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 engine started. And, yes, we got the main and jib halyards down from the top of the mast.

I hope we will take CHARIAD to her summer home on her mooring in Marblehead this coming weekend. The clubs are starting to talk about racing. I expect the racing season to get underway more or less on schedule. The sponsor clubs may not allow the racing crews to come to the clubs until later in the summer, but that is an unknown. The clubs are extremely risk averse. These decisions have nothing to do with health or logic.

The CHARIAD Team

You saw the profile of several CHARIAD team members. Part of my spring ritual is a reminder to the Friends of CHARIAD that most crew members are recommended by you. Our Friends community knows the boat, the team, and the expectations for being a crew member. If you know someone who might be interested in joining the crew as a regular team member, suggest they check out the www.CHARIAD.com website and contact me if they want to learn more.

A Spring Parable

Each spring, we retell a simple story of rebirth.

A SPRING PARABLE

For six months of snow and cold,
The Mighty CHARIAD sleeps.
Only her dreams are bold.
No winches are grinding, no sails are flapping
No waves are crashing and no orders a’ shouting.
The CHARIAD crew passes the long winter nights
snug in their beds.
Visions of tacks, of jibes, of starts and of finishes
dance in their heads.

Gradually the days grow longer.
February becomes March, and March becomes April.
Coolness is still on the air, but there is a stirring.
Even before the first robin is near,
The CHARIAD crew magically appear,
As if by some primordial instinct,
Mighty CHARIAD awakes with a start.

The crew sets themselves to polishing, painting,
rigging and roping.
By the 1st of May in each year, a renewed and refitted
CHARIAD appears.
With a splash and a dash, she throws off the dock lines
“Grind Ken, pull Bobby, jibe Herb, trim Peg” is heard
She glides away to sailing’s call
and a great summer for all.

My best wishes from a Moderna two shot guy.

Rick