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Catboat Summers
By John Conway
Sheridan House
For a few years our Marshall 18 catboat, Sunshine, sat on a mooring directly behind Buckrammer,an old, wooden, and beautiful Crosby catboat off Westport Point in Westport, Massachusetts. Boats like Buckrammer inevitably fuel speculation, and we were curious about her.
Then this spring a book crossed my desk that ended that speculation. In Catboat Summers, John Conway has put together numerous tales, many of which have been previously published in the Catboat Association Newsletter (http://www.catboat.org), of time spent cruising Buckrammer.
The book is a joy to read—even for those not lucky enough to share an anchorage with Buckrammer—because the Conway family has clearly experienced so much joy in this boat. Though occasionally a little too cutesy, Conway generally does a good job of expressing the humor and wonder he has found throughout his years of sailing Buckrammer.
Into this narrative, Conway weaves tastes of Buckrammer's nearly 100-year history in and around the waters of Buzzards Bay. He talks to her former owners, who have stories of their own that add to the richness of the book.
A few of his facts could use checking—it is closer to 3 miles than 1 from Perrys to the Point, for example—but the other strength of this book is in Conway's knowledge of his sailing area. I came away from this book with several ideas of places to take Sunshine this summer.
All in all, Catboat Summers is a fun read for anyone who loves old cats or is ever lucky enough to find themselves off the south coast of Massachusetts in a shoal-draft boat.
Gaelen Phyfe, Book Review Editor
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