Catalina confab

Above, The highlight of the day was cocktails on the lawn of Sullivan House, on the opposite side of the pond, with its superlative view of the harbor.

May 2024

Story and photos by Marilyn Pond Brigham

Our Catalina 445 is moored in Quissett Harbor, one of the prettiest harbors in New England, and the harbor is always abuzz with boats. Optimist prams, Boston Whalers and sleek powerboats, fleets of gorgeous Herreshoff sailboats, and a number of other fine sailing craft enjoy the harbor. But ours – Selkie, a Catalina 445 – is the only vessel in our Cape Cod mooring field built by that Largo, Fla., company. We hardly ever see a boat that looks just like ours.

And the Rendezvous was to be held in early August of 2023, at nearby Block Island, R.I. What could be better? Springline Yacht Sales, of Mystic, Conn., where we purchased our Catalina, was the local sponsor of the Rendezvous. They did much of the organizing, which included locating Catalina owners and issuing invitations, securing the Block Island moorings and dockage, planning events, and coordinating on-island venues and transportation.

Springline used its client lists and those of Catalina Yachts, and it contacted the Catalina Owners group to invite and entice potential participants. Invites were sent via e-blast, and the gathering was promoted on the Catalina website and via social media. Though hailing ports were not tracked, boats attending the rendezvous came from as far south as Florida, and several were from the Chesapeake and New York.

The majority of boats, however, hailed from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Springline and Catalina Yachts were thrilled at the eventual size and enthusiasm of the fleet of 52 Catalina yachts and about 130 attendees. What a lot of work it was, but well worth the effort for the associations made through the rendezvous.

About 10 miles south of Point Judith, R.I., and 15 miles northeast of Montauk Point, on Long Island, Block Island has long been a sailor’s destination. The waters of Block Island Sound are known for fog, tricky currents and shifting winds, which makes for interesting sailing. The island – with its history, culture and land tracts set aside for conservation – is a rewarding destination. Many sailing organizations sponsor races, both to and from the island and circumnavigating it. Perhaps the most renowned of these being the Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week, including its ’Round the Island Race.

Block Island has no natural harbors, but two beautifully enhanced harbors. Old Harbor was formed with the construction of breakwaters in the mid-1800s and handles the ferries from the mainland. New Harbor, located on the west side of the island, was created 20 years later by cutting a channel from the sound to the Great Salt Pond. New Harbor has three large marinas, 50 acres of anchorage, and more than 100 public moorings.

The rendezvous was scheduled from Tuesday, Aug. 1 through Thursday, Aug. 3. The weather for most of the summer had been foul – lots of rain and heat. Weather for the four-day cruise was predicted to be fair, but an ocean storm might bring rain, high winds and potentially four- to six-foot waves for the cruise home on Aug. 4. We knew we might have to cut the rendezvous short; a seven-hour bash against tide and wind is not our idea of a good time.

As the trip from Quissett to Block Island is about 40 miles, we decided to cruise there leisurely via Cuttyhunk Island. With our dog, Ellis, aboard, we left July 31 for Cuttyhunk, in the Elizabeth Islands, about 15 miles from our homeport. We arrived in midafternoon with reservations at the town dock, and took full advantage of access to fresh water to hose down and clean the boat. An afternoon stroll around town was followed by an early evening in the cockpit with fellow cruisers and oysters on the half shell. On a beautiful evening, with a gorgeous full moon, we went on to lobster rolls for dinner and ice cream for dessert.

We left Cuttyhunk early on Aug. 1 for the sail to Block Island, which took over five hours in sunny, but breezy, conditions. In midafternoon, as we approached North Reef’s lighted bell buoy G “1BI”, due north of Sandy Point, we began to see other vessels approaching the island.

Heading south around the island to approach the entrance to the Salt Pond, we knew we were in the right place when we saw an increasing number of boats that looked just like us. Some bigger, mostly smaller, but all with a white hull with blue stripes and sails with red diamonds containing a big C. The Catalina fleet was converging on Block Island.

It must have looked odd for the sunbathers along the shore of the channel to see our boat and at least four others that looked just the same heading toward the harbor. Or, maybe no one but me noticed this anomaly.

