[C38] New Lister w/Catalina 38

Sat Jun 12 09:08:47 EDT 2010

Hi Ya'll, I have recently joined the list and am intrigued by the Burgee discussion.  Would it be possible to get one for our Catalina 38 named "Zephyr" which we have now moved to the Bonita Bay Marina located at Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL.  I am a retired Air Force guy and my brother-in-law, Gordon Christy and I bought her about three years ago from a fellow in Clearwater, FL.  She was in pretty sad shape so we took her to the Snug Harbor Boatyard in Madeira Beach, FL. for a complete makeover.  Four months later she looked like she had just come off the assembly line.  I don't have the owner's folder with me but she is an '82 model with a shoal draft keel and I believe a 171 build #.  I'll doublecheck that later and correct if necessary.  

Last month two Regatta's on successive weekends were held on St. Andrew's Bay where Panama City is located and out in the Gulf.  I was there for the first one which was a combined Regatta between town boats and the Tyndall AFB Yacht Club.  There were 12 boats in this race which was held in the Bay.  A Hunter 38 got the jump on us accross the starting line with Zephyr about 50 yards behind  them.  (The starting gun went off about 45 seconds early :-(  Zephyr started gaining on the Hunter slowly and by the time we were halfway to the first turn point we were abrest and upwind.  The Hunter fell back and started trying to get upwind of us with Zephyr heading straight for the turnpoint.  When we arrived there the Hunter was way out of position for the turn and when we were both past that turnpoint Zephyr was a good 100 yards in the lead.  After that it was no contest.  By the time we rounded the last buoy the rest of the fleet was so far behind that we were halfway back to the finish line when we met the all of the other boats in the race still heading for that last turnpoint.  We crossed the finishline a full five minutes before the second place Hunter 38 crossed.  There was a lot of radio chatter among the fleet wanting to know who the "proffessional" racing boat belonged to <G>.

Oh yes, I have to add that Zephyr was still carrying the two original sails that came with her: what I believe is the original mainsail and a roller furling 135 genoa.  The winds during that first Regatta were roughly 15 knots gusting to 20,  ideal conditions for the sails we were carrying.  We have ordered a custom tailored mainsail to replace the original from a sailmaker in Pensacola, FL.  He drove over and took measurements on the boat and will custom fit it when he is done making it.  If this goes well we will order a custom 155 for the fall Regatta's.  We are in the process of putting an adjustable backstay and and a rigid boom vang on the boat as well.

The following weekend the Leukemia Cup Charity Regatta was held with Gordon sailing on that one.  The wind was quite a bit milder in the five to ten knot range.   This was a longer race that left the Bay for some time in the Gulf included.  These were not optimal conditions for Zephyr with only the original sails available.  However, Zephyr still managed to cross the finish line about 30 seconds behind a J-Boat.  And when the stats were calculated comparing the two boats and the sails carried, Zephyr was declared the winner!  The Lekemia Cup Winner's Pennant was given to Zepher to proudly carry.  

After these two Regatta's the sailboat owner's in the Panama City, FL, area definitely knew that a formidible racing sailboat had arrived in the Bay.  The next Regatta will be on the 4th of July and we will then have the new mainsail, backstay, and boom vang installed and ready to go.  I'll report the results at the Regatta's conclusion.  

Now, lest you come to the conclusion that Gordon and I are really expert racing Skipper's, I have to tell you that we had the good fortune to meet a young man named Rives Allen when the boat arrived in Panama City.  He is a Panama City native whose family has been in the Panama City area since the middle of the 19th century.  He grew up on cruising sailboats and racing in Regatta's.  His personal boat is a J-29.  When he shows up at a Regatta the other contestants groan and exclaim, "Oh no, Rives is here <G>."  You can then bet that he will usually be the winner.  When our Catalina 38 first arrived at St. Andrews Bay and Rives got a good look at her, he was intrigued to say the least by her lines.  He did his own internet research and indicated to Gordon and me that he would sure like to do some sailing on her.  Well, it did not take long for Gordon and me both to come to the conclusion that we had found the perfect racing skipper for our boat.  As Gordon and I both live almost 400 miles away from Panama City, Rives has volunteered to keep an eye on our boat for us when we are not down there and we have told him that the boat is his to use any time he and his wife Shelly would like to take her out.  This is a perfect situation for all concerned as Gordon and I know that the boat will be taken care of when we are not there and that the boat will be enjoyed by an experienced sailer and his family instead of just sitting in the slip all of the time.

Before we bought this boat Gordon mentioned to me that he would like to get a sailboat that would be a comfortable cruiser and also a competitive boat in the weekend Regatta's.  Right away I started doing some research on the internet and found the Catalina 38 owner's web site.  After reading the comments sent in by the registered owner's I told Gordon that I thought that I had found the ideal boat.  We then started looking to see what was available and located the boat we finally bought in Clearwater.  As I said she was in sad shape but we got her for a very good price and felt we could afford to do what was necessary to bring her back.  Well, after these two Regatta's we really do know that we had made all of the right decisions.  Zephyr is definitely a "Keeper."  

Regards to all of the other Catalina 38 owners out there,

Bill

Bill Haynes
Athens, GA

"To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, 
nor even to found a school, but to so love wisdom 
as to live according to its dictates a life of simplicity,
independence, magnanimity and trust." 
Henry David Thoreau
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