Posted : Monday, February 26, 2024 09:21 PM
Hey, Landlubbers!
I'm looking for a 1975 or 1976 CATALINA 22 sailboat, one with an ORANGE hull.
(I also had a 1972 Datsun 240Z - it was orange.
And I had a van with shag carpeting.
What? Oh, yes - the carpeting was - orange!) Hey.
It was the 70's.
Orange was a thing.
I forget the exact year of the boat but it was near the Bicentennial and for sure a '75 or '76.
I bought the boat new from Backyard Boats in Alexandria, VA and named her Fantasy.
I bought Fantasy to learn to sail and dreamt of circumnavigating the world.
Back then, I thought I'd name my hoped-for future big boat and world globetrotter - Reality.
Which all seems pretty dumb to me now.
I knew nothing about sailing; no one taught me how; I read about it in - books.
Remember books? No YouTube back then, baby.
And the whole idea of me sailing around the world was entirely the fault of the National Geo articles about Robin Lee Graham and Dove.
Heard about Dove? Look it up.
Or, there's a movie.
I never ever thought of sailing until I read his stories.
Young man's dreams.
I learned to sail that little sloop without a motor that first year (I wasn't some sailing purist; I couldn't afford a motor what with my boat payments).
I splashed her in the Potomac and Occoquan Bay.
I remember a very blustery day alone on the Potomac during those first months, a day when the wind piped up, I could barely keep the boat from flipping over, and I was too scared to let go of the tiller to go release the mainsail.
It scared me so much I told God, "If you let me get my feet back on shore I will never come out here on the water again!" Ha ha.
Turns out, I lied.
Because I fell in love with sailing.
One time, I solo trailered the boat to Boca Raton to meet my airline pilot buddy, Bill McGarvey and one of his fellow pilot friends; we planned to sail over to Grand Bahama Island.
We all met up but the week I arrived, there were the usual "square waves" out in the Steam so I chickened out and we rented a Cessna instead.
We rented scooters on the island and tore around everywhere.
As an experienced motorcycle rider, it terrified me to cruise around a LEFT hand curve on the jungle road, riding on the LEFT SIDE of the road (Bahamas are British, eh?), expecting to get mooshed head-on any second.
You should have seen us navigate through traffic circles.
We had zero clue which lane to be in.
We were idiots.
I undertook my Big Trip on Fantasy for a couple months in 1980 with my then-girlfriend, Vicki.
We sailed from Alexandria down the Potomac, through the Chesapeake, anchored in the town where I was born, Portsmouth, and stayed overnight with Grandma, then slipped along the Dismal Swamp Cut ICW and out into Pamlico Sound, Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks, Alligator River, Oriental, NC and ended up in Beaufort, NC.
Vicki was a lovely, long-legged blond in a bikini and if we had had a GoPro 'way back then, she and I would SURELY have become famous online.
Some great stories, there.
And a very special cruiser meet-up at Cape Lookout Bight, a most beautiful place, you should go.
Save The Cape.
Eventually, I solo trailered the good little pop-top sloop cross country in 1980 and ended up docked in the mud at low tide for a couple years at the Palo Alto Yacht Harbor (R.
I.
P.
).
It was Labor Day, 1980.
Someone towed my trailer off from in front of the house where I was staying in San Jose; never saw that again.
Vickie came with me to the Bay Area in 1980 but our relationship sank not long after (sank - get it?).
I was 30 years old; she was 24.
I actually searched for her in 2005 right here on Craigslist and - can you believe it!? - a gal she worked with in San Mateo saw my posting and emailed me and I located Vickie.
(I recall her coworker saying in her email response, "I hope you're not a stalker.
" Good thing I wasn't/aren't!) Vickie was up in Angels Camp back then and I believe she still is; I'm still in Roseville.
I drove out and visited her - she was still a beautiful lady.
We went to lunch.
She owns an art framing gallery.
It was good to see her and swap old lies again and yes, we reminisced about our sailing adventure.
Back in 1982 or so, I sold her into slavery (Fantasy, not Vickie) as a trade-in at Farallone Yacht Sales at Coyote Point Marina -- for a '70's Ericson 30, Puffin - I wonder whatever happened to that boat, too.
I later sailed Puffin to Morrow Bay and back in 1984.
Another salty adventure.
Still no GoPro.
(Remember when Farralone Yachts was at Coyote Point? And their three-legged yellow Lab? Who would jump right on your boat if you let him? No? Oh, you kids know nothing.
) A while later, I heard someone had bought my Catalina - which was still in perfect condition, BTW - and they told me when the new owner entered the harbor on a windy day with all sails up he lost control and ripped the mainsail when he crashed Fantasy into a dock piling.
That was the last thing I ever heard about the boat.
Too bad; it was kind of sad.
Is Fantasy still floating? Does she still have that nice 9.
9 Merc I put on her? If so, or if not, I would absolutely love to talk to the current owner.
Or whoever last owned her.
Or whoever scuttled her for the insurance.
Ask everyone you know if they have or had an old, ORANGE Catalina 22 from the Bay Area! Tell them to get in touch! Pronto! I'm not getting any younger! There've been times in recent years since I retired when I've imagined (fanaticized - get it?) finding Fantasy again and buying her back and going on a lovely sail to .
.
.
my past.
When things were different, times were different, and I navigated with just a compass and a paper chart - no problem.
That boat was new and I was young.
Ah, dreams.
