Catawba Yacht Club
Sailing, Rowing and Water Fun
Lake Wylie, Charlotte, NC
On a beautiful October Saturday in Boston, Carl Parziale, Tom Phillips, Paul Jeffrey, and Phil Gilmore, coxed by Dan Gilbert stormed down the course at the Head of the Charles regatta, the largest regatta in the world. Starting in the 18th position out of 20 competitors in the Grand Masters Fours, CYC passed boat after boat to end up 4th in the field, only 3 seconds behind the 3rd place finisher. This is particularly impressive for two reasons. First, there is a significant advantage to start toward the front of the pack since you don’t have to row around as many other boats. Second, although slower boats are supposed to yield to faster boats, Coxswain Dan Gilbert had 2 situations where slower boats delayed in yielding, costing CYC valuable seconds. By all accounts, Dan’s coxing was masterful. Congratulations to the rowers!!
After a multi year hiatus because of the pandemic, the CYC Cooley "Cuppers" were finally able to meet and vote on two years of awards. The awards were presented at the Christmas Party held Dec 3. For his continuous contributions to the club year in and year out but specifically for his 2021 work, Phil Gilmore was named the 2021 Cooley Cup Recipient. For his work leading the dock renovations and hill project, Jim Tapkas was given the 2022 award. The Cooley Cup represents the Most Valuable Club Member for any given year as voted on by the current "Cuppers". Congratulations Phil and Jim.