Blackwatch Gathering 2009

Posted By: Dave McFate Blackwatch #77 North Coast Ohio
Date: 2/22/09 8:01p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

This was posted on the general BB earlier. I trust I will not offend anyone by posting agin on the Bluewater BB Dave Blackwatch (& Bluewater) Fleet Update While not quite ‘one-off’ customs, Dave Autry’s creations must be numbered among the rarest production boats ever manufactured. Dave’s company, Bluewater Boatworks of Amarillo Texas, molded only 82 Blackwatch hulls between 1979 and 1981. The majority of these were cutters, but at least one was rigged as a gaff-cat, and another a cat-ketch. The other offspring of Bluewater Boatworks is the even rarer 14 foot Bluewater. Only 44 of these boats were manufactured. Again, rigs varied, most being gaff-cats but a few sloops were also produced. Planning is proceeding with the goal of staging the first known Blackwatch fleet gathering in late June, 2009. The Oklahoma City Boat Club has invited us to participate in their annual Lighthouse Charity Regatta. This fundraiser has been orchestrated by OCBC in several forms since the 1970s, and was officially incorporated as Lighthouse Charities in 2001. It is a two weekend event, with centerboards gathering the first weekend , and keelboats the second. The fleet is making preparations to rendezvous on Lake Hefner June 26th through the 28th for the keelboat weekend. It is anticipated that at least a dozen boats will be participating. Dave Autry has indicated he plans to be present in order to ‘Review the Fleet’ and meet the owners. We welcome all Bluewater sailors to participate as well. As the un-official spokesperson for the Blackwatch fleet, I would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the officers of OCBC for their gracious invitation to participate. For additional information on the OCBC Lighthouse Charity Regatta, please visit the club’s web site at: http://www.okclighthouse.org/ For additional information on Bluewater Boatworks and Dave’s wonderfully classic boats, please visit: http://www.jbcmusic.com/morehtml/bluewater.html Efforts to locate additional boats and owners continue. To date only about one quarter of the fleet has been documented. These boats are scattered across the entire country; states represented include Maine, New York, Pennsylvania. Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, California, and Washington. Internationally, one boat is currently in British Columbia, and another was known to have been delivered to the Netherlands. We are still looking, and any help would be greatly appreciated. If you own (or have previously owned) any boat manufactured by Bluewater Boatworks, please contact : Dave McFate 12820 Schreiber Road Valley View, OH 44125 (216) 524-0953 djmcfate@adelphia.net