DCB Owners Regatta Delivers ‘Incredible’ Turnout And Customer Experience

The owner of BRP Marine Custom in Denver, N.C., Chad Shutter gets to several performance- boating events each year. Sometimes he’s there to support one of his clients, sometimes he’s along for the ride and others he’s there for a bit of both. Put his trek to this weekend’s DCB Performance Marine Regatta with M37R catamaran owner Kelly O’Hara and his wife, Julie, in the last category.

Ken and Renee Lalonde traveled all the way from Upstate New York to enjoy DCB hospitality at its finest. Photos by Tom Leigh copyright Tommy Gun Images.

The O’Haras are Shutter’s clients to be sure, and they often store their 37-footer at his facility between summer boating events rather than hauling it back to their home in Upstate New York. But they also are longtime friends of Shutter and his wife, Ashley.

The O’Haras even went to their wedding a little more than a year ago on the shores of North Carolina’s Lake Norman.

For the Phoenix-based custom catamaran’s builder’s customer-appreciation and brand-celebration event, which began with a casual lunch run on Thursday, Shutter traveled across the country with the gracious couple and their wonder-pooch named Sally, in their new motor-coach.

Mark Moreno’s red-hot DCB M41 Widebody catamaran was—as always—a show-stopper.

Shutter, who hadn’t been to Lake Havasu for “at least 10 years,” said he was delighted to return. Not only did he join the couple on their 37-footer for the Thursday, he was on board their cat for Friday’s lunch run to Pirate Cove Resort. And he later, he joined them for Friday night celebration.

The event attracted 75-plus DCB creations and more than 300 participants.

The 75-boat fleet include some of the most remarkable DCB catamarans ever built.

“It was great to see everyone this weekend from the DCB family,” said Shutter, whose bride couldn’t get the time off work needed to join them. “They’re such a great group with amazing machines. And Tony Chiaramonte, Jeff Johnson and the entire DCB crew did a great job of putting the thing together.

“The after-party was great, and we even had a special visit from (DCB founder and former owner) Dave Hemmingson,” he added. “Good food, great people and an awesome company—DCB has always been a class-act.”

Upstate New York’s Kelly and Julie O’Hara hosted their friend Chad Shutter from North Carolina in their 37-footer for the weekend.

That Shutter came all the way from North Carolina to Arizona with the O’Haras for the regatta was not lost on Johnston, Chiaramonte, Johnson or any of their DCB teammates. Nor was the journey of Ken and Renee Lalonde, who also came from Upstate New York to join in the celebration.

As previously reported, the Lalondes and the O’Haras were joined by their fellow M37R owners Yvonne Aleman and Greg Harris of South Florida and Kentucky’s Heather and Craig Scheller. And the Schellers also brought five friends—none of them (yet) DCB owners—from their home-state.

The run to Pirate Cove delivers Lake Havasu’s most spectacular views.

“The number of members of the DCB family from the East continues to grow,” said Johnston. “It’s been an incredible thing to watch grow and the entire DCB team has worked hard to make it happen.”

Said his fellow DCB owners-group member Chiaramonte, “This is one of the best DCB regattas, ever. We’ve never had more people who traveled so hard to be here. It was an incredible experience.”