This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association. it had it's beginnings in 1972 with Tom Winans.

Tom Winans was quite an industrious lad in his younger days. After establishing the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association in 1972 and becoming the MainBrace editor he also became the first Catalina 22 National Champion in 1973 sailing Sun Spot #407.

As you race or cruise this year, remember Tom Winans and all the others that, through the years, have made this association a well respected group of sailors, throughout the sailing world.

Below is a Forty Year Anniversary graphic. Feel free to use it and promote your Fleet and Association the rest of this year.

Any time you step on a boat whether it be pleasure sailing in an afternoon, participating in a cruise or racing in a club event or a regatta, you must be aware of the sailing rules of the road. The most important of all of the right of way rules is Port/Starboard. this rule is always important but especially more important in a sailboat race.

First you have the start. there is always several boats sailing close to the starting line; some are not in your fleet. it's imperative to be aware of all the boats in the area. Not all sailors respect the start line when it's not their start. When the gun goes off and all the boats are on the line, sometimes almost touching. once a leeward boat pulls ahead they might want to tack for whatever reason. That's when the rule first comes into play. Always know your boat speed and the Competitor boat speed to make sure you can safely cross.

Another place is on the race curse. Many times a boat will be sailing to weather and meet a boat sailing down wind directly in front of their path. What to do. Whether you are on Port or Starboard, look to see where his boom is. Looking at him, if the boom is on your right side, he is on Starboard and if it is on your left he is on Port. that lets you know what you have to do in that situation. In this situation, same tack boats; leeward has right of way. Opposite tack boats; Starboard has right of way.

The crash factor always increases with the increase of wind velocity. the higher the wind, especially over 15 knots, the boats heel more and are more apt to be on the verge of out of control. This plays an important part in the reaction time of a tight situation.

There is nothing more frightful than to be sailing close hauled on Starboard, rail in the water and suddenly there appears the first half of a Port tack boat right if front of you. it's too late to hail Starboard. Panic freezes you for that second, then it's too late if you didn't throw the helm over at first site of the boat. to avoid this situation, a crew member should have the responsibility of seeing crossing boats even if you are on Starboard. Unfortunately not all skippers or crew sail far enough out of the boat to avoid these situations.

Last weekend I was on the mark set boat at the Mayor's Cup in Grapevine, TX. The wind was blowing pretty strong causing all the Catalina 22s to use the 110 Headsail. Most had a full Mainsail but some were reefed. i was there to take photos.

At the start of the first race there was an equipment malfunction on one of the J/22s causing him to lose his rudder and hit another boat. In the process of trying to solve the problem, he was drifting close to the rocky shore so the committee boat sent the chase boat to render aid. During the process of towing him off the shore, the race committee radioed that there had been another crash and instructed us to render aid there also. By this time the J/24 had attached his motor and was under his own power.

We immediately found he boat, a Catalina 22 Sport. The boat had been on the Port side and lost the Port upper. they had the sails down but the motor would not state so we towed the boat back to the harbor. By the time we were able to get back on the race course, the first race was over.

At the start of the second race, we set up just outside the pin end of the start line to get some good photos. As the Catalina 22 approached the start line there were two boats very close to the pin. when the gun sounded the leeward boat could not make the pin but the windward boat was able to shoot the mark and get a clean start. in the meantime the leeward boat, for some reason did not jibe around to start but tacked to port in front of the oncoming fleet. Needless to say, he was nailed, and fiberglass flew, by the Starboard boat that had just cleared the start line. i was so surprised at the situation that i forgot to get a photo.

After finishing the fourth race and returning to the dock, i found out that there had been another crash, one Catalina 22, on Port, broadsided another Catalina 22 on Starboard. A sizable hole was created by the crash. i also heard of two other close misses.

In all my years of racing, i have never seen so much carnage in one race. Just goes to show that high winds and not knowing where other boats are can be very damaging.

Just remember, when you go sailing get your head out of the boat and pay attention to all of your surroundings, and have a good sail.

Rich Fox put together an excellent Sail Trim Guide for the Catalina 22. The simple techniques explained here will help improve your sailing whether you are a racer or cruiser. This file is available in a Adobe Acrobat PDF. Click on the link below to open and save a copy of this document. The file can also be downloaded from the "C22 Extranet (File Downloads)" under "Article Reprints".

C22_Sail_Trim.pdf

59.25 KB

30/04/2012 00:00:00

There is still some confusion from members on how to find the MainBrace. This is particularly true with new members. The MainBrace publication is easy to find. First, log in.

Read more ...

