At last weekend’s Viper 640 North Americans, Mary Ewenson shared with the competitors The 11 Commandments of the EWE Foundation. In the wake of Geoff’s unexpected passing, his wife, Mary, created the EWE Spirit Foundation to continue and expand upon his efforts to aid those among us who are most in need.

Here’s what Mary shared with all of us:

Sail like EWE did. Live like EWE did.

The 11 Commandments

Why 11? Why not 10? Because this one goes to 11. That’s one more.

1. I will commit to making sailing better for everyone.
2. I will mentor young sailors and help them gain access to big boat sailing.
3. I will help people in the boat park and on the dock.
4. I will welcome new boat owners to the fleet, introduce them to other owners, and help them learn the fleet culture and how to make their new boat go better.
5. I will learn the racing rules of sailing.
6. I will put safety first and wear my lifejacket when I should.
7. I will make time to connect with anyone I got into it on the racecourse with and shake their hand, buy them a beer, etc. Even if we are headed for the room, I will remember we are all out there for the same thing – to have fun – and that we just saw things differently out there.
8. I will thank the race committee, volunteers, and sponsors and will go to the regatta party to interact with other sailors, the race committee, volunteers, and sponsors.
9. I will fly the EWE flag (sticker, flag, etc,) to show that I sail like EWE did, and I will always be watching, ready to catch others sailing like EWE did, and when I do, I’ll thank them.
10. I will make the EWE Spirit Foundation the primary charity to which I donate time and money.
11. I will not forget how lucky I am to be able to sail like EWE did.