Catboats to race from Savannah to Hilton Head to Beaufort. ‘It’ll be pretty serious’
Ten catboats — all flying Ukrainian flags to show support for the country invaded by Russia — will race from Savannah to Hilton Head and on to Beaufort beginning Thursday in the 16th Annual Catboat Rally, which is back after a two-year absence due to COVID-19.
For the public, said Woody Norwood, the chairman of the race, it’s a chance to see the captains and crews of beautiful, classic sailboats once used as work boats demonstrate their sailing skills, teamwork, knowledge of local conditions and focus.
“The competition,” Norwood says, “is intense.”
Three days of races are planned: 22 nautical miles from Savannah to Hilton Head Island Thursday; 20 nautical miles from Hilton Head Island to Beaufort Friday; and three shorter races around buoys in the Beaufort River on Saturday. For the best chance of viewing the boats, Norwood says, check out Waterfront Park in Beaufort at noon Saturday.
Competing sailors are from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Charleston and Beaufort.
The catboat captains and crews will be competing for bragging rights and trophies, but no prize money.
“We’re just here to have fun,” Henry Colie of New Jersey said with a smile. Then he added: “It’ll be pretty serious.”
Colie will be captaining the most recognizable catboat in the race, the 33-foot Silent Maid, a sleek, 13,000-pound beauty made of western red cedar and sporting an 850-foot square-foot sale that can be expanded to 1,400 feet.
The boat, a replica of the original Silent Maid that was commissioned in 1924 by Edwin Schoettle, from Island Heights, N.J., was docked Tuesday at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club on Lady’s Island after a 16-day trip from New Jersey.
Gary Jobson, who was on former media mogul and entrepreneur’s Ted Turner’s boat when he won the 1977 America’s Cup, is part of Colie’s crew.
Catboats, known for having one mast set well forward with a single large sail, were used around the turn of the 20th Century for oystering, lobstering, crabbing and fishing, primarily in the Northeast, Norwood said. They are wide and stable, making navigation in shallow water possible.
“They’re relatively easy to sail,” Norwood says, “and that was needed because the people who were doing the work needed to be working as well as sailing the boat.”
Their use declined when motorized boats came along but they remain popular as cruising and racing boats. One reason for their staying power, Norwood says, is their aesthetics.
“The lines,” says Norwood, pointing to the Silent Maid, “it’s like looking at anything else that’s quite beautiful.”
Many sailors also appreciate their historical significance, and believe in what’s “tried and true,” Norwood adds. Easy sailing, launching, retrieval and maintenance add to the appeal.
Colie, the Silent Maid captain, said the boat offers a smooth, predictable ride with multiple gears. Sailing the Silent Maid, he adds, is fun.
“Either we can sail her with two people or we can sail her with 17 depending, and adjust the sail area to match that,” Colie said. “We can race her or cruise her. A good all-around boat.”
Race organizers have issued captains of each of the boats Ukrainian flags that they will fly during the races in support of the country. Silent Maid is taking the support a step further. The boat’s owner is donating $1,000 to Ukrainian relief for each person that takes and tags pictures of themselves with the #silentmaid, up to $5,000 a day.
On Saturday, the sailors will race around buoys in the Beaufort River between Woods and McTeer bridges. Besides Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, residents should be able to spot them along the Lady’s Island and Beaufort sides of the Beaufort River.
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Catboat racing is a sight to see and reminiscent of the days when past generations sailed a similar circuit from Charleston to Savannah, former Mayor Billy Keyserling said.
“Beaufort has a history of sailing,” says Keyserling, a member of the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club, which is sponsoring the races with the Savannah Yacht Club and the South Carolina Yacht Club on Hilton Head.
Most of the catboats are 18 feet long, but start times will be staggered because larger boats are faster, Norwood said.
Racing is mostly done on the East Coast, Norwood said, particularly in the New England area, but popularity of the boats is increasing in Beaufort. New catboats can cost as much as $65,000, with used boats going from $10,000 to $40,000.
“It’s perfect for this area,” Norwood says. “The shallow draft, ease of handling, the beauty of them and the competition here — we come from sailing other kinds of boats all our lives.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 3:03 PM.
