Eight Bells – Salty Dawg Rally Co-Founder, Linda Knowles
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Linda Knowles – Salty Dawg Sailing Association
The idea for a cruising rally from the U.S. to the Caribbean specifically for experienced sailors came to the mind of Bill and Linda Knowles during the summer of 2011, as they sat in the cockpit of their well-cruised Jeanneau 54, Sapphire, with crew, their 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier named Brie. That fall, the concept turned concrete with the launch of the first Salty Dawg Rally to the Caribbean. The November 2011 issue of All At Sea’s article about the Rally quotes Linda as saying, “We hope the Salty Dog Rally will become a tradition that will continue year after year.” Knowles, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack in her home in Vero Beach, FL on November 14, 2020, at the age of 71, indeed saw her dream come true.
Goodbye 2020 By Sandy Parks · On December 18, 2020
There hasn’t been a year quite like 2020 in living memory. A lot went wrong due to the covid-19 pandemic, the loss of 300,000 lives and counting and the closing of tens of thousands of businesses. But instead of dwelling on the horrors of 2020, let’s look back at what went right in our world of sailing and cruising. While we all were staying home and social distancing, the sailing marketplace was more active than ever as people decided that sailing with the family was one thing that was safe from infection. The brokerage market, in particular, has been very active and boats have been selling quickly. Although the charter business outside the country has been shuttered, local, U.S.-based charter fleets have been active and sailing schools have reopened successfully. Once again, people decided that sailing was safe. For cruisers, state-to-state restrictions curbed long haul coastal cruises so folks tended to stay lo