Dear Friend of CHARIAD:

Jubilee Regatta — A Perfect Race

This past Saturday, CHARIAD raced in the Jubilee Yacht Club, Beverly, MA, Jubilee Regatta. We were authentically competitive against a strong fleet and finished 4th out of 7 in our class. We had three short windward/leeward courses. Almost as soon as we get the spin up, we are preparing to get it down and round the leeward mark. These short courses are a test of sail and boat handling. At the end of the 1st race, we looked at each other and said, “That was a perfect race – no mistakes! Let’s keep doing that.”

At the first leeward mark of the 2nd race, we did not get the spin down and had to sail below the mark while getting the sail down and getting the jib up. If you are on the boat, this situation looks like a big screw up by the foredeck crew. The truth of most of these situations and probably this one is that the helmsman – me in this case – did not properly anticipate the time needed to do the takedown and give the foredeck time to do their work. In this case the wind was shifting all over the place and we tried to do a late jibe from a starboard pole to a port pole close the leeward mark. We would have been better doing a Mexican spin takedown with the starboard pole as we practiced at the New England’s.

After getting started back up wind, we were out of the competition for this race. We used the blow out to invest in another spin training that we would not have done otherwise. The wind was shifting as much as 90 degrees and went up and down from 5 knots to 12 knots. Coming down the last spin leg of the 2nd race we had a light reaching spin up rather than the running spin needed for the higher wind. The leg was so short that normally we would have used whatever we had up. For practice, we did a spinnaker change – spin peel – just so the crew on the boat would see how to do it in non-stressed conditions.

In spite of finishing last in the 2nd of three races, we finished 4th for the whole series. We were really pleased with the result.

I am attaching some fun pictures from the JYC race. One is an off the boat shot of CHARIAD racing taken by Bill Hurley. The other pics were taken by Allison Conboy. The more I see these pictures the more jealous I am of John “the Baptist” Bishop for all of these great center of frame shots while trimming the spin. I am also realizing that we are not recording the clear Italian/French sex appeal winner – Steve Chute. Very clear on the boat but our photographer has not captured the image yet. Look for long blond hair.

Two other crew updates. Kathy Gunst, the pit goddess, sailed with an injured shoulder. Betsy Adams did a great job as substitute in the pit with Kathy’s coaching. Bill Nichols made a huge contribution to the efforts while CHARIAD was in the yard but could not sail for a while. Bill was the Jib #2 guy for this race and did a great job on the spin pole. These are really hard jobs and particularly the first time in a real race. Both Betsy and Bill had seen these jobs done before, but there are so many subtleties and small steps – all of which need to be done correctly – that actually taking on the job and doing it effectively as they did takes a lot of courage and perseverance. Good job.

Lobster Boil Update

About 25 people have said they want lobsters and 3 are going for chicken. We are getting firm lobster costs over the next couple of days.

I will send out a note later this week on the “final pricing” for the total cost – probably about $20. You will need to send in a check for what you want by next Wednesday so we will have time to order everything.There will be a big element of guessing in this, but we will make it work. We will probably have to rent a couple of tables and chairs for this to work in Arlington.

I asked if some of you could help with the logistics and some have offered to help. I apologize, but I now realize that I was not keeping track of the “will help” responses while I was tracking lobster orders. If you can help, please let me know – let me know again. We will have to get the lobsters and other food and help Herb and Shayna set all of this up at their home on Spy Pond, Arlington.

OK – I have been chastised by many for not spelling “poll” correctly and for putting H&S on a different pond in Arlington. Richard Sides confirmed that his Marblehead home is available as a bad weather back up location. Richard also suggested starting a little earlier to stay in more day light. We will probably do that.

If you want to come – and bring a spouse/significant other or just a friend – please get your check in the mail as soon as you get my note on Thursday or Friday with the final details.

Best,

Rick