Wednesday 5 December 2012

Wally Byam Caravan Club International

Although most Airstream owners are passionate travellers many of them were intimidated by the idea of travelling alone.  Wally had noticed that many of the buyers were just letting their trailers sit in the front yard and decided to round up a group of fellow Airstreamers for a caravan.  The first Airstream caravan left in 1951 and travelled to many parts of Central America including Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and more.  The group eventually grew into the "Wally Byam Caravan Club Internation" (WBCCI) and became one of the largest RV owners club in the world.  At one point the club had became so popular that Wally had to limit the amount of participants to only Airstream owners.

The WBCCI first began touring most of North and Central America and eventually all around the world.  The famous Cape Town to Cairo Caravan began in 1959 in Africa and had included over a hundred participants.  Caravaner enthusiasts gathered from all over on this excursion to see the pyramids and deserts of Central and Northern Africa.  And in 1964 the club set out for Singapore, tracing the silk route originally taken by Marco Polo and travelled 35 000 miles in over a year and visited almost every country in Southern Asian, Europe, and the Soviet Union.


Soon the Airstream became one of the most internationally recognized trailers in the world, spotted in many famous sites and photographs from all around the world.  After Wally's death in 1962 the WBCCI continued and grew to be one of today's leading caravans in Northern and Central America.


Sources:
"Fast Facts." Airstream, Inc. Airstream, Inc., n.d. Web. 14 Nov 2012. <http://www.airstream.com/comp
      any/fast-facts/>
"History." Airstream, Inc. Airstream, Inc., n.d. Web. 14 Nov 2012. <http://www.airstream.com/company
      /history/>
Reasons, Don. "The Airstream Web Ring." The Airstream Web Ring, n.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov 2012. 
      <http://sd2cx1.webring.org/l/rd?ring=airstream;id=50;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecalldon%2Ec
      om%2Fair%2Ehtm>

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