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Catamaran Guru Hosts Catamaran Rendezvous in the Abacos, Bahamas

ON MAY 15, 27 CATAMARANS AND

104 skippers and crew convened on Hope Town, Abacos, The Bahamas, for the 2022 Catamaran Guru annual Rendezvous. This was the first such get together since the beginning of the Covid pandemic in 2020, so the participants were eager to get the party started. The event is the brainchild of Steven and Estelle Cockcroft, founders of Catamaran Guru, and it is intended for their catamaran customers and friends to have fun in these beautiful islands and gain confidence sailing, anchoring, cruising and even racing aboard their boats.

Part of the party is the presence of sponsors like North Sails, Cruise

Abaco Charters, Sands Beer and others who not only provided gifts and other support but also aided the crew with helpful instruction, guidance and the fruits of their long sailing experience.

In a Zoom meeting with Estelle and Steven after the event, Estelle said, “About half of our catamaran customers are new to boat owning and cruising. We created the Abacos Rendezvous with the intention of helping our customers and friends have more fun on their boats and to stretch their cruising horizons. Plus, it’s all a lot of fun.”

For the Cockrofts, their rendezvous begins in Florida where they group together boats that are crossing over to the Bahamas for the event into a flotilla that they can help with the Gulf Stream crossing, making landfall and then processing through Customs and Immigration.

“The flotilla helps us and our fleet with some of the new aspects of cruising,” Estell said. “Crossing the Gulf Stream is a big step and it is good to have the company of seasoned catamaran cruisers and passagemakers like us to lead the way.”

After a landfall at West End, the flotilla checked in the Bahamas at Spanish Cay. The process is easy and convenient and Estelle noted that “we love the locals here and they make it all so easy.”

From Spanish Cay the flotilla sailed to Treasure Cay, Guana Cay and then finally to Elbow Cay and Hope Town.

On May 14 and 15, the remaining boats joining the rendezvous gathered in Hope Town and the party got started. With 27 catamarans from nine different cat builders, the fleet was truly impressive. The first evening was

the “Pink Party” at the Hideaway Pool in the Hope Town Marina. The theme was to wear pink garb and decorations in honor of the party’s sponsor and host Bali Catamarans. Despite the rain and squally weather, the party went ahead and there’s nothing quite like getting pink to lower the gang’s inhibitions.

The next day the fleet migrated to Tahiti Beach on Elbow Cay for the coconut tossing contest and the famous “Rumbrella Race.” The weather continued to be squally and the schedule had to be rejiggered to make the fun events possible. In the meantime, the gang was introduced to the Catamaran Guru’s special tropic beverage known as Hooligan Juice. After some delay and much hilarity, the coconut toss contest proceeded.

The big event of the day was the Rumbrella Race. Every year Lagoon Catamarans donates the turquoise umbrellas that we all see

at their stands at boat shows to the rendezvous. These are then used as Mary Poppins-style sails by the crews of each boat in a sailing race aboard their SUPs, inflatable rafts, blow-up swimming toys like ducks and swans and even water wings. The competition was light-hearted and everyone was primed to have a great time.

Day three was time for the big Rendezvous Regatta, a race of some 12 miles from Elbow Cay to Guana Cay. While most of the crews were new to racing and few were comfortable flying their spinnakers, the fleet got underway in a timely fashion and ghosted downwind in the 5 to 7 knots of following breeze.

The race was sponsored by North Sails and that provided an opportunity for North’s Bob Meagher to join the race in a motorboat so he could coach the crews on sail trim, sailing angles and tactics. It was a fun learning experience for all and a chance for the crews to get a taste of organized competition. Not all the boats finished but everyone had a great time.

Estelle wanted to give a big shoutout to Rendezvous sponsor Sands Beer. “The local brewery had promised a case of beer to the

regatta’s winning boat,” she said. “But in the end, they donated that case plus a six pack to every race participant. They were very generous.”

On the fourth day, the fleet migrated to Green Turtle Cay where the cats all anchored off the beach at the Tranquil Turtle Beach Bar. This was a day of knowledge sharing. Aboard Estelle and Steven’s Bali 5.4, Bob Meagher offered tips on sail trim, spinnaker flying and seamanship. Steven and Estelle launched their life raft so the crews could actually see what happens when it is deploys. Then, everyone jumped into the water to see how easy or difficult it would be a climb into a raft in an emergency.

The final evening, the crews had a dinner and prize giving the Tranquil Turtle flowed by music and a bonfire on the beach. All in all, the 2022 Catamaran Rendezvous in the Abacos was a huge success for the 27 boats and 104 participants. After a two-year Covid haitus, everyone was glad to back together and once again enjoy the cat cruising life.

You can read more about the rendezvous, see more pictures and watch videos of the event by clicking here.