There are four very active and well organized Catalina 22 Racing Circuits to encourage C22NSA members to test their sailing and racing skills, and have a fun time doing so.

In the Lone Star State there is the Texas Circuit.

In the Sunshine State it is the Florida Travel Series.

In the Southeast it is the GRITS (Great Racing In The South).

And in the Great Lakes Region you gotta GRIN (Gone Racing In the North).

(Click the hyperlink associated with each circuit name for more information and results.)

Each of these circuits have their own guidelines for eligibility and scoring. What they all share in common is an invitation for you to become involved and join in the racing fun!

The Florida Travel Series has wrapped up its 2011-2012 racing season. Congratulations to the following skippers and their crew:

1st Place   Randy Pawlowski

2nd Place  Dave Ottaviana

3rd Place   Brad Ruffe

The above photo is the 1st place traveling trophy for the Region 4 GRIN Circuit that was awarded to Bruce Sondys and his daughter Becky last October.

I always find great interest in reading about the history of Frank Butler and Catalina Yachts and their tremendous success building sailboats since the late 1960s. In my opinion, Frank Butler and Catalina Yachts represent the all-American dream and business success story.

Frank Butler, in particular, is a fascinating guy. While working for a large boat building company during the mid 1960s, he has a great idea for a new 22 foot sailboat. He recommends to the big shots at the large boat building company that they should build it. The big shots were not at all interested. Then Frank left the large boat building company and starts building boats his way. That 22 foot boat was the Catalina 22. Today, the Catalina 22 remains in production (as the 4th generation Sport edition) with over 15,750 hulls built and sold.

There are plenty of great Frank Butler / Catalina Yachts stories out there to read. Here is one more in SAIL magazine that you might want to check out - Profile: Frank Butler's Catalina Launch.

Enjoy!

Analysis of Catalina 22 Hull Characteristics, Version 2.01, prepared by Kemper Research Laboratories in Long Beach, CA was published years ago. Long lost, this document has resurfaced and is now available online to our members. This document discusses:

• Wetted Surface
• Immersed Area of Transom
• Length of Waterline
• Center of Bouyancy Lengthwise
• Center of Bouyancy Athwartship
• Righting Moment vs Heel Angle
• Hell Angle vs Critical Wind Velocity
• Windward Boat Speed vs Critical Wind Velocity
• Additional Rail-Weight for 16 Degree Heel

Members, to download a copy in PDF format first log in and then click on the link below.

Thanks to some very hard work by Mike Brackett the Cruising Club database is complete. To view simply click on "The Cruising Club" in the "Main Menu".

There are several views. You can see a list of everyone that has made a cruise and find out a little information, like the name of their boat, what fleet they belong to, and where their home port is. If you click on "List Cruises made by a Member" you can see all the cruises a Cruising Club member has made. You can also see all the cruisers that made a specific cruise.

Finally, there is a Cruise Participation Summary. There is a neat trick with this view. You will see two columns, one marked Event and one marked Member. You can organize this view into members or cruises. For example, we want to list all the cruises and the members of each cruise. Click on the Event header and select "Sort Ascending". Next click on the Event header again and click "Group By This Field".

Results of from any of the views can be downloaded in a PDF format for reading in Adobe Acrobat, XML format for use on a webpage, or "CSV" format to open in an Excel spreadsheet. If you have participated in a cruise or you are a cruise organizer, please review the data for accuracy. I know we are missing a couple of cruises yet.

I don't know what is in the water in Tennessee, but the Volunteer state continues to be an impressive breeding ground for some of the most active Catalina 22 sailing in the world!

In Chattanooga, there was Kent & Jane Overbeck at Privateer Yacht Club. Some 10-12 years ago, Kent & Jane would race their Catalina 22 at PYC, but there were not other C22s to race against. Today, PYC has over 35 Catalina 22s actively racing and cruising in their Fleet. Fleet 95 recently hosted and successfully organized the 2010 C22 Championship Regatta. I do not believe the growth of this fleet has slowed down at all. And what a great group of people at the PYC...it is one of my favorites places to visit and sail.

And now, there's another new rising star in our Association, also from Tennessee ...

Drive 2 hours along Interstate 24 to the West where you will find Nashville and Fleet 52. Fleet 52 is the hub of Catalina 22 sailing in middle Tennessee with members from nearby Percy Priest Yacht Club, Highland Yacht Club and Harbor Island Yacht Club. Percy Priest is well known for its excellent Equalizer Regatta that featured four one design fleets - Catalina 22, Northstar 25, J22, and S2 7.9.

