Beating the Heat with a Catboat Race
Sailors lined up at the start of the Saturday afternoon race.
Sailors lined up at the start of the Saturday afternoon race.
Catboat Dolphin rounds the mark.
Catboat Dolphin rounds the mark.
Catboat Cranberry with Capt. Breck Putnam at the helm.
Catboat Cranberry with Capt. Breck Putnam at the helm.
Catboats Dolphin and Chocolate Chip way off West Chop.
Catboats Dolphin and Chocolate Chip way off West Chop.
Rounding the government mark off West and East Chop.
Rounding the government mark off West and East Chop.
Catboat sailors from Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod gathered last weekend for their annual Vineyard Haven catboat rendezvous. The 10 boats came from as far east as Chatham and as far west as Mattapoissett, along with the Vineyarders, to compete in one race Saturday afternoon. While temperatures climbed into to the 90s, a good breeze served the sailors well on the water.
The winning catboat was 20-foot Pandora, a composite, captained by Drew Staniar of Brewster.
The 27-foot catboat Dolphin, one of the largest of wooden catboats in southeastern New England, honored the gathering with her presence but did not compete. Owned by Mary and Andy Crain, the black-hulled catboat was built in 1893 in Edgartown, and now hails from Mattapoisett.
The weekend festivities included a gam in the late afternoon Friday and Saturday at the home of Mark Alan Lovewell in Vineyard Haven.