THE BEETLE SHEET

The Newsletter of the New England Beetle Cat Boat Association

SUMMER 2013
photo by Emily L. Ferguson

FROM THE HELM

A new season, full of hope and the promise of days on the water, seeing friends again at our summer haunts, greeting new sailors, renewing with old friends, and enjoying the sun. Beetle Cats are such an integral part of summer. Whether you do your own maintenance or not, there is that unmistakable Beetle smell of fresh cedar when the boat is first brought out in the Spring. The smell that lasts long after the varnish and topside enamel have dried. On May 27th this year, PENDRAGON II was launched on the high tide. The water in Narragansett Bay was still very cold. The first few sails, I had the Bay all to myself and I was able to enjoy watching from the water as trees leafed out and shrubs flowered. In early June, the tide and the wind cooperated and I completed one of my periodic 7 hour circumnavigations of Prudence Island from Edgewood. On June 18th, Edgewood Yacht Club officially opened for the new season. Up and down the coast yacht clubs are opening up and swarming with the seasons new activity. As I write this, Weekapaug Yacht Clubs Beetles are heading out the harbor for their 4th of July race. I hope to see many of you at Barnstable for this years Telesmanick. Best wishes for fair seas and favorable winds throughout your sailing season. - Wells M. Pile, Chairman

REGISTER NOW!
2013 Leo J. Telesmanick Barnstable Yacht Club, August 3rd & 4th
Dont miss out! This is the premier Beetle Cat Regatta and the annual World Championship for Beetle Cats! Divisions include: Overall, Mens, Womens, Juniors, Old Salts (over 50) and Ancient Mariners (Over 60). Bring your boat to race, or join in on the fun at the Race Dinner on Saturday night - either way, its a great weekend of Beetle Cats! Register on the web at: www.regattanetwork.com/event/6283#_home or contact John Field at jbafield@ gmail.com.

New England Beetle Cat Boat Association

Summer 2013

CHATHAM YACHT CLUB - SUMMER 2012

Racing in Beetle Cats at CYC continues to get better and better each season! At any one time there are about seven skippers who can easily win a race and the competition is excellent. Probably the most competitive group is the Ladies, who race on Tuesday afternoon. This year Cathy Taylor beat out Carolyn Paczkowska by one point in that series standings (note that Carolyn won the year before). Cathy Taylor also won the Saturday series, again by one point over Ted Dickson, but Carolyn won the Tuesday series. The Beetle Cat racing was close all summer long! Despite her success in racing this year, Cathy Taylor discovered at the end of the season that the leaks in her boat were due to many cracked frames so she (and her husband Jeff!) decided to buy a brand new boat over the winter. Everyone is waiting to see the PINK boat, which will be added to the Chatham Yacht Club fleet in 2013 (see photo). She tells us that she has ordered a matching new Doyle sail, but no one has seen that yet! As usual, the annual regatta was exciting with plenty of wind. Newcomer to the fleet, Marshall Bartlett, won over Alan McClennen, Jr. in a hot contest among seven competitors. Roy Terwilliger, who usually is right in the middle of the contest, was protested out of one race, and had two outhauls (gaff and boom) release almost at the same time, which kept him out of one race. As with the usual series races, the finishes were all over the place, and the final standings surprised many! Racing is not the only activity at CYC with Beetle Cats. Club members still loan their Beetles to the sailing school, which uses them for the beginning crew class. Twenty three students were introduced to the sailing world in the Beetles this year. The school also has races for the students, and everyone who participates receives a felt pennant to take home. There is also a traditional perpetual trophy given to the overall winner of the crew class. Finally, at the end of August after the yacht club has closed, there is an informal sail around beautiful Pleasant Bay. This is usually scheduled at the last minute depending on the wind, weather and tides, so the participants may visit differing and beautiful areas of the bay. This year they sailed down to the Chatham Lighthouse with the outgoing tide, picnicked on the outer beach (which has been slowly disappearing this past winter), and sailed back home on the incoming tide. It was yet another great season for the Beetle Cat fleet at Chatham Yacht Club and we anticipate the same for 2013! - Roy Terwilliger

New England Beetle Cat Boat Association

NEWS FROM THE BEETLE BOAT SHOP

Summer 2013

Wow, what a Spring it has been! The madness seemed to start around the time we were featured in 2 big magazine articles. The first one, Fun for all Ages by Chris Museler in the March 2013 issue of Sailing, highlighted the Midwinter Regatta family event on the Kickemuit river. The other Its a Beetle Cat Thing by Meredith Laitos in the April 2013 issue of Sail, captured the Leo at Bass River. Both articles emphasized the family aspect of sailing a Beetle Cat, involving both young and old alike, and most importantly, having fun.

