Four-Time Centurions!
Congratulations to Charlie and Cathy Simon, who for the fourth year reached their goal of 100 days on the water on Celebrate! Below they share some of their journey...
What compelled you to join SpinSheet’s Century Club?
We had just returned from a world circumnavigation on our sailboat, SV Celebrate, and thought it would be a terrific way to keep us sailing.
How do you find the time to get out on the water so often?
We really enjoy being out on the water and the Century Club keeps us motivated to do it by taking friends out and looking for activities to keep us going so often.
Any stand-out memories?
In the Chesapeake, great anchorages and shore fun like St. Michaels and Cape Charles. World-wide: the Panama Canal, Fiji cruising and a Vanuatu volcano at the edge!
What did you learn by spending so many days out there?
Being out on the water gives you a closer relationship with nature. You can have a wonderful time while learning why it is so important to preserve our surroundings.
What would you say to someone considering joining the Century Club in 2019?
Just get started! It is surprising how quickly the water days add up and you never regret the time you have spent!
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What is the SpinSheet Century Club? In 2014, we launched a challenge to SpinSheet readers to see how many days they could log on the water and to reward those who reached 100 within the calendar year.
We knew it may be a stretch to fit in 100 days under sail—plus so many of our sailing friends also paddle, fish, windsurf, or do the occasional cocktail cruise, so we figured we’d call a day on the water an official day on the water, no matter the vessel. As long as you leave the dock, it counts (swimming off the dock does not!). We also let boat owners count 10 land-based work days, as long as they log those days.
The concept was an immediate hit. More than 50 sailors logged 100 days that first year, a couple of them reaching almost 250 days! We threw a party in their honor with cake and beer (what else do you need?) and gave them all SpinSheet Century Club burgees to proudly fly from their boats.
Five years into it, several of our Century Club members are three-, four-, or even five-time Centurions. Members run the gamut from cruising families to boat captains, from retired sailors to 9-5 office workers who sail like maniacs on evenings and weekends.
You can join our club any time of the year. Just like SpinSheet, it’s free. All you need is proof in the form of a written or digital log to show the dates you got on the water. Some Centurions are very specific and can even tell us how many miles they sailed and what the weather conditions were… yet others just jot down dates, boat types, and places.
Century Club members may log their on-water days anywhere from Mid-Western lakes to the Southern Ocean. As long as they provide proof of their accomplishments within the calendar year, they’re in!
Send your log and pictures anytime to [email protected]. If you'd like to join the SpinSheet Century Club, click here
