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Catalina Fleet 21

Catalina Owners Association, Chicago Region

The History of Catalina Fleet 21 Chicago Region

  • Walter Pancoe proposed that a Catalina Fleet 22 owners’ group be formed and held the first meeting, inviting

    Catalina 22 owners to join him to discuss the possibility of meeting periodically to compare notes and sailing tips—or even organize an outing, regatta or friendly racing program.

  • The first official meeting of the Fleet was held on June 21, 1973. Many sailing tips, plans and ideas were shared. Bylaws were presented, a Racine outing took place, programs presented, and Fleet Members shared experiences with sailing to and out of various area harbors.

  • A program was given by the mayor of Zion, IL, about the new 300-boat marina being built there.

  • Frank Butler Night was held in April and a special song composed for him was sung by the Fleet 21 Chorus: "Catalina in the Morning.”

  • Tips and grocery lists for first mates were provided.

  • Fleet burgees were developed. So was a tasty C22 punch!

  • The Fleet grew from 21 to 61 Members.

  • Fred and Shirley Collins were married on their boat.

1973 - 1979

1980 - 1989

  • 100 Fleet Members attended the Labor Day outing in Racine.

  • 20 Fleet Members participated in Skippers’ School and a Trailer/Sailing Cruise to Door County coordinated by Bill and Janet Wittbold.

  • Fleet outings included a Chicago River Day and Night Cruise and dinner were offered, raft-ups at Burnham and Montrose Harbors, Lake Geneva for a picnic and sail, a Pizza Party in the inner basin, and overnight cruises to Burnham Harbor, Great Lakes, Jackson Park, Waukegan and Michigan City. 

  • 8 Catalina 22s participated in the Mayor Daley Cup Race.

  • 9 Fleet Boats participated in a pre-season outing to Lake Lawn, WI.

  • Fleet 21 was invited to a Regional Championship Regatta in Toledo, OH.

  • A new member recruitment meeting was held at Belmont Harbor.

  • The Fleet grew to 95 members.

  • Programs included Rules of the Road by the Coast Guard, Weather Forecasting, and an instructor from Adler Planetarium presented a program on The Art of Navigation. Many programs centered on racing. MOB drills were practiced at Burnham Park.

  • Harbor Captains were assigned to each harbor.

  • 65 Members attended Chowderfest at Montrose.

  • 25 boats sailed from Burnham Habor to Michigan City.

  • Fleet Members filled Burnham Park Yacht Club (BPYC) for a dinner with Frank Butler.

  • 86 Fleet Members attended the Chowderfest at BPYC

  • The Fleet created a Spring Safety Check-out.

  • “Ya Gotta Regatta” was held on Memorial Day weekend in the cove at Burnham Harbor.

  • A champagne regatta sponsored by Ed Kita and Kathy Cusimano saw 8 Catalinas racing for the champagne.

  • There was talk of closing four Chicago harbors and merging them into a newly redesigned Burnham Harbor. The City of Chicago Surcharge Tax was the hot topic.

1990 - 1999

2000 - 2009

  • Catalina started the All Catalina Alliance which combined all boats and clubs together. In the past, the clubs were one- design boats only. 

  • Fleet 21 hosted the 30 Nationals in Holland with two Fleet 21 boats taking first place in their division.

  • The Catalina ‘Battle Flag’ was designed and sold. 

  • Catalina 32 nationals were held at Burnham.

  • Fleet members put together an entry for the Cardboard Boat Regatta and lasted two runs. 

  • Tour da Boat started at the Hammond outing. 

  • Fleet 21 joined the Chicago Yachting Association for the first time.

  • The Fleet had an entry in Chicago’s Venetian Night parade.  

  • The Fleet celebrated our 30th anniversary with a special sail on Windy, a tall ship at Navy Pier.

  • The Commodore and Vice Commodore began serving two-year terms. 

  • A new design was developed for Fleet 21 and glassware and clothing was available for purchase. Denim shirts with custom boat names were also offered.

  • Meetings alternated between Burnham Park Yacht Club and Columbia Yacht Club. 

  • The Fleet toured the Chicago Marine Safety Station.

  • The first Red Witch tall ship sail took place.

  • Hammond Marina would be closed from the fall 2006 to May, 2008 due to new construction of the casino. 

  • The 35th Anniversary was held at Great Lakes Naval Base with a Pig Roast.

  • The Fleet celebrated Summer Solstice in New Buffalo. Other outings found the Fleet sailing to Waukegan and Michigan City.

2010 - 2019

  • Members started the unofficial P Dock East in Michigan City due to a large number of boats moving from Hammond Marina.

  • Shrimp Boil, Jackson Park Clam Bake, Pierogi Fest, the Hammond Masquerade Gala, White Castle Valentine’s Dinner, Margarita Party, Summer Solstice at 31st St. and New Buffalo, Chili Bowl, Waukegan Sail-in, Brown Bag Auction fundraiser were memorable outings and events.

  • Fleet members toured the new 31st St. Harbor, then organized a sail-in with free slips available.

  • 68 Fleet members attended the Winter Rendezvous in tandem with Strictly Sail, where the Fleet had a booth. Strictly Sail eventually combined with the Boat and RV Show.

  • The 40th Anniversary Party was at Fred and Shirley’s home in Ogden Dunes, IN. The Fleet had special 40th anniversary shirts for sale. 

  • The Fleet toured Columbia Yacht Club and the Chicago River Lock near Navy Pier.

  • The Fleet began selling fleece jackets as a money maker. 

