Awesome Crew:-)

Pirate meeting.

Beer can racing!

Thanks to Scuttlebutt Sailing News, Spinsheet magazine, and Brett (who forwarded it - many thanks!), here are some reasons for joining in the comradery and casual competition of weeknight beer can racing (think St. Joe River Yacht Club Wednesday nights):

• You've been cooped up in stale air since November, which has made you pasty and cranky.
• Sailing is great for balance, so you can probably get a doctor's note to call it physical therapy.
• It's a great excuse to leave work early.
• You're driving your spouse crazy talking about sailing while doing nothing but obsess about winning Musto gear and staring at sailing videos on your phone.
• You haven't seen your friends since you drank all those Painkillers at the sailboat show and need to catch up on gossip.

All this fun starts on May 17!

Origin of the name

Mercedes isn't named after a car!  Mercedes is the name of the fiancee of Edmond Dantes in Alexandre Dumas's classic novel "The Count of Monte Cristo."  One of Karen's and my favorite books, it's a powerful story of loyalty, commitment, vengeance, perseverance, and forgiveness.  It's the source of her nickname - Mercedes (and mine - Cristo), and inspired the name of the sailboat.  

Some notable quotations from the book:

• "One's work may be finished someday, but one's education never."
• "Moral wounds have this peculiarity - they may be hidden, but they never close, always painful, always ready to bleed when touched, they remain fresh and open in the heart."
• Abbe Faria: "Here is your final lesson - do not commit the crime for which you now serve the sentence. God said, Vengeance is mine."
  Edmond Dantes: "I don't believe in God."
  Abbe Faria: "It doesn't matter. He believes in you."
• Fernand Mondego: "What happened to your mercy?"
  Edmond Dantes: "I'm a count, not a saint."

Re-christened

Thanks to Nate, Ted, and Sayer for the skilled hard work they contributed, the topsides are compounded, polished, and waxed!  And, the boat has her new name applied, and a hailing port, and registration numbers.  The hull is so smooth and shiny, the boat looks fast just standing still!  Great job!!

Compounding/polishing is fun

Gotta get moving if the boat's gonna launch!  Nate and I tackled compounding/polishing the topsides of the hull today.  We did a good job, and the gelcoat looks beautiful.  At least one side of the boat does!  That's how much we got done in 4 hours.  Need more fresh volunteers to work on the rest of the hull.  Your participation has benefits - you won't need to go to the gym later for your upper body workout!    

Thanks for your help, Nate!  I really appreciate it.

Seminar on sail control at Macatawa Bay YC

I'm planning to attend this seminar at Macatawa Bay Yacht Club in Holland this Wednesday, April 12.  If anyone is interested in coming along, let me know.  Info and preregistration below...

SAIL CONTROL FOR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE - April 12, 2017, 6:30 PM, Quantum Sails Seminar Series at Macatawa Bay Yacht Club, 2157 S. Shore Dr., Macatawa, MI.  Farley Fontenot is known for both his racing and cruising expertise.  Join him and the Quantum team at Macatawa Bay Yacht Club for a detailed presentation on sail control that will benefit you no matter your favorite type of sailing.  No cost, preregistration required, seats are limited: http://tinyurl.com/17QuantumMBYC.

Work of art

It took some doing, but the Martec prop is finally off the prop shaft and the new Flexofold prop is on.  Flexofold is a Danish company that makes great marine propellers with just about the lowest drag characteristics under sail, and among the best in motoring performance in forward and reverse.  The blades are geared together, so one blade cannot drop down unexpectedly and create a lot of drag.  This one is the correct size for the engine and transmission and won't overdrive and cavitate like the other one tended to do.  And this propeller is a work of art.  It's beautiful!