Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 17:54:50 -0700
Reply-To: Joel Cort <joel_cort@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joel Cort <joel_cort@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: La Madeleine - the largest Westfalia campout in North America!
(LONG)
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The summer of 2003 will have the largest Westfalia campout in North America!
I keep reading numerous questions about “les Iles de la Madeleine” and I have not seen much advertising or documentation on the Gerry (the Vanagon.com list) or in the LiMBO Transporter. Here is what is planned and slatted to be the largest Westfalia campout in North America.
“Les Iles de la Madeleine” are a group of islands located in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence in Canada. They are part of the province of Quebec, thus the French name, and are located between the provinces of Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The islands are also referred to as the “Magdalene Islands” in English documents.
These islands have beautiful windswept beaches, linked by a series of sand isthmuses. The eight islands form an archipelago approximately 45 miles long. The islands offer a wealth of outdoor activities including swimming, sailing, hiking, bike riding and camping so it is easy to see why it would attrack VW campers.
Ten summers ago, a couple of campers with VW Westfalia vans met on Les Iles and decided to form a VW club for other camping enthusiast to get together. This club is based out of Quebec and is called the “Club International de Camping-Car Westfalia” (CICCW) or just simply Club International Westfalia (CIW). You can find club information at their web site www.westfalia.qc.ca
Although the club is called “International”, the outings are mostly held within the Quebec province and they have a strong active membership of about 1000 members. The members are from numerous locations mainly from Montreal and Quebec City area. Although the main language is French, don’t let that stop you, because you will find most members are bilingual and all important information is translated into English on their website and in their group newsletters.
With a growing membership, this group set out to break the Guinness Record for having the most Westfalia campers at a single campout in 1999. The campout was a success: 489 Westfalia campers attended. This summer the club invites campers to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the club and participate in an attempt to break the previous Guinness record. They hope to have over 500 Westfalia campers at this campout.
For the 10-year event, the club decided to return to the initial camping site of the first two members - les Iles de la Madeleine! This will be the club’s “big outing” (“Grand Rendez-vous”) for this year, to be held from August 13th to the 17th on the “Islands”. To participate in the campout, check on their web site or send an email requesting additional information to info@westfalia.qc.ca. If you would like to join the club the dues are $25US or $30CND. Check the web site for the mailing address.
Getting there is half the fun. The only way to get to the islands is by plane or by ferryboat from P.E.I. or Montreal. The club had previously reserved the first ferry out from P.E.I. on the 11th of August. This boat quickly filled up with over 150 Westfalia vans signed up and committed back in December 2002. This club is serious about its outings. What a great picture that will be, the hull of a ferry boat filled with all sorts of VW Westfalia campers, new and old. VW ought to be proud. Here is the catch to participate in this event: You must drive a Westfalia van or a Winnebago derivative on the VW base.
To board the ferry, you must have a reservation. You can contact the ferry system and determine if you wish to sail from Montreal or from Souris on P.E.I. It takes two days from Montreal and about 5 hours from Souris to sail to the islands. The phone number is 1-888-986-3278 or you can use the website at www.ctma.ca for more information and trip planning. Make sure that you also schedule a return trip at the same time because these islands are very popular and very busy with kite flying contests and sand castle tournaments the following week.
Yes – It is a long way to drive and probably expensive for some. Many are crossing the country to attend this event and making it a memorable summer trip. Come one, come all and have fun breaking the Guinness record while enjoying and discovering this part of Canada and Les Iles de la Madeleine at the Grand Rendez-Vous this summer. I hope that I have provided and described this camping event as accurately as possible and if some participant wish to add any further details, please provide any additional information.
Relevant Web sites of interest:
CICCW www.westfalia.qc.ca
email info@westfalia.qc.ca
Ferry Service www.ctma.ca 418-986-3278 or 888-986-3278
Madeleine Tourist information www.ilesdelamadeleine.com
PEI Tourist Information www.gov.pe.ca
Prince Edward Island is roughly:
1600 Km (1000 miles) from Toronto
1000 Km (625 miles) from Montreal
1100 Km (650 miles) from Boston
1450 Km (850 miles) from New York City
1600 Km (1000 miles) miles from Rochester
Joel
89 Syncro Westy getting ready for La Madeleine.
Rochester NY
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