‘Last-Minute’ DCB Owners Regatta Attracts 68 Boats – Speed on the Water

Even the most casual glance at a DCB Performance Marine catamaran tells you everything you need to know about how seriously the Phoenix-based company takes quality control and optics. So the last thing DCB’s Tony Chiaramonte, Jeff Johnston and the rest of the team wanted was weak participation at last weekend’s 29th annual DCB Owners Regatta. But with the mid-June relocation from Southern California to their Arizona digs, which led to a later-than-usual start to organizing the event, Chiaramonte and Johnston worried about the turnout in the days leading up to the gathering in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

Running side-by-side the new WaveMaker DCB M37R Widebody catamaran (right) owned by Grant Bernardy in their own M37R, Kelly and Julie O’Hara experienced Lake Havasu for the first time last weekend. Photos by Tom Leigh copyright Tommy Gun Images.

Turns out they didn’t need to be as some 68 DCB owners registered and showed up—about six boats shy of the 2022 total—for the event, which began last Thursday with a welcome celebration.

“It was an awesome, smooth event,” Chiaramonte said. “Really, it was amazing.”

Amongst a handful of awards presented by the DCB team during the event, the furthest-traveled recognition went to Kelly and Julie O’Hara of Upstate New York. The O’Haras co-own an M37R Widebody catamaran with their friends, Kiran and Jessica Pinisetti of Indiana, who had a prior commitment and couldn’t make it to the regatta. Dubbed Cowboy & Indian—O’Hara is a former dairy farmer and Pinisetti is of Indian descent—the 37-footer was the first DCB to be powered by Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines.

Thanks to O’Hara and Pinisetti, the boat has been on a promo tour of sorts this season at events around the country. Its last stop of the season will be at the Toys Tour event in Palatka, Fla., in December.

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A few scenes from the 2023 DCB Owners Regatta.

The O’Haras experienced the Colorado River-fed waterway for the first time last weekend.

“It’s just awesome scenery—so much different from where we normally boat,” Kelly O’Hara explained. “It was a little bit warm for us being from the Northeast. It was in the mid-90s on Thursday and Friday. I think it got up to 100 on Saturday, but it was beautiful.

“We did the photo shoot on Friday and then went upriver to Pirate Cove Resort for lunch,” he added. “We got to meet and hang out with some really nice people.”

Even more impressive, according to the veteran, multi-brand high-performance powerboat owner, was the hospitality and camaraderie he and his wife experienced among the DCB family of owners. Through various media portals, the 37-footer they share with the Pinisettis has received a bounty of national exposure. So most participants already knew of the boat well before they met its Empire State co-owners.

Cowboy & Indian was the first DCB M37R to be powered by Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines. WaveMaker is the third.

“That made it easy to meet people,” O’Hara said. “Everybody made us feel so welcome.”

The couple left the boat at DCB headquarters in Phoenix for a few touch-ups. MYCO Trailers of Bradenton, Fla., currently is building a trailer for the cat, but the trailer will make a stop at Adrenaline Trailers in Lake Havasu to be customized before it is delivered to DCB.

Said Johnston, “Having the O’Hara and Pinisetti families represent DCB at events this season has been an honor. We couldn’t have asked for better brand-ambassadors. They fit right into the DCB family.”