East Meets West At The DCB 2022 Owners Regatta

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Event Coverage: East Meets West At The DCB 2022 Owners Regatta

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If the world is indeed small—as the saying goes—the performance-boating part of it is miniscule. And that in part explains why Ken Lalonde, one of the founders of the 1,000 Islands Charity Poker Run in Upstate New York and his friend Dave Montroy—a gold-level sponsor and longtime supporter of the Clayton, N.Y., event ended up in Arizona this weekend for the annual DCB Performance Boats on Lake Havasu.

Though he didn’t bring his M37R catamaran to the DCB Owners Regatta, Ken Lalonde did bring his friend Dave Montroy to the event, and now there will be two 37-footers in Upstate New York.

As previously reported, Lalonde and his wife, Renee—both of whom are members of the 1,000 Islands event organizing committee—own a DCB M37R Widebody catamaran and a color-matched Nor-Tech 390 Sport center console. But while the Lalondes are the first couple in the Northeast to own one the El Cajon, Calif., custom catamaran builder’s 37-footers, they won’t be the last.

That was one reason Lalonde, who left his own cat back in New York, Montroy and their mutual friend and 1,000 Islands event-backer Mike Lasell, flew across the country for the event.

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DCB M41 Widebody catamaran owner Mike Moreno played the Star Spangled Banner during the traditional Friday morning flag unfurling from the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City

“Though Dave currently owns a yacht, he’s been around pokers runs a long time—he used to own a Fountain—and power-sports his whole life,” said Lalonde. “He told me he wanted to get in a catamaran for poker runs and asked me what’s out there. I told him, ‘I think Bryce Menzies is selling his DCB 37R but if you want it we need to get out there now and make a deal. Because it will go quick.’”

For Friday’s lunch run to Pirate Cove Resort, the New York crew caught ride with DCB’s Tony Chiaramonte in an eight-seater. Yesterday, Menzies handed the keys of his first 37-footer—he has a new one coming—to Lalonde and he took Montroy and Lasell for a long morning test-drive on the lake, which included a photo shoot. Montroy was sold and a deal is in the offing.

Picture perfect in front of London Bridge, Shawn Reed’s new M37R Widebody catamaran was delivered just in time for the event.

“Tony, Jeff and the rest of the guys at DCB treated us great, as always” said Lalonde. “We went to the banquet last night and had a great time, they gave him the full treatment.”

Lalonde paused, then laughed. “You know, people kept coming up to me and saying, ‘I recognize you from your (Speed On The Water) videos,’” he said. “I felt like a celebrity.”

Though the event technically ended Friday, at least 40 DCB owners—Lalonde among them—hung around yesterday for some casual boating on the Colorado River-fed lake. The event began Thursday with a laidback fun run, with almost 50 DCB models in the mix, to Havasu Springs, and was followed by Friday’s 70-boat trek to Pirate Cove Resort for lunch.

DCB’s Tony Chiaramonte called the 2022 happening “one for the books.”

“Dude, It was epic,” he said. “The runs during the day and the parties at night we’re awesome. We had more than 300 people at the Friday night banquet at the London Bridge Resort. There wasn’t an empty seat in the room.

“And during yesterday morning’s video shoot, we had nine DCBs running in formation,” he added.

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A few on-board moments from the Saturday morning photo shoot.

Jeff Johnston, the president of DCB, agreed.

“It was an awesome regatta,” he said. “The appreciation our customers give us is so rewarding. On Friday night during the banquet, they brought all of us, all the DCB employees there, on stage and gave us a standing ovation. That was incredibly moving.”

Johnston paused for a moment.

“And now New York will be home to two DCB M37R catamarans,” he added. “That’s so cool.”