Commodore's Column - November 2008

by Tom Sokoloski
Catalina 36 International Association

The Catalina 36 International Association is really pretty amazing. This past August I was scheduled to attend a business convention in Seattle, WA. Having never been to Seattle, I contacted a couple of C36 owners in the area, looking for advice about area attractions. One of the immediate replies came from Paul Walchenbach, owner of Mata Hari. I had never met Paul, and he had never met me, but I remembered his correspondences on the list server, and I remembered several pictures of Mata Hari sailing along the Seattle waterfront. Paul immediately offered an invitation to go sailing with him, and hopefully participate in the Tuesday night ritual called the “Duck Dodge”. Not knowing if I would need hip boots and a shotgun, I accepted. For those not in the know, the Duck Dodge is an experience not to be missed. Even a tour bus guide in Seattle knew what it was. It is part sailboat racing, part community gathering, part BBQ, part wild party, and all fun. Imagine mid-week local beer-can racing, where everyone knows everyone else. Each week has a “theme” (that week was Toga Party), and at the end of the race there are 30-40 boats rafted off the committee boat to party together. This all took place on Union Lake, which is a fresh water lake in the middle of Seattle, connected to the ocean by a series of locks. I guess if you are from Seattle it is nothing out of the ordinary, but for this sailor from the conservative east coast, it was so different and so much fun, all I could do the whole night was shake my head in disbelief, with an ear-to-ear grin. Paul, thank you again for a great evening. I’m sure there are other sailboat owners associations with camaraderie, but they would have a tough time surpassing that of C36IA. I suggest that if you are in other parts of the country (or the world, for that matter), look up a fellow C36er, and give them a shout. You will most likely be very pleasantly surprised, possibly sail in a different area, and definitely meet a wonderful person.
By the time you read this, the first C36IA Open Member Meeting will have taken place. On Saturday morning of the Annapolis Sailboat Show, the officers of C36IA met with 10? 20? 50? 100? owners and exchanged ideas. As I write this I look forward to it, and I hope it turns out well. Summer is drawing to an end in New England, along with all the depressing thoughts of six months without Julandra floating beneath my feet. Time to take advantage of those wonderful Indian summer days, and get out on the water a few more times. As the T-shirt says, Sail Fast, Live Slow.