The Catalina 22
Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001
Bob and Trish Endicott of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, give enthusiastic thumbs-up to extended cruising in a 22-foot sloop. The couple, named Cruising Family of the Year 2000 by the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association, “cruises large” every month of the year in their Catalina 22, Tequila Sunset. On days, evenings, weekends, and up to six-day voyages they explore the protected waters along 130 miles of Florida’s Panhandle.
More importantly, the former Midwesterners inspire novice sailors by organizing and leading C-22 Fleet 77’s cruises (including the popular annual 160-mile Northern Gulf Cruise) and by their on-line cruisers’ guide, The Book.
The Endicotts were among those who reactivated Fleet 77 at Fort Walton Beach in 1995, and Bob serves as the fleet’s cruise captain and webmaster. (Fleet 77 also has an active racing fleet and will host the 2001 C-22 National Championship Regatta, June 23-29.)
“I know how many people are out there using their C-22s,” says Bob, whose salt-and-pepper beard gives away his 51 years. “We’re in good company.
“Trish and I are weekenders who prefer to spend nights on the hook, rather than in an RV park. Our cruises have been some of the best times in the 30+ years of our marriage — a means to rediscover each other and learn what quality time really means.”
Since they gave up smoking last year and used the savings for membership and a slip in Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club near their home, they can — and do — sail at a moment’s notice. They keep Tequila Sunset stocked with staples, linens, and equipment. All they need to bring is fresh food, clothing, and Bob’s Martin Backpacker guitar.
Created a guidebook
The Book, an 11-page on-line illustrated guidebook, began as a short list they wrote for boaters preparing for the annual Northern Gulf Cruise to Wolf Bay, Ala. (The Endicotts will lead the 2001 cruise May 12-18.)
“The list just grew and grew. As a friend says, ‘Ask Bob the time, and he’ll tell you how to build a watch.’ ” says Bob, an aircraft mechanic for the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base.
“People wanted to know what to bring, because many had never cruised on salt water, and some had never cruised at all. If you’re ‘going long’ on a C-22, you have to pick your gear correctly, or the boat can feel awfully small.”
“We’re always careful what we bring, and we were extra careful when we took another couple on a four-day cruise,” says Trish, a pixyish 51-year old homemaker with a warm manner and a ready smile.
“Choose your shipmates carefully,” Bob warns, “because on a 22-footer, privacy is an illusion.” (On the foursome cruise, their guests used the V-berth and forward hatch, while the Endicotts slept on the converted dinette and used the main hatch. They moved the Porta Potti into the cockpit.)
They filled The Book with such tips, plus whatever they felt important for cruising comfort and safety — boat preparation, equipment checklists, provisioning, and sample menus. Bob recommends some 30 items, from a battery charger to the best “relief” jugs and directions for several accessories.
Fleet 77’s Web site and information on the Northern Gulf Coastal Cruises is linked from the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association Web site.
Novice sailors responded with accolades on Fleet 77’s Web site — “a Great Mate and Ol’ Salt,” “Great trip itinerary,” “.-.-. enjoyed our evening with Bob’s famous Tequila Sunset cocktails.” “We followed their advice [in their cruising guide] and were glad we did.”
“The Northern Gulf Cruises, especially last year’s, have been awesome, with lots of great sailing,” says Bob. “Even two guys in their 20s had a blast with us old fogies last summer. The young fellows would fly their chute when we’d be reefed. Once, as they came flying past, we could see their centerboard trunk.”
Two local boats made the cruise in 1998, seven in 1999, and last year 15 boats from several states and Canada participated. The boats cruise westward along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, accompanied by dolphins, then anchor in secluded coves, often under a full moon. During dinner at Wolf Bay Lodge, Ala., the turnaround point, everyone receives “Great Mate & Ol’ Salt” certificates.
Trish enjoys cruising in company, but is nervous about “mother henning” a group whose skill levels vary so enormously. “Planning helps, and we’ve already begun planning for the 2001 cruise,” she says.
Bob admits he hesitated to tell other boaters what to do, for the Endicotts bought their C-22 #12759 only six years ago and consider themselves to be still learning.
“I’m a superb example of the old maxim: ‘Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment.’ Such is the lot of those of us who are self-taught,” he says. “Trish and I are lazy sailors who want the comfort meter in green. We don’t race, but I’m the fastest reefer in the South, and I’ll fire up the old Johnson (a 1977 6-hp hand-start) in a New York minute.”
“He’s very safety conscious because I don’t swim,” adds Trish, who is now taking lessons.
“Tequila Sunset is perfect for year-round sailing here,” says Bob. “We can head up or down the [Gulf Intracoastal] Waterway, explore two nearby bayous or sail [three- by 50-mile] Choctawhatchee Bay. There are plenty of marinas and restaurants to enjoy. Or, because of our swing keel and kick-up rudder, we can anchor stern to an island, climb over the stern rail into knee deep water, then explore or walk across to the beautiful Gulf of Mexico beach.”
