It has been quite a while since my last post!  There’s a bit to report but thankfully nothing too major.  Spirit came out of the water in early October (nearly three months ago?!?!?!?!) at Wickford Safe Harbor Marina.  This was done to facilitate easy transfer to Waterline Systems in Quonset for some bottom work.  Specifically, she is right now getting a fresh sanding and multi-coat application of Baltoplate followed by a final surface sanding to 600 grit.  Randy also expects to make a few small tweaks to the foils to give us optimal performance.

The rest of her is in pretty solid shape.  There are no big modifications or additions in the works and depending on the budget for the bottom it seems likely we won’t get any new sails!  Shocking I know.  The guys at Quantum are crying.  ; )

 In spring we will need to circle back to the boat (at Wickford) to recommission her.  Moving her to Quonset/Waterline meant pulling the spar, which remains in storage at Wickford.  We’ll need to put that back together, and do our normal thing of batteries, systems, safety equipment, paint the saildrive, running gear, winch maintenance, etc.  I’ll keep you posted on potential dates.

I’ll also keep you posted on crew meeting plans and video premiere!  Might have to be virtual again this coming year — boo!  : (

One thing that you can do now is head over to the crew manager site (https://spirit.crew-mgr.com/), check over your user data and start scoping out the schedule for 2021.  Bill has been hard at work updating all calendars and I think you will find the site even more useful, convenient and for the skipper more powerful than in the past.  I’m particularly excited by all of the efforts for displaying in mobile phones, which I know many of you use as your primary access.  Anyway, now is a terrific time to start marking down your availability for the 2021 season.  I’ll ping again in February/March.  I’ll also let you know about a potential covid-safe Twenty Hundred Club event in place of the Spring dinner that is being worked now.

That’s all!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and hope to connect in some way in a few months.  By the way, 127 days until our first JYC rehearsal!