During the past year, Fleet 52 decided to break-away from the Equalizer Regatta and launch their new "Music City Catalina Cup". The result - the inaugural MCCC in October 2011 included 17 boats sailing in three fleets - Gold, Silver and Cruising. I applaud Fleet 52 for all their hard work to launch a new C22 regatta (not an easy task), and I applaud them for organizing a regatta that is accessible to racers and cruisers. The 2012 MCCC is certainly on my racing calendar this year!

Fleet 52 recently launched their new website at www.catalina22fleet52.org where you can find out information about organized Catalina 22 sailing in middle Tennessee. It is great to see people continue to grow their enthusiasm around Catalina 22 sailing.

Fleet 52 is very active in the Catalina 22 GRITS circuit and Catalina 22 Cruising. Fleet 52 has good representation at all GRITs regattas and their website has a dedicated section to GRITs. Ken Palmer organizes an annual week-long C22 summer cruise on Kentucky Lake. And Fleet 52 members regularly participate in the Catalina 22 Northern Gulf Coast Cruise.

Fleet 52 Officers:

Bobby McCullough, Captain

Tony Arena, Vice Captain

Don Berridge, Measurer

David Pilcher, Treasurer

Congratulations to the Fleet 52 Officers and their membership on their continued growth and excitement around Catalina 22 racing and cruising in middle Tennessee. And like their sister club at Privateer, Fleet 52 is a great group of people.

Chattanooga's Fleet 95 and Nashville's Fleet 52 have certainly made Tennessee a hub for Catalina 22 racing and cruising in the Eastern US.

If you are a Catalina 22 sailor who lives anywhere near Chattanooga or Nashville, you gotta look these folks up and get involved.

As our Association celebrates its 40 year anniversary in 2012, the strength of our Class is easily demonstrated by the variety of opportunities to race and cruise with our fellow Catalina 22 sailors. So many races and cruises, not enough time (and money) to enjoy all of them. But it sure will be fun trying.

January 7-8, Fun N Sun Regatta, Marathon, FL

February 13-18, Lake Havasu Pocket Cruiser Convention, Lake Havasu, AZ

February 25-26, Mid-Winter Regatta, Cocoa, FL

March 17-18, River City Regatta, Jacksonville, FL

March 24-25, Punch Bowl Regatta, Lake Martin, AL

March 31-April 1, Mt.Dora Yacht Club Spring Regatta, Mt. Dora, FL

April 21-22, Region 3 Championship Regatta, Lake Monroe, FL

April 21-22, PPYC Force Five Regatta, Nashville, TN

April 21-22, Heineken Annual Regatta, Fort Worth, TX

April 28, C22 Rigging Seminar, Indianapolis, IN

"Its 306 miles to the next Catalina 22 Regatta, we got a full tank of gas, it's dark...and we're wearing sunglasses.  Hit it!"

April 28-29, Mayor's Cup Regatta, Grapevine, TX

May 5-6, Chattanooga Challenge Regatta, Chattanooga, TN

May 5-6, Leukemia Cup Regatta, Dallas, TX

May 12-18, Fleet 137 Great Summer Cruise, Mobile, AL

May 12-18, C22 Northern Gulf Coast Cruise, Fort Walton Beach, FL

May 19-20, C22 Regatta at Columbus, OH or Indianapolis, IN

May 26-27, Memorial Day Regatta, Fort Worth, TX

June 2-3, Region 4 Championship Regatta, Toledo, OH

June 9-10, Go For The Gold Regatta, Scott Flat Lake, CA

June 11-14, C22 National Championship Regatta, Scott Flat Lake, CA

August 25-26, Weiss Lake Regatta, Weiss Lake, AL/GA

September 8-9, Goldrush Regatta, Grapevine, TX

September 15-16, Gone With The Wind Regatta, Atlanta, GA

September 15-16, JRSC Fall Series Regatta, Toledo, OH

September 22-23, Houston One Design Regatta, Houston, TX

October 6-7, Region 2 Championship/Grand Annual Regatta, Cave Run, KY

October 6-7, GBCA Compass Performance Cup Regatta, Galveston Bay, TX

October 13-14, Music City Catalina Cup, Nashville, TN

October 13-14, Old Fox Regatta, Columbus, OH

October 20-21, Ol' Man of the Sea Regatta, Fort Worth, TX

October 27-28, Scotalina TuTu Regatta, Lake Martin, AL

November 10-11, Wurstfest Regatta, Lake Canyon, TX

With all these fun regattas and cruises to attend, don't forget these two important activities:

1. Before the event, post the details of your event on our new Association website C22 Calendar page so that we know how to find you.

2. After the event, Gene Ferguson would love to receive a regatta/cruise write-up and pictures for MainBrace.