Charis under way with Captain Pam and crew of three leaving Burton Island July 2002
23 July 2002
"The two best days in a boat owners life…" Often you will read that the two best days of a boat owner's life are the day she purchases her boat and the day her boat is sold. Well aboard Charis (the Hunter 26) we have a different opinion.
After 6 1/2 great sailing seasons aboard Charis we recently reached a tough and much pondered decision but one that will provide an exciting turning point in our sailing careers…we have decided to sell Charis. We are happy but not because we are selling her but because we were able to arrange for her adoption into a great home where she will be appreciated and well taken care of. Best of all she is going to live with long standing members of MOANE and that is their story to tell.
Charis has proven herself to be a fine watercraft, stout, comfortable, stable and fast. She has protected us from our occasional folly and has provided us with years of comfort and pleasure. Oh, did I mention that she is fast? Over the past few days Pam and I have been prepping her ourselves for her survey (which drives home the reality that she is being sold) and at the same time preparing ourselves for the long farewell tow south where we will personally deliver her to her new home. This process has caused us to replay many a memory tape reliving past adventures aboard her which according to our ship's log, have spanned nearly 3200 Nautical miles on the water and countless trailering miles.
It has been a strange set of emotions that we have been processing ourselves through over the past few weeks since participating in the Lake Champlain rendezvous, ranging from pure elation of what the future will bring and the melancholy realization that we finally finished setting her up the way we want her for cruising, combined with realization that we have just completed our final sailing trip aboard her as we returned from Willsboro Bay this past Sunday evening. You all know what I mean we know each other well; she us and we her…she fits like a well worn-in old leather jacket that you just can't part with.
The first Charis (the Macgregor 26 classic) afforded us the avenue to get into sailing, she taught us to sail, and encouraged us to formulate an idea for a cruising group, which became MOANE. Our second Charis (the Hunter 26) taught us cruising, comfort, speed, trust and expanded horizons of travel. Our third Charis, yes there will be a third, (a Hunter Legend 37.5) has some "big hulls" to fill and who can predict what education and experiences she has in store for us. We are looking forward to discovering what she has in store for us with great anticipation and excitement… but who knew how hard it would to say good-bye to our H26. So "the best two days" quote may still be intact but with different meanings for the crew of Charis.
We have been told that boats are just hunks of fiberglass and not to get emotionally attached but I would submit this argument to you. To us, this hunk of fiberglass is part of our family… a second home providing care and protection by returning the feeling we have for her back to us in kind. Sailing is our passion and we will continue sailing as long as we are able. We are looking forward to seeing you folks on the waters of Lake Champlain next summer - you will recognize us because we will be that smiling crew sailing aboard that next trustworthy craft with the right name…Charis…why change something that has brought us so much luck through the years.
Fair winds from the decks of Charis…
Pictures of "the new" Charis a Hunter 37.5
Yes that is Pam perched up there at the helm.