Herding Cats?
The Chesapeake Catboat Association serves to provide a central point of contact for all Catboaters and Catboat enthusiasts on the Bay. The association sponsors or attends multiple races and events each year as well as the National Catboat Association's meeting in Groton, CT. Its members have a lot of fun sailing and socializing together as you will read below. Here is the latest on the local catboating scene.
Chesapeake Catboat Association's banner year
The Chesapeake Catboat Association (CCBA) capped off a banner year early in December with a laid-back Holiday Luncheon held at the Dock House Restaurant on Kent Island.
Commodore Butch Miller reflected on the year just completed saying, “Thanks to all of our Bay area catboat members who sponsored events up and down the Bay. It takes a lot of work to put on an event for 20-30 catboaters who sail eight-10 hours from their home ports for a race or a dinner. These boats are not the speediest. We have to make provisions for not enough wind… too much wind… and sometimes mass confusion when the weather turns bad.” Miller, along with his wife Denise, sails his catboat out of his home port on the Eastern Shore.
The year started with the annual West River Classic Race & Rendezvous on the West River. More than 15 boats hit the line for a fun up and down race prior to slurping down local oysters and knoshing on Royal Farms chicken. The event held at Hartge Marina is a club favorite given the lawn-side accommodations and the opportunity to overnight in the West River basin or at the Marina.
Next up was the Prospect Bay Race & Rendezvous around Parson’s and Bodkin Islands on the Eastern Shore. Light winds and brutal heat made this race a yawner, but fun nonetheless.
The South River Poker Run and Barbeque is always a highlight of the year with catboaters collecting virtual playing cards as they sail to predetermined coordinates along the river’s edge. We served up oysters aplenty at Chez Ligibel.
The Long Cruise is always an adventure as the intrepid catboaters brave late summer wind and water to complete a 60- to 150-mile cruise to a number of destinations over a six- to eight-day period. This year, the group enjoyed a royal sendoff as Bob and Elaine Leigh pulled out all the stops with a cast-off barbeque at their home on the Magothy before the cruisers sailed to the Sassafras River and environs and endured the Bay’s usual late summer fluky weather.
In October the group convened on the Wye River for the Wild Goose Chase. We enjoyed lots of beautiful scenery, a night in St. Michaels… not so many geese.
The year culminated with the aforementioned holiday party where the cool cats got the chance to gather and join together on their kazoos in playing the CCBA’s theme song much to the appreciation of the assembled crowd.
Plans are underway for the 2025 season.
A kickoff meeting will be held on March 15 at Pirate’s Cove in Galesville, MD, to outline the group’s next year’s activities.
“We are a group of sailors with a keen interest in catboats and having fun on the Bay. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we welcome anyone who wants to learn more about catboats and our Association,” says Miller. He invites anyone with an interest in Catboating to check out the group at chesapeakecatboats.org to get the latest on what the association will be up to in the year ahead.
“Sometimes getting the group together all going in the same direction is like herding cats,” Miller says with a smile. “We have a mixture of boats. Some big, some small. There’s always room in one of our cockpits for a guest or two to join in the fun.”
Come out and join us. Prrrrrrrr.
By Craig Ligibel
