I write to not only the CRAM membership, but to the greater catamaran sailing community. It’s hard to believe we have closed the books on the 2024 season, but, as many of you know, significant planning has already been underway for what comes next. 2025 represents a monumental year for the Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan as we celebrate 60 years of incredible sailing, and it is my distinct privilege to serve as CRAM Commodore in this anniversary year. 2025 has additional personal significance for me as it is my own 10th anniversary in catamaran racing and being a CRAM member. In 2015 I showed up to Caseville with my Hobie 16 and no expectations of having a Hobie fleet to race with. CRAM was dominated by formula boats at the time. As fortunate had it the Schwark family showed up with 3 Hobies of their own and thus began the Hobie resurgence in CRAM that is still alive and strong today. My de-facto Hobie 16 Fleet captain title eventually became official until I moved to the Formula 18 class, and in that time I’ve also held the Communications, Marketing, and Vice Commodore positions. Obvious to anyone who knows me, I am deeply passionate about CRAM and this sport. CRAM’s success is my own personal success, which makes it all the more significant to me that I get to lead this incredible organization through such a milestone year. For those of you beyond the normal reach of CRAM I invite you all to join us for a very special year of racing.
While traditionally the first communication from my predecessors has come closer to the beginning of race season, I want to share the excitement I have, for what is to come, with all of you:
2025 Tentative Schedule
May 3/4 - Grand Lake
Last year we made our first trip “South of the border” to Grand Lake St. Marys State Park in Northwest Ohio, and it was an instant success! The beautiful campground on a large open lake was the perfect option for us to start a little earlier where it’s a little warmer. Add on the incredible support we received from the St. Marys Boat Club and there was really no question on whether we were coming back. For this iteration we are working with the Formula Wave Class to classify it as a tier 3 regional event on their schedule. We know there is growing interest in the class within CRAM territory, and we hope to build relations with the Formula Wave class. HCANA Division 10 is also designating this as Hobie Points event. Hospitality for the event will be a dinner catered by the boat club which is next door to the campground. Campground reservations are currently open.
May 17/18 - Higgins Lake
A perennial classic at South Higgins Lake State Park that will again feature the CRAM Chili Cookoff as I know all of you expect. Campground reservations are currently open.
May 31 / June 1 – North Cape YC
North Cape brings us to Lake Erie for racing and the great hospitality of the yacht club. Many of our members own Hobie 14s so each year we pick a regatta for them to all bring their boats out to. The CRAM H14 event has grown a lot since we started this a few years ago. We invite nearby Hobie Fleet 58 all other Hobie 14 sailors to join us here as you get ready for Hobie 14 NACs in Burlington, Ontario and expect our own bid from NCYC in 2027.
June 20/21/22 – Caseville
Caseville… The Summer Solstice Regatta… The Big One!
Last year as Vice Commodore it was my goal to make the 2024 Caseville regattas as big as I could. Not just to make that year big, but to lay the groundwork to make our 60th anniversary party even bigger. We have a number of things in the works, but from a racing standpoint this event will be the Formula 18 Northern Championship (an event we rotate with CRAW), as well as being our other Hobie Points regattas as deemed by HCANA Division 10. My goal for this event is 60+ boats and I think it’s a very real possibility. Camping fills up fast after it opens to the general public on December 1st so, please reach out to me or others in CRAM immediately for the early access link to reserve a site now.
July 19/20 – Muskegon
While Muskegon Lake had its perks it wasn’t ideal as a long-term West Michigan staple on our schedule. Working with the city we’re going back to our roots of sailing out of Pere Marquette Park for the first time since 2019. That’s right! We’re going back to sailing on Lake Michigan! The camping and staging areas will be a little different than past iterations, but in many ways, I believe it will be even better than it was before.
August 8/9/10 – St. Martins Bay
2025 marks our 5th trip north of the bridge and for every trip I’ve made SMB has delivered. This unique location of protected water in a region known for good winds has made for an excellent sailing venue set in some incredible scenery. 3 days of racing and traditionally good participation from our friends in CRAW always makes this a memorable adventure to what feels like the edge of the world. Campground reservations are currently open.
August 23/24 – Manistee
Manistee marks our second trip to Lake Michigan next season. To quote a former CRAM commodore John Nekus: “This is an awesome awesome venue! Where else can you have the beach right there, and the lighthouse, camping right there, and RVs right here.” Manistee is a beautiful little town that’s very worth exploring.
September 13/14 – Tawas
It’s back! After a year of upgrades to the state park the campground is back open! In the last 10 years I’ve seen this location change more than any other. The high waters of recent history completely removed the beach we used to sail from and have given us a new one on what used to be the edge of an inland pond. We’ve gone from questioning whether we can keep this venue to having a better launch than ever. As is tradition with Tawas expect a distance race through Tawas Bay on Saturday so bring your GPS or compass units.
September 27/28 – Grand Traverse YC
I’m really excited about this one, and I want to thank CRAM Rear Commodore and GTYC member James Hulderman for proposing this. I view sailing on West Bay as a real way to revitalize interest in sailing in this region of the mitten as we’ve seen subsiding interest in Boyne. I can’t think of a better time of the year to go here either. Sailing on the bay should give us all the wind with fairly tame waters, and who knows, maybe a potential venue for a big event in the future. This should be a great way to close out the 2025 race season! Admittedly this venue has the most work we need to do to make it happen over the off season, but we feel we have the right interest from the yacht club and city to move forward on it. Unfortunately, like Tawas was last year, Traverse City State Park, the closest campground to sailing, will be closed for renovations next year, but there are many other camping options in the area including private campgrounds and Interlochen State Park. Alternatively, given the location and time of year, I anticipate many may go for AirBnB or similar options. Stay tuned for details, our intent is to have things finalized by the spring officers meeting.
Officially this schedule is only tentative, but that has different meanings for different events. The campground venues that are already booking are in safe territory. As we navigate all the necessary paperwork for all the different venues, we work towards dropping “Tentative” at the spring officers meeting. Assuming nothing comes up to force a change there would be no reason to move anything around in the schedule. Through the offseason follow the CRAM website and Facebook page for updates. Don’t delay on booking Caseville, St Martins Bay, Higgins, and Tawas! Don’t let early May sneak up on you as we noticed with some on our first trip to Grand Lake! For event information the CRAM NOR pages on the website have been updated to reflect the 2025 dates and details for returning venues. If you have any questions, please reach out.
Lastly, I want to thank my fellow officers and the other volunteers of CRAM. I have always thought CRAM to be ambitions in its very nature. We are significantly self-supported, and I think we do a really good job of it. Other clubs in other sports may focus on one venue or around one city, but I have always compared the CRAM season to threading 9 needles in a single shot. This could not happen without the dedication of those behind the scenes.
Fair winds and sail fast my friends,
James Derck
CRAM Commodore
