I guess I didn't traumatize James too badly last week with our heavy air sailing and unexpected swim as he came back to crew again this week. Still a bit heavy at the beginning and puffy in places but much nicer conditions overall. We set a spin and practiced a couple gybes on the way out to get that process dialed in. Got a pretty good start in the first race and played the right side of the course. We worked through some minor issues on the spin set, but overall ran a clean race. Had a bit of rights trouble in the second race and had to chuck in a penalty turn. Conditions lightened up in the third race and a botched douse hurt our standing. A beautiful evening on the water, and a great learning opportunity as James is making great progress getting up to speed as crew and I'm continuing to learn more about my role as skipper, good tactics, and big picture strategic decisions. Can't wait for next week!
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
the RC crew
Dewey was out of town this week, so he tasked the rest of the crew and I with running RC. Our RC team consisted of three of us from Dangerous plus a few regulars who consistently help with race committee. With the wind blowing from the bridge we set a different course from the W/L courses we've been running lately to take advantage. The race went smoothly, the course was well received, and all involved had a great time.
Tonight's crew
Out tonight for the first official Monday night paddle of the season. Nice, if slightly breezy, weather and a good turnout. We took a nice trip nearly to McIntosh Run and back, and enjoyed views of osprey, herons, and eagles in our travels. Always nice to be out here.
Driving Elysium with Michael trimming my main
Flying a spin against a picture-perfect sky
Start of the second race
Semi-skippered Elysium, a friend's J/33, today for the SMSA Vice Commodore's Cup. My brother was in town, and we ran the boat with 5 with the intention of getting a spin up for the first time in a while. Light conditions prevailed in the pre-start, but we were able to get going on a nice first race. Went out in the middle of the river in search of better breeze, and did well. After the mark rounding, Sean inadvertently plugged the spin in sideways, and we hoisted a clew before realizing the mistake. We got it fixed, and had a nice spin run until the breeze died shortly before the line. After some floating around and a douse we were able to finish in third place.
In the short second race, we got off a great downwind start, followed by an early-ish douse, a tidy rounding, and a nice upwind beat to a second place.
In the much longer final race, we enjoyed nice conditions for the first 2/3 of the race until the wind fell off and we encountered a big shift towards the end. We sailed the boat to a slow but clean 3rd place finish.
A fantastic day on the water on my favorite boat in my subset of the Solomons fleet, couldn't ask for better.
Powered way up going upwind
She floats pretty well sideways all things considered
After missing last week I was itching to get the boat out, and brought along a new crew member who sails on Dangerous. Unfortunately, once we got out there conditions were far bigger than expected, with breeze in the high teens gusting to low 20s. We put a spin up for practice and the boat immediately jumped on plane and jumped to 10kts. Unfortunately, despite being fast it was almost totally unmanageable on both the trim side and for me at the helm, and we quickly stowed it. We started the race under a partially furled headsail, but suffered in pointing ability and ended up rolling it out fully and I kept the boat on her feet (barely) by playing the main in the puffs. Got to the top mark, rounded, and went for a fast wing-on-wing ride downhill. Spun the boat up for the second leg, suffered about 2/3 of the way up, and I sheeted in too quick on a tack and capsized. With some fiddling and help from the safety boat we got her upright, I hauled James back in the boat, and we both decided that would be the end of our day. The boat managed it well, which is something I was quite worried about after hearing stories of other Chrysler boats sinking in similar conditions.
A tough one out there for sure, but a good learning experience on how to properly right the boat and what should be treated as the upper limit for sailable conditions on a powerful dinghy in my hands. The boat and crew made it home safely which is what's important. Hoping for better conditions next week.
On the spin run
The crew at the finish
A nice two-lap W/L race. I worked foredeck for the first time in a while as our two usual crew were unavailable. Really tight, quality crew work all around, this was probably the best the boat has run this season. Great to have regular crew who are getting up to speed and helping run the boat to her potential. Nice conditions and a pretty ideal evening on the water.
Celebrating Brian's memory
Got together with my good friends from the Barba Roja to remember our friend and crewmate Brian who we lost last year. We gave him the sendoff he deserved, and celebrated his memory with a great cookout afterwards, just like he would've wanted.
A great start
Tonight's crew
SMSA Wednesday Night Race A-4. Better-than-forecasted conditions for some W/L racing on a perfect evening. We had a full boat with 7 onboard, and I helped out and advised on tactics a bit. We nailed the start and had a great upwind leg. The first downwind went pretty well, but we made a couple iffy last-minute calls and botched the douse, resulting in overstanding the mark quite a lot. Got our act together and got going again, but not enough to save the race. 6/7 for the evening. Good problem solving from some of our newer crew, and a good learning expereince for everyone to work through recovering when things go wrong. Hoping to do better next week.
Today's route
I thought about taking the boat out, but I was pretty tired and conditions were decidedly sporty so I settled for a quick after-work paddle off Forest Landing. The back of the creek was totally choked out with underwater grasses, and it was a challenge to get out to clear water. Once I did I was greeted with favorable conditions and pretty scenery for a ride up to Clarke's Landing and back. Days like today are exactly why I get value from Century Club, it's a great motivator when I'm tired or otherwise not really feeling it.
Today's route
The informal Monday night paddles are back for the season, and we had great conditions for tonight, with just a light breeze and very warm temps. Paddled at a leisurely pace from the wharf to the winery, and after a couple of our group stopped off we set a quicker pace on the way back. Met some new folks and some I hadn't seen since last year. The on-the-water season is truly in full swing now.