailing to South America like this - myths about ferocious winds and evil pirates - but they're are about to show how wrong the myths are, with a rally starting in September this year.
So, they say, leave the hurricanes to do their worst by sailing to Trinidad and Tobago anytime before the end of August. Sailing south of Tobago in September offers many sunny days, winds 10-15 knots and a swell mostly less than 2 metres. There's little or no north-setting current and the prevailing breeze is easterly, just what you need for sailing south.
Yachts less than 40ft will leave Store Bay in Tobago no later than the fourth of September. Yachts should plan to arrive before the end of August, while mostly larger yachts will leave will leave from Chaguaramas Trinidad, a day later.
Bartica in Guyana is the destination for the first leg of the rally, where entertainment and a formal welcome await all at Hurakabra River Resort. Participants will have eight days to explore the delights of Guyana, and there'll be many tour offerings while you are there.
Net stop is Saint Laurent du Maroni in French Guiana, which has been described as French Guiana's best kept yachting secret!
That is where the official rally will disband, and you can return to your maintenance tasks in Trinidad or Tobago, because the sailing season is just about to begin in December. If you find the idea of maintenance too boring, you could think of sailing to the Salvation Islands or Paramaribo Suriname instead, as both are around 24 hours sail away.
Assistance with yacht preparation can be sought before you depart on the rally, and there will be two farewell parties in both of the departure points.
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