Nationals Champ X2

Congratulations were extended to Lake Martin Dixie Sailing Club’s Keith Bennett, who this spring brought home the 2023 Catalina 22 national championship trophy, as well as the Spinnaker Fleet championship trophy. DSC sailors swept the competition in Arkansas, as local members also won Silver Fleet.

“This is a unique situation for a national regatta, which will probably never be repeated,” said DSC Commodore Jim Simons.

DSC’s Mickey Richardson finished in second place just three points behind Bennett.

Bennett’s win is the second time he’s taken the national championship, as he came home with the trophy last year as well. This year’s feat was all the more challenging because the boat was a man short. The race usually is sailed with three people onboard, but when one bailed at the last minute, Bennett and crew Doug Thome had more to do.

“You wouldn’t think that one person would make a difference, but it’s an extra pair of hands. And eyes. And another opinion,” Bennett said.

The first two days of the competition were light wind with only two races in. The courses were shortened due to the wind. The next day turned out to be the best day, and five races were run, each lasting about an hour.

“It wore us out. We were out all day,” Bennett said.

Competition was tight until the third race on the third day, he added.

“After that, Mickey and I pulled away from the fleet and had a pretty comfortable lead. We race against each other every weekend. Could have stayed home to do this,” he joked. “It was a fun week.”

The perpetual trophy, which now has Bennett’s name on it twice, will be returned to the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association for next year’s race, but the club also has one to hang on the wall.

“They may need to add a new room to the clubhouse to showcase all the hardware from a long list of winning skippers,” a C22 NSA spokesperson said.

“It was great that we took all the top spots. First and second in Gold Fleet and first in Spinnaker, first Silver, and it wasn’t even close,” said Bennett, a longtime DSC member and a member of the C22 National Sailing Association.

It has been a long and steady climb to the top for Bennett, as he has participated in the championship races for 20 years. He’s traveled to dozens of competitive events at the regional and national levels, including the Catalina 22 Midwinters.

“He’s clearly at the top of his game,” Simons said. Thome was an asset as crew, as he has crewed more than eight national championship winners over the last two decades.

The Silver Fleet win went to Bobby Edmond and crew Mark Cline and William Brown, all DSC members. Edmond will now advance to the more intense competition of the Gold Fleet.

The races were held May 20 through 25 at DeGray Lake, Arkansas.

The Catalina 22 is a family cruising boat that went into production in 1970. Since then, more than 15,000 C22s have been built, mostly in the U.S. Of the 136 boats at Dixie Sailing Club, 29 are C22s, Simon said.

“Our C22 fleet is the backbone of our racing program, which works with new sailors in encouraging them to improve their skills and increasingly enjoy sailing,” he said.

DSC moved to the New Hope area of Lake Martin just over 10 years ago and has been building docks, ramps and restrooms, as well as getting boat storage in order, between racing seasons. The new clubhouse has not yet been started but is on the horizon. Visit dixiesailingclub.com for more information about Dixie Sailing Club, youth sailing and introduction to sailing classes.

Green Herons are little jewels on our shoreline.

And like any other gem, these smaller herons are often hard to find.

Green Herons tend to be shy, hiding in the bushes and shore grasses and quickly taking flight if you happen to get too close. If fact, most of the time when you do see a Green Heron, you’re looking at tucked feet and tail feathers, as this secretive bird wings away along the shoreline.