Dear Friend of CHARIAD: The 2021 sailing season is finally underway. CHARIAD won its first race – and won big. The Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead hosted its annual Summerset Regatta this past Sunday. The course was a 21 miles shallow triangle down towards Boston and back. Winds mostly from the SE 10 to 13 knots. OK, our team performance was “uneven” to start. How do we do that [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: The Mighty CHARIAD swims. She was launched last week. She is now on the dock at the Beverlyport Marina ready to go sailing – almost. The CHARIAD crew completed spring assembly on the dock this past Saturday. For me, the most fearful unknowns each spring are: will the engine start?; and can we get the halyards down from the top of the mast? Yes, the [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: 2020 is behind us and we have made it to Feb of 2021. We are weeks away from warm weather and not a whole winter away. And folks, our most vulnerable first, are now getting the COVID vaccine. All good things to report. CHARIAD Wins Another Award The Boston Yacht Club awarded CHARIAD its Lillie Trophy for the best handicap race performance by a BYC [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: (Please start using my new Rick100Williams@gmail.com email) The CHARIAD crew held its annual end of the season crew dinner (brunch this year) at the Boston YC on Sunday. The BYC gave us the entire downstairs dining room for the gathering. The trophies we won were on display plus a slide show of photos from our sailing. I hope to get the sideshow into a format [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: While searching for a contact on LinkedIn, I clicked on a profile and to my surprise found this photograph as the guy’s background. I soon remembered that he was a Friend of CHARIAD. Fun pop for my day. CHARIAD is now on the hard for the winter. Sad to see snow in October and CHARIAD out of the water. This is a year we will [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: CHARIAD made her fall migration from Marblehead Harbor to Beverly on Sunday. Chris Hardy went up the mast to get the wind instruments. We took pictures of the rigging in hopes we would remember how to put it back together in the spring. I fundamentally do not trust engines, particularly on boats. Taking the sails off the boat and motoring to Beverly was traumatic for [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: I am asked why I am sailboat racing - and racing seriously. I don’t need another trophy. What would I do with it? Being part of the CHARIAD racing team is my reward. Hard work and a commitment to perform well are part of the story. The sense of accomplishment and the friendships developed over years are an important part of my life experience. In [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: The CHARIAD team finished 1st last weekend and 2nd yesterday. The 2nd place finish in a six boat Jubilee YC race was the more important competition. In winds from 10 to 15 knots with higher guts, we sailed a ten legged course inside Salem Bay. Lots of tacks with the NE wind shifts and lots of spin work. Eventually, the race settled into three boats [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: This Sunday, CHARIAD will start its fall racing schedule. Prior to the Ted Hood Regatta, most sailboat racing was prohibited by state regulations. No rational reason, but that is the way it was. For the first time this year, we have a schedule of race dates. CHARIAD team members are posting their availability on the Team Snap platform we use to coordinate who is sailing [...]
Dear Friend of CHARIAD: OK, we are just having fun. A gang of us sailed last weekend to Gloucester Harbor and made the scene including a sail along the bars/docks on Rocky Neck. Lots of fun. A great Friend of CHARIAD, Eduardo Cornejo, snapped the picture of us. On the way back, we showed the flag by sailing completely to the end of Manchester Harbor. Here is the Manchester [...]
