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A Story

With Memorial Day approaching I’m starting to have flashbacks... to... the sailboat. I think I can safely speak for my siblings when I say... we do not miss that boat.

If you’re bored tonight, here’s a story for you. Once upon a time, my dad bought the largest sailboat you can legally trailer and haul yourself. And because we are Richetts, naturally, we trailered and hauled it ourselves. Because why pay someone who can do it faster and safer than you can when you can do it yourself, right? Right.

Memorial Day! The start of summer! The best time to launch a 10,000lb sailboat for the first time ever with only the help of your children who know nothing about boats!

For five hours following the Memorial Day parade in a tiny coastal town in Maine, we provided entertainment to nearby hotel guests, lobstermen, and tourists as we prepped and launched Three Stooges style.

It is no exaggeration when I say that we backed the boat down the ramp, tried to get it off, got it off a little but got it stuck, so then had to put it back on the trailer, haul it out, jack it up, and add another extension to the trailer no less than three times. We should have sold tickets for the show.

Seven people, five hours, and all of our patience later, the True North was launched for the first time.

Come back at Columbus Day to hear about the time we took the boat out, didn’t quite get it all the way on the trailer, and instead of redoing, we drove the truck hauling the trailered boat down a hill and slammed on the brakes hoping to scoot the boat forward a few inches and it lifted so far off the trailer for a sec the bow was launched in the air above the truck cab and all of our lives flashed before our eyes.

Happy Thursday, ladies and gents!

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