Spacious and forgiving
The C-22 seems stiff, spacious and forgiving compared to the very tender Gulfcoast 18 in which they learned to sail. They overnighted only once, sleeping in a berth Bob built over the centerboard trunk, while their two sons bunked in the cockpit. (The boys, now grown and on their own, didn’t take to sailing.)
The Endicotts are delighted with their C-22. “Tequila Sunset, not ‘Sunrise’ because I don’t do sunrises,” says Trish. Bob rates the boat as functional, fun and lots of boat for the money ($2,000 for a fixer upper, $4,000 to 5,000 for one with trailer and kicker, ready to sail). “It’s perfect for the three of us — Trish, me, and Jimmy Buffett.”
Shortly after they bought the boat, it successfully rode out 1996 Hurricane Opal at the base marina. Tequila Sunset was blown out of its slip, but remained tethered by one line. Two dozen nearby boats ended up stacked like cordwood on shore.
While repairing the slight damage from the hurricane, Bob also reinforced the swing keel pivot mechanism and upgraded the electrical system. The 11-watt Uni-Solar flexible solar panel he mounted on the Bimini slows the drain on the upgraded batteries (two Group 27s) enough so he switches batteries only every four or five days. They’ve never run a battery flat powering the stereo and the interior, running, and anchor lights.
With only 212 square feet of working sail, Tequila Sunset is easy to handle. To drop the jib, Trish stands in the forward hatchway and doesn’t have to go out in ugly weather.
They raise the poptop for full headroom in the cabin. By attaching the poptop’s storm curtains (original optional equipment), they can leave the poptop up at anchor in bad weather.
The swing keel trunk doesn’t intrude into the cabin; it forms the side of the forward dinette seat and the edge of the raised floor beneath the table.
The original non-pressurized alcohol galley stove is “absolutely foolproof,” says Trish, who enjoys preparing meals aboard. “We use coolers because the icebox is too small. It makes a great cupboard for dishes.”
Ample storage
Since they “cruise large,” the Endicotts utilize the ample storage beneath all the seats and the cockpit. “We couldn’t cruise in a C-22 built after 1986, because they have no shelves above the settees. Where would we put our stuff?” she wonders.
They don’t sail in the Gulf of Mexico because of the swing keel. “Besides, it gets choppy, and there’s no place to buy beer or ice,” says Bob, “so there’s nothing out there for us.”
Bay breezes are usually southeast in the morning and southwest in the afternoon, giving them a reach both ways on day sails. But bay sailing can get adventurous.
“Once, in a squall, we were going backward with no sails up and the kicker running,” he says. “I couldn’t let go to get the anchor from the lazarette. Now I always keep an anchor ready.
“Since I don’t like to get up at 2 a.m. and re-anchor in a storm, I always anchor with chain for a blow. We’ve been caught in many storms, but good days greatly outnumber the bad.
“You do remember the white-knuckle days, like the time we sailed home downwind nine miles in one hour flat! That’s 50 percent above hull speed!” he says. “Even though we were surfing every fifth wave or so in 30 knot winds, I couldn’t turn to drop the main because I was afraid we’d broach. It took massive concentration to steer straight. Now I don’t put the main up in those conditions.”
Over the years they’ve raised Tequila Sunset’s waterline twice as they’ve added cruising comforts. Items like a battery powered fan, tiny propane heater, the Velcro-attached wind scoop Trish fashioned, solar shower to use over their “bathtub-like cockpit,” and a 12-volt car radio/tape deck with stereo speakers in the cockpit seatbacks and cabin. Bob’s custom-built 18- x 26-inch mahogany plywood cockpit table mounted on a three-inch PVC pipe pedestal is indispensable. They position it where needed for cocktails, cribbage or meals, then Bob takes it apart to store behind the dinette seatback.
In the V-berth, the Endicotts added convoluted foam mattress toppers with washable covers that Trish sewed from sheets. The toppers roll up to form day pillows.
“A C-22 is easy to modify because with 16,000 built, everything you want to do has already been done,” says Bob. “You can get help from other owners or on the Web. The C-22 support group is the best, with lots of communication between individual owners, local fleets and the national association.”
“Tequila Sunset has no problems, but sometimes, like everybody, we wish for a bigger boat,” he says. “The older we get, the tougher it is to fold into the V-berth and to bend under the poptop. But we haven’t succumbed to ‘three-foot-itis’ because we’re having too much fun sailing our C-22 with the wonderful friends we’ve met in Fleet 77.”
After ocean voyaging separately with their respective families for years, Bob and Mary Drake returned home to Connecticut where they married and sailed their Cape Dory Typhoon and 23-foot Sailmaster on Fishers Island Sound. They now summer in Maine and winter in the Florida Keys, which gives them many opportunities to meet, write about, and photograph good old boats and their owners along the East Coast. Mary does the writing, Bob is the photographer.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