New Beetle 14 ELLA on its way to Nantucket - Photo by Bill Sauerbrey

Launching New Beetle Kit Kat - Cathy Taylor and Roy Terwilliger - Photo by Mark Williams

Bill Womack was excited to see a photo of his Schooner William Bassett featured in the 2014 Calendar of Wooden Boats by Benjamin Mendlowitz. We have plenty of those along with Emily Fergusons new 2014 Beetle Cat calendars at the shop. With our increasing work load, we warmly welcomed Will Mahoney to the shop for the summer. Will sails the family Beetle Cat out of Padanaram, and has built and worked on wood boats in the past. Unfortunately for Will, he joined us at a time where there was less woodworking and more sanding! The Beetle Whaleboat continues to take shape. Bill Sauerbrey gave a well received lecture at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in April on its construction. We decided to hold off painting the Whaleboat ahead of the Woodenboat Show to better highlight its craftsmanship and aesthetics. It paid off, as the Beetle Whaleboat received tons of praise at the show along with a 1st Place award. From there it heads to the New Bedford Whaling Museum where it will be on display and then launched sometime in August. The Whaleboat will be part of the 7th Annual Whaleboat Regatta in New Bedford on September 8th, and will make its way Manny uses original Beetle Branding Iron on back to Mystic Seaport Whaleboat - Photo by Bill Sauerbrey next spring to be placed aboard the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship for it tour of ports. It was great to see two more Beetle Cat racing fleets starting back up this summer. The Hyannis Yacht Club Regatta July 27th and 28th will have Beetle Cats back on the starting line, along with Mystic Seaport restarting its Beetle Cat Race Series on Tuesdays. A sign of good things to come! - Michelle Buoniconto

Whaleboat with Beetle 14 in foreground - Photo by Bill Sauerbrey

New England Beetle Cat Boat Association

Summer 2013

Kent Zimmerman - Sailing on Lake Union

SAILING ON LAKE UNION

I wouldnt call it a Beetle infestation, exactly, but four of them huddled together, so removed from their East Coast habitat is eye-catching. Id sailed one year or so earlier, here at the Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union. Gaff-rigged and half as wide as it is long, the 12-foot Beetle Cat is squat and toy-like, but immensely stable. You could take up sword fighting on it. Had Puss in Boots ever decided to battle pirates, this would have been his flagship. I fit the part one day when I rented a Beetle. Needing to demonstrate competency before they cut me loose on the lake, I am pushed from the boat livery with the expectation that I can return unassisted. Preferably before closing. Inexplicably, I cant tack and make any upwind progress back to the dock. I keep jibing, going further and further downwind, my friend on shore growing smaller until I can only imagine the embarrassed look on his face as he tries to distance himself from the boat attendant. Meanwhile Im drifting north across the lake, coasting unalterably towards Canada. If I was wearing a sailor hat and necktie and a nametag that read, TABBY, I would look straight out of a childrens book: Tabby Has An Adventure Tabbys Remains Wash Up On Lake Union Shore Center For Wooden Boats Will No Longer Rent To Cats When finally I appear no bigger than a period at the bottom of their rental contract, an instructor rockets across the lake and latches on to me with an escort boat. TABBY forgot to lower the centerboard handily excluding upwind sailing from his repertoire. I want to tell the Center that Ive sailed offshore before; that Ive been a live aboard; that I know how to varnish. And I can tie a bowline, given a day or two of practice and several hundred feet of line. I would put my head in one right now. - Kent Zimmerman Follow Kents Beetle Cat adventures through his Beetle Tracks Blog: http://beetle-tracks.blogspot.com/2009/09/beetle-has-landed.html

