Titanic-sized icebergs anyone?
John Church and his Marshall 22 Catboat "CAT" from Osterville, MA heading northwards along the Labrador coast July 30, 1992.
Reprinted from The Barnstable Patriot
November 3, 1994 Hyannis, Massachusetts
A voyage to the top of the world. By Tom Connors
"To seek out new life, new civilization, to boldly go where no one has gone before" So began the introduction for the popular Star Trek television series. So begins this tale of Osterville resident John Church. |
 A MAN AND HIS CATBOAT -- John Church of Osterville poses with his 22-foot long sailboat named CAT, which has taken him places most people see only in picture books. |
| For Church, after
38 years as an electrical engineer with General Electric, retirement has hardly meant
resigning himself to a life-style that one might expect of someone entering his eighth
decade. Instead of passing the winter in the sunshine of Florida and the warmer
months in the sea breezes of Cape Cod, the 70-year old Osterville resident has been
venturing ever closer to the Arctic Circle in his 22-foot sailboat, CAT. The Beginnings of an Explorer. Born in Washington, DC, Church has made it a point to be around boats since childhood. At 11 years old, he could be found sailing his dug-out canoe on the Potomac River. With a gleam in his crystal blue eyes, Church recalled that the sailing canoe was a "pre-World War II outrigger, which an Army officer had brought back from an assignment in Manila (Philippines)." |
Still sporting a golden-brown tan in mid-October and dressed in the working attire of a Yankee Mariner, Church stated that he has been visiting shores of Cape Cod for some 50 years now. As a young Army engineer, Church was assigned to the Amphibian Engineering Training Command at North Bay, Cotuit in 1943. In the '60's, as a husband and father, Church rented homes in Orleans and Wellfleet while on vacation from the GE High Voltage Engineering Plant in Pittsfield, MA. In 1976, with their two children having grown to adulthood, Church and his wife were divorced. Prelude to Adventure. Church and sailing companion, Catherine Barrett of Great Barrington, purchased their first MARSHALL CATBOAT in 1977 from David and Barbara Crosby of Osterville. |
The pair sailed the 18-foot vessel in the waters of Nantucket Sound for two years before buying a larger boat, a 22-foot model of the same design. A short time later, to provide a "shore base" for their sailing hobby, the partners purchased a modest bungalow in Osterville. From his living room, adorned by framed nautical charts, tall book-filled shelves and varnished wooden mast parts, suspended from the ceiling, Church recalled how he came to be the sole owner of CAT and the Osterville home. "During the sailing season of '84 or '85, [Barrett] and I had a bad night sailing between Cape Ann and Monhegan [Maine]. [Barrett] became frightened at that time. We had a blow and were whipping around in the seas with rain and fog. She had been sailing all of her life, but that one night did her in. She never wanted to do any more off-shore sailing." Over the following four years, Church purchased Barrett's shares of ownership in the bungalow and CAT. A Worthy Vessel. Easily identified by a single, gaff rigged sail, bow-mounted mast and wide beam (width), the catboat has been a popular sailboat design for much of this century. Stability and relative roominess are two characteristics that owners find appealing. Fast and sleek are two words that would not be used to describe a catboat. Church's boat, named SCAT by a previous owner and renamed CAT in honor of his sailing companion Catherine was built in 1969. CAT was the 22nd such hull built at the Concordia boat yard in South Dartmouth. The boat carries 60 gallons of fresh water in three stainless steel tanks and 40 gallons of diesel fuel for its 27-hp Westerbeke engine. |
In addition to owning Marshall Catboat hull number 22, the boat is 22 foot in length. The house number of Church's Osterville "bachelor quarters" is-you guessed it 22. (Although some sailors are known to be superstitious, the risks of offshore sailing and gambling are different. I didn't ask if he played the number)." According to Church, CAT is much the-same as when it was originally outfitted in 1969. Some modifications reflecting his preferences and experiences have been made though. Among the changes: a wood stove for heating and cooking needs instead of the more common LP gas type; heavy-duty rubber rub rails (protective side moldings) instead of the original teak, and an external transom-mounted anchor in addition to the 33-pound Bruce anchor stowed on the bow. On occasion, Church has called upon Alan Vaitses, a master boat builder and author from Mattapoisett, for technical advice, although Church himself has performed most of the maintenance, repair work and modifications that have been required. Yankee Ingenuity. Perhaps the most innovative modification for CAT has been Church's emergency back-up system for the diesel engine. As recent voyages have not afforded access to services such as towing and engine repair, a substitute for the vessel's motor could prove to be critical. While sailboats commonly employ a gas-powered outboard motor in such situations, Church was steadfast in his refusal to carry gasoline on board. His 22-foot boat offered little space for an alternative, if one could be found & also presented a dilemma. Then again, we are talking about an engineer. Using the lower section of an outboard motor, portable diesel generator, hydraulic pump motor and high- |
 THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT FROM AROUND HERE -- Church had to maneuver around some larger that usual ice-cubes on his trip northward. |
pressure hose,
Church created a novel back-up system for CAT's main engine.
In testing, Church reported that his invention "pushed the boat along
remarkably well." In addition, to occupying minimal storage space, Church
asserts that his 52-pound hydraulic propulsion unit provides improved steering
capabilities. To Be Continued... Be sure to check back next time for the rest of John Church's inspirational voyage to the Top of the World. Share his cruise's tragic interruption and a frightening encounter with an "island of ice". |
End of the line.. for now.
John Church pulled into port at Hill Harbour, Labrador,
but has every intention of heading further north in coming years.