  • The Lobster Fest outing started in Michigan City, then evolved into Ribfest.

  • The America’s Cup held trials in the Chicago area.

  • The tall ships arrived in Chicago.

  • Fleet 21 attended Yachtapalooza at Crowleys and recruited new members.

  • A Facebook group was started for the Fleet.

  • The North American Championship for the Catalina 30/309 were held at Columbia Yacht Club. 

  • We celebrated our 45th Anniversary at our awards banquet. Commemorative bottles of wine and wine glasses were gifted to attendees.

2020 - 2023-50th Anniversary Year

  • The club had to cancel all plans due to the Covid-19 outbreak and meet via Zoom meetings. The club offered each member a free year of no dues. Illinois Harbors were closed, while Michigan and Indiana remained open.

  • High water levels continued to wreak havoc on many harbors, but was finally down in the summer of 2021.

  • The Fleet came back to normal operations without Covid-19 restrictions and in-person outings to Belmont, Kenosha, Hammond for the Margarita Party and Brown Bag Auction, and Lobster Fest and Ribfest in Michigan City.

  • Fleet 21 continued to recruit new members and participate in Crowley’s Yachtapalooza, followed by drinks and lunch at the Bulldog Brewing Company in Whiting.

  • Meetings continued via Zoom for the convenience of a geographically diverse membership.

  • Programs included speakers on Great Lakes Shipwrecks, Life Vest Maintenance, Save the Chicago Lighthouse, Weather Pattern Changes, Lake Michigan Water Levels, Nautical Phone Apps, author Michael Schumacher, Basic Knot Tying, Spring Commissioning checklist.

  • A book club was started with Zoom meetings. The first book was Victura, by Fleet member Jim Graham.

  • A season opening party was held at Montrose with sea shanties sung by Tom Castle. 40+ people attended.

  • The Margarita and Taco Salad Party took place in Michigan City with 30+ people attending.

  • An organized Michigan shore cruise was held for the first time in many years with 8 boats participating.

  • 50th Anniversary commemorative tee-shirts were made available—another beautiful design by Mary Beth and Chuck Cybul.

  • A second Red Witch cruise for the Kenosha Sail-in was scheduled to celebrate our 50 years as a club, though it had to be cancelled due to weather. An impromptu progressive dock party was a great Plan B!

  • The 50th Anniversary Banquet returned to Burnham Harbor with memorabilia and special commemorative gifts for attendees.

  • Nancy Bartlett was the Rookie of the Year. Nancy single-handed her Catalina 22 and spent 19½ hours trying to get to Holland. (See more about Nancy below)

  • Fleet 21 hosted the C-22 Nationals at Burnham Park Yacht Club. There was a full week of racing and cruising. Fleet 21 also participated in the Catalina 22 Midwest National Cruise which covered Indiana, Michigan and Chicago.

  • The Fleet had a boat in the Chicago Venetian Night: Jug Band skippered by Harry Simon.

  • The Fleet held its first overnight at the new Hammond Marina, held a Photo Cruise, a family picnic at the Inner Basin (this was before Burnham Harbor), a mystery outing, a road trip to UK Sailmakers, Septoberfest was held at Montrose Harbor, an overnight to North Point marina, a Memorial Day Overnight at Burnham featured a Treasure Hunt, there was a Lake Michigan Shore Cruise, the first annual pancake breakfast in Hammond, and an annual Mac-Bay outing at Lake Macatawa.

  • Programs included a talk by Bill Pinkney, teaching line dancing, and Frank Butler was the speaker at an April general meeting.

  • Skipper and racer Pete Dornbos suffered a big loss when his 22’ Catalina, Moonraker, sunk during a MORF race.

  • Carolyn DeAre became the editor of the newsletter, which was eventually named ‘Fleet Sheet’.

  • Cat Kids & Wally’s Wieners was our first kid-focused outing sponsored by Wally Hartman.

  • The Fleet won first prize at the Hammond Venetian Night ($500)! A microburst during the Hammond Outing forced the Fleet to take refuge in the bathrooms!

  • The Fleet was now renamed Great Lakes Fleet 21. 

  • The Fleet launched the Buddy Boat cruising.

  • The Fleet obtained a mannequin named Orville for overboard training. 

  • Develt and Chalotte Crockett’s 36 ft. boat was used in the club’s entry for Venetian Night. 

  • Amy Wegoner and Bruce Noble were married during the Michigan Shore Cruise in Saugatuck. 

  • Fleet members coined the term ‘Kita’ to represent driving to an outing.

  • Members attended Strictly Sail boat show and had a booth.

  • Westrec Marinas took over the Chicago Marinas and announced that all marinas would be upgraded to floating docks.

  • Many of our hats and sweatshirts were sold on the wall of Monroe Harbor to the general public.   

  • The fleet name was again changed to Catalina Fleet 21– Chicago Region.

  • The Fleet 21 web site was created. 

  • The 25th anniversary was celebrated at Strictly Sail with Frank Butler and Sharon Day attending. The 25th anniversary party continued at Hammond with 17 of the 25 Commodores attending. Our first Commodore, Walter Pancoe, flew in from North Carolina to attend.

  • Members flew to Los Angeles to view the Catalina factory and went sightseeing. 

  • Members started the Mariner’s Service Fund.

  • Warde Pierson felt sorry for Nancy’s single-handed sailing to the Hammond Outing and towed her all the way as Nancy sat on the bow drinking wine. 

  • Nancy Barlett once again got lost going to the Michigan City outing. The club bought her a GPS to help her find her way home.

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