New 2009 Commodore & Vice Commodore

[Stu Jackson]

Hi everyone,

We are pleased to announce that Bob Kuba is our new Commodore and Michael Shaner is our new Vice Commodore.

The August Mainsheet magazine will have information about the elections and biographical sketches from Bob and Michael.

Those not active here on the Message Board will read all about it later on.

Many thanks to the Officers and the Board of Directors [comprised of the Past Commodores and Fleet Captains] for their efforts as search committee and respondents to the ballots.

And many thanks to Bob and Michael, who both wrote about their enthusiasm and desire to "put back in" to the Association.

Here are their bios, most likely somewhat longer than publication space allows in the magazine.

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Bob Kuba owns hull #1291, named Quiet island, and sails on the Great Lakes.   The following is a resume of Bob's sailing experience from his note to me, dated May 27, 2009.

I look forward to working with this very knowledgeable group of sailors.  My wife Cheryl and I actually met while sailing on a Catalina 22.  In fact, it was her boat. I tried to buy in as a partner, but quickly found that it was a package deal. We sailed the 22 for the next 5 years on Lake Michigan as part of Catalina Fleet 21 in Chicago and have been members since 1986.

We joined the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club and soon became active members as volunteer bartenders during race night. During a very spirited post race party one night, we wound up as partners on a Catalina 27. We sold our 22 to a close friend and expanded our horizons with the 27, going farther and faster than we had ever gone before. We added roller furling and a Loran and then set off for distant ports.

After a few years we got the itch to buy a bigger boat. Most of our fellow Catalina Fleet 21 members were upgrading to the Catalina 30, but we felt that wasn't a big enough step for us. We wanted to stay with Catalina and we were comparing the features of the 42, 36, and the 34. So we turned to the Internet to do research and to find some reviews and feedback from boat owners.

When we came across the C34IA site, we found a virtual treasure trove of information, ideas and support for the C34. The web site far surpassed any other site as far as activity and participation and was a determining factor in our decision to go with a C34. With our decision made, the search for a C34 began. Using information from the C34 site as a guide, we turned to various online brokerage sites and developed a wish list of everything we wanted in our next boat.

After about a year of on-again off-again searching, we found a boat that fulfilled the "wish list" of a sailor's dreams. The boat was located in Cleveland, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie. On a cold rainy March afternoon we flew to Cleveland, rented a car and drove to the Edgewater Yacht Club to take a "look see". Standing there in the cold rain looking at a boat with mast removed, I looked up at the name on the side of the boat, Quiet Island. A beautiful graphic of an island with a palm tree triggered memories of two bareboat Caribbean sailing trips we've taken. The first to St. Marteen in the French West Indies, and the second was a Fleet 21 outing to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands sailing a pair of Catalina 42's.

Suddenly the rain didn't seem quite so cold anymore, and I could envision us setting sail for distant lands aboard Quiet Island. That spring we sailed across western Lake Erie, the length of Lake Huron, and the entire length of Lake Michigan on a journey back to Chicago that spanned 13 exciting days.

2009 is our seventh year with Quiet Island. We kept the name. We've taken many extended trips; the longest was a month long which took us from Chicago to Canada and back covering 1,200 miles.

By trade I am an Airline Pilot. Over a 20 year career I have been checked out as Captain on the Boeing 727, 737, and 757. I have been an instructor and a pilot examiner on the 737 and the 757, giving special emphasis training on Extended Overwater Long Range Navigation, or ETOPs for short. I have written systems training software for the 737 and the 757 and also developed computerized weight and balance programs for hand held computers.

I look forward to giving back to the community that has meant so much to us and continuing with Jon Schneider's vision of a comprehensive website that will continue to attract new members in the months and years to come.

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Michael Shaner owns hull #300, named Queequeg, and sails on the Chesapeake Bay.

The following is a resume of Michael's sailing experience from his letter to me, dated April 21, 2009.


I am currently Vice President of a small commercial subcontracting firm, Augusta Steel Corporation, located in Verona, Virginia. I am a professional member of the Construction Specifications Institute and the Door and Hardware Institute. I have been an active member of the National Ski Patrol since 1996 and am currently patrolling at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia. My wife Alison is a multiple disability teacher at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. Alison and I have two beautiful children, an aged barn cat, a not so brilliant German Shepherd and a rescued Pomeranian mix.

I was first introduced to sailing on Lake Shenandoah by earning small boat sailing merit badge at the age of 14 on my path to becoming an Eagle Scout. Outdoor sports enthusiasm stayed with me and in my twenties, I befriended another patroller who owned a Catalina 25. My bride and I had our first date on that C25 and we soon realized we had to have our own! The boat was found. It was a nicely maintained '79 C25. As we sailed our beloved C25 around the Chesapeake, the family was growing and we realized we needed more "sailable" real estate. Being impressed with the quality, capability and continued support of Catalina Yachts, we wanted to stay in the Catalina family. Many months of yachtworld.com, evening conversations of prerequisites and desires ensued.  We purchased our 1987 Catalina 34 hull #300 in August of last year and moved her home to Deltaville, Virginia. And she is truly a delightful boat...

Allow me to take this opportunity to commend you and all those present and past for the commitment to making the Catalina 34 Association one of the most exemplary sailing associations in existence. The knowledge and dedication of the membership has been an invaluable resource for me.


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