New England Beetle Cat Boat Association

MYSTIC BOATHOUSE BEETLE CAT RACE SERIES

Summer 2013

Great News for all you Mystic/Groton area sailors!!! The Beetle Cat race series at Mystic Seaport is once again starting up. There will be Ten Tuesday Evening races, June 25th thru August 27th, 5 - 6:30pm. Beetle Cats are being made available to rent ($150) for the 10-week series. You must be a member of Mystic Seaport and be pre-approved by the Boathouse staff. Each Beetle Cat holds up to 4 people. You are welcome to bring your own Beetle Cat to the series at no cost. You dont need to register for the whole series, so be sure to get involved whenever you can. Contact the Mystic Seaport Boathouse to register and get more info. Tel: 860-572-0711 Ext. 5094.

Photos by Chuck Stevens

2014 BEETLE CAT CALENDARS READY TO GO! Regular beetle cat photographer Emily L. Ferguson has the beetle cat calendar for 2014 well on the way. Its vertical this year and features photos hardly ever seen of beetles frozen in, cross tacking at the Leo, getting launched in spring, and sporting a 420 jib against a day of really low wind. Theres even a photo of Anuenue (the Hawaiian word for Rainbow) from the Nantucket fleet! Youll be able to get it from her at beetle events, as well as from the Beetle Shop as soon as the 10th of June. Check in with her at 508-563-6822 for your own copy, or pick it up at the Leo. $15.

2013 Fall Board of Governors Meeting Sunday, November 3rd, 1:00pm at the Beetle Shop
DOES YOUR BEETLE CAT HAVE A STORY?

Send it in to share with NEBCBA Members through the Beetle Stories column - secretary@beetlecat.org

New England Beetle Cat Boat Association

BASS RIVER LABOR DAY REGATTA

Summer 2013

Lined up on the beach after the race

Liz OLeary with Richard OLeary at the helm in Limner

Richard OLeary with Limner, Rick OLeary and William OLeary on Rita B.

The last vestiges of summer were celebrated on this beautiful late August day by a small group of BRYC Beetle Cat racers in an informal, knockabout race which included the circling of Egg Island and other Beetle Cat adventures. It was a proper ending to a great season of Beetle Cat Championship sailing, and fun was had by all! - Rick OLeary

A perfect ending to a great day

The beach at BRYC

JUNIOR CORNER
Inspired by his win at the 2012 Leo J. Telesmanick, World Junior Champion William OLeary set to work during the off season at putting out his own shingle.

The Inspiration

The Design

In Progress

The Sign

WHAT ARE YOUR JUNIORS UP TO DURING THE SEASON AND OFF?

Let us know!- secretary@beetlecat.org

New England Beetle Cat Boat Association

Summer 2013

HYANNIS YACHT CLUB 2013 REGATTA

THE BEETLE CATS ARE BACK! HYC is pleased to announce the Beetle Cat class is back for the 2013 Hyannis Yacht Club Regatta. Due to popular demand by interested fleet racers, there is already a group signed up to race and up to 8 boats expected . Join in the fun, check out the festivities and register now at http://www.hycregatta.org.

Racing in Hyannis Photo by Hyannis YC with Permission From the Archives - Photo by Soundings, 1983

From the Archives - Photo by Soundings, 1983

The Beetle Sheet 3 Thatcher Lane Wareham, MA 02571 www.beetlecat.org Email: beetlecatboats@aol.com

2013 BEETLE CAT REGATTA CALENDAR

Tuesdays beginning June 25th thru August 27th, Mystic, CT July 26th, 27 & 28 Hyannis YC, Hyannis, MA

Mystic Seaport Race Series

Hyannis Yacht Club Regatta

Leo J. Telesmanick Championship Regatta

Aug. 3rd and 4th, Barnstable YC, Barnstable, MA Aug. 3rd and 4th, Chatham YC, Chatham, MA Aug. 9th and 10th, Pleasant Bay, MA Aug. 18th, 9:30am, Nantucket, MA Sundays in Sept. and Oct., West Falmouth, MA

Chatham Yacht Club Regatta

Arey's Pond Catboat Gathering Rainbow Fleet Parade

Hog Island Race Series

2nd Annual Midwinters Championships

Date TBD, Kickemuit River, Bristol, RI Visit us at our website: www.beetlecat.org or on Facebook at the Group Page Beetle Cat Sailors