The harbor teemed with boats and was a busy place; it was high summer, after all. We motored around in circles for quite some time, waiting for the dockmaster at Champlin’s Marina to give us directions to our slip assignment. We were assigned the face of the dock, not far from a Catalina 425, an all-new design, which we were interested to see. Actually, our dog introduced us to the dog on the 425, and soon we owners became fast friends.

A little later, while below, we heard a pounding on the hull. Another 445 owner was alongside in a dinghy, anxious to tell us the story of selling their house to live and cruise full-time. We knew already that we’d have a great time at this rendezvous.

The gathering began with a cocktail party – what else? The kickoff event was held at the National Hotel in New Shoreham, and it was a great way to unwind, meet other owners, and the Catalina hosts. Check-in brought a Skipper’s Bag with all sorts of Catalina swag for the boats and T-shirts for the crews. Catalina Yachts president Sharon Day, COO Patrick Turner, as well as Rick and Kimberly Dieterich from Springline, provided welcoming remarks, including a review of the rendezvous events, and an explanation of the “Bang-and-Go-Back” dinghy race and Model Boat competition later.

It was great to be in New Shoreham, feeling the fun vibe of being in the thick of Block Island vacationers. On a sad note, several weeks after we enjoyed the warm hospitality and great food of the National, a devastating fire deemed the historic hotel a total loss.

Bright and early on Aug. 2, we were all requested to dress ship with signal and Catalina flags. Sadly, we had neither, but many of our sister ships were all decked out. To enter into the spirit, we flew our Scottish Rampant Lion flag.

The first official morning event was a seal-watching trip, via dinghy, to the North Lighthouse. We’d have gone but Ellis relentlessly guards the dinghy and barks like crazy, and is outraged when we start the motor. Sorry, but it’s a long story. Though Ellis likes seals – after all, our boat is named Selkie (mythological Norse and Celtic sealfolk) – we knew that other Catalina owners would not appreciate our wildly barking first mate. All who went said the seal rookery was wonderful.

Later that afternoon, the preliminary dinghy Bang and Go Back Race took place, and we also skipped that (see above: “Barking Dog”). We spent our day exploring the amenities of the marina, lolling in the cockpit, chatting with Catalina owners (anyone who wore the blue Catalina T-shirt), and swimming and playing with Ellis.

The highlight of the day was cocktails on the lawn of Sullivan House, on the opposite side of the pond, with its superlative view of the harbor, Block Island Sound and the town. We chatted with Catalina executives and found we had common friends. We reconnected with the couple who banged on our hull and enjoyed comparing notes on the 445. We wished them well as they made their way south to the Caribbean aboard their new home.

A huge white tent on the lawn accommodated all 130 of us for a lobster dinner, complete with the fixings, plus entertaining live music. Sunset presented the opportunity for Sharon Day to shoot the cannon. We all covered our hearts and stopped schmoozing long enough for colors. We were awed by another celestial treat, the full sturgeon supermoon, which appeared shortly after dinner. Taxis took us back to the marina at dinner’s end.

Thursday was a day of seminars at Champlin’s, hosted by representatives from Selden Mast, Doyle Sails and Yanmar Marine. These were followed by Bang-and-Go-Back finals (with prizes), and the model-boat race. The components of the model – dowel, block of wood, twine – were included in the Skipper’s Bag with instructions for building a pond boat with only tools available on your boat. The day’s events were capped by mudslides and Lite Bites at the marina and more good conversation.

Regrettably, we left Block Island early that morning, along with many other boats that looked just like ours. The weather for Friday, which would have been the day we would have left, was to be windy, rainy and foul, with large swells. Catalina owners have well-built boats that can withstand poor conditions, but Catalina owners also know how to have a great time and when to be prudent and avoid bad weather if they can.

Traveling back out the Salt Pond, we spotted many of our new Catalina acquaintances. Some were leaving, as well, traveling to homeports much farther away than ours. Many Catalinas had rafted together on moorings. In their cockpits, with morning coffee, their owners waved farewell as we departed Block Island.

We’re hopeful that Catalina will organize another rendezvous in the near future. We had a great time, leaving with many fond memories, and we look forward to reconnecting with our newfound Catalina friends. It was lots of fun to be with new friends who shared a love of the water and a love of their boats, which were just like us.

Marilyn Brigham, along with her co-captain/spouse Paul, sails Selkie, a Catalina 445, out of Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, Mass. She is a lifelong sailor and current member of the Quissett and Cottage Park yacht clubs.