It's what sailboats are for.
--Bill in Roseville
(I also had a 1972 Datsun 240Z - it was orange.
And I had a van with shag carpeting.
What? Oh, yes - the carpeting was - orange!) Hey.
It was the 70's.
Orange was a thing.
I forget the exact year of the boat but it was near the Bicentennial and for sure a '75 or '76.
I bought the boat new from Backyard Boats in Alexandria, VA and named her Fantasy.
I bought Fantasy to learn to sail and dreamt of circumnavigating the world.
Back then, I thought I'd name my hoped-for future big boat and world globetrotter - Reality.
Which all seems pretty dumb to me now.
I knew nothing about sailing; no one taught me how; I read about it in - books.
Remember books? No YouTube back then, baby.
And the whole idea of me sailing around the world was entirely the fault of the National Geo articles about Robin Lee Graham and Dove.
Heard about Dove? Look it up.
Or, there's a movie.
I never ever thought of sailing until I read his stories.
Young man's dreams.
I learned to sail that little sloop without a motor that first year (I wasn't some sailing purist; I couldn't afford a motor what with my boat payments).
I splashed her in the Potomac and Occoquan Bay.
I remember a very blustery day alone on the Potomac during those first months, a day when the wind piped up, I could barely keep the boat from flipping over, and I was too scared to let go of the tiller to go release the mainsail.
It scared me so much I told God, "If you let me get my feet back on shore I will never come out here on the water again!" Ha ha.
Turns out, I lied.
Because I fell in love with sailing.
One time, I solo trailered the boat to Boca Raton to meet my airline pilot buddy, Bill McGarvey and one of his fellow pilot friends; we planned to sail over to Grand Bahama Island.
We all met up but the week I arrived, there were the usual "square waves" out in the Steam so I chickened out and we rented a Cessna instead.
We rented scooters on the island and tore around everywhere.
As an experienced motorcycle rider, it terrified me to cruise around a LEFT hand curve on the jungle road, riding on the LEFT SIDE of the road (Bahamas are British, eh?), expecting to get mooshed head-on any second.
You should have seen us navigate through traffic circles.
We had zero clue which lane to be in.
We were idiots.
I undertook my Big Trip on Fantasy for a couple months in 1980 with my then-girlfriend, Vicki.
We sailed from Alexandria down the Potomac, through the Chesapeake, anchored in the town where I was born, Portsmouth, and stayed overnight with Grandma, then slipped along the Dismal Swamp Cut ICW and out into Pamlico Sound, Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks, Alligator River, Oriental, NC and ended up in Beaufort, NC.
Vicki was a lovely, long-legged blond in a bikini and if we had had a GoPro 'way back then, she and I would SURELY have become famous online.
Some great stories, there.
And a very special cruiser meet-up at Cape Lookout Bight, a most beautiful place, you should go.
Save The Cape.
Eventually, I solo trailered the good little pop-top sloop cross country in 1980 and ended up docked in the mud at low tide for a couple years at the Palo Alto Yacht Harbor (R.
I.
P.
).
It was Labor Day, 1980.
Someone towed my trailer off from in front of the house where I was staying in San Jose; never saw that again.
Vickie came with me to the Bay Area in 1980 but our relationship sank not long after (sank - get it?).
I was 30 years old; she was 24.
I actually searched for her in 2005 right here on Craigslist and - can you believe it!? - a gal she worked with in San Mateo saw my posting and emailed me and I located Vickie.
(I recall her coworker saying in her email response, "I hope you're not a stalker.
" Good thing I wasn't/aren't!) Vickie was up in Angels Camp back then and I believe she still is; I'm still in Roseville.
I drove out and visited her - she was still a beautiful lady.
We went to lunch.
She owns an art framing gallery.
It was good to see her and swap old lies again and yes, we reminisced about our sailing adventure.
Back in 1982 or so, I sold her into slavery (Fantasy, not Vickie) as a trade-in at Farallone Yacht Sales at Coyote Point Marina -- for a '70's Ericson 30, Puffin - I wonder whatever happened to that boat, too.
I later sailed Puffin to Morrow Bay and back in 1984.
Another salty adventure.
Still no GoPro.
(Remember when Farralone Yachts was at Coyote Point? And their three-legged yellow Lab? Who would jump right on your boat if you let him? No? Oh, you kids know nothing.
) A while later, I heard someone had bought my Catalina - which was still in perfect condition, BTW - and they told me when the new owner entered the harbor on a windy day with all sails up he lost control and ripped the mainsail when he crashed Fantasy into a dock piling.
That was the last thing I ever heard about the boat.
Too bad; it was kind of sad.
Is Fantasy still floating? Does she still have that nice 9.
9 Merc I put on her? If so, or if not, I would absolutely love to talk to the current owner.
Or whoever last owned her.
Or whoever scuttled her for the insurance.
Ask everyone you know if they have or had an old, ORANGE Catalina 22 from the Bay Area! Tell them to get in touch! Pronto! I'm not getting any younger! There've been times in recent years since I retired when I've imagined (fanaticized - get it?) finding Fantasy again and buying her back and going on a lovely sail to .
.
.
my past.
When things were different, times were different, and I navigated with just a compass and a paper chart - no problem.
That boat was new and I was young.
Ah, dreams.
It's what sailboats are for.
--Bill in Roseville
• Phone : NA
• Location : San Mateo,CA
• Post ID: 9143915247