We got out with Sarah again on Wednesday's member sail, with a skills focus on POBs. Wind was decent (5-10) but without the big gusts I saw predicted earlier in the day, which is nice. With limited time, we just headed straight over to the anchorage (uh, near Anchorage?) and got in a bunch of quick stop and figure-8 maneuvers. I feel pretty good about my quick stops now but needed some help talking through the end of the figure-8; I do want to get to where both feel natural before I check out.
Century Club: James Bromwell
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
I promise I did not feel as crazy as this picture makes me look
Strong but not overpowering wind for Sunday member sail. It was a packed house, and I had forgotten to register until fairly late in the week, so I was lucky to land a spot on J22#5. We each got a turn for some skills practice, and made it partway to the bridge, though by the time we got past Ft. McHenry the wind was coming almost straight across the old spans so we had a lot of tacking to do, and I had some serious Boat Yoga to stay on the high side. Felt like we did better than 6kt the whole way home, though. Really fun sail overall!
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
One measly knot!
Good company, though
We started out doing spring checklist stuff -- I think I got the lifelines neatened up pretty well, but Bek still doesn't trust them -- then had time for some motoring practice and a bit of a sail. Wind started at 5-10 but had some serious lulls (pic enclosed).
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Crew photo!
Sailed past this big ol' RORO
Wednesday was the first Member Sail of the season! Great weather, moderate to light wind, dying on the way back.
Albert was planning to do a short shake-out sail for Sweet Dreams, after the starter motor was replaced over the winter. Unfortuntely the starter still wasn't in the mood to turn over this time -- electrical issues? -- so Albert, Santhosh, Rebekah, Sandy and I took out Messin' About instead.
We only made it a bit past Ft McHenry before we had to turn back to make our deadline at the docks. I got some time on the helm bringing us home, bringing us into the wind while we dropped the main before Albert brought us in to B-dock.
Monday, March 30, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Rebekah had some maintenance to take care of with Tom while I attended to other business. At the end of the day, I was going to pick her up, but at the last minute she called and asked if I'd rather come out for a sail instead - obviously, yes!
We took a J22 out - didn't catch the number, but it wasn't one of our off season "usual" boats - just as far as the Canton basin. I got some good tiller time, and (with some excellent coaching!) managed 3 or 4 quick stop POBs and a couple figure 8s. Big thanks to Tom for volunteering to fish the fender out of the harbor, it's still pretty chilly...
Got back right around sundown, only a couple hours but the wind was great and the weather couldn't have been nicer. Great day!
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
I'm smiling so this was probably before we tried to run the reefing lines
Spent a good chunk of Sunday afternoon getting the sails set up on Sunrise. The furler on the headsail needed to be lubed, some lines were a little worn, but what took the lion's share of the day was figuring out the single line reefing system. We got it in the end, and I think I even managed a few passable bowlines while moving the lazy jacks around. The real disappointment was that maintenance took so long we didn't have time for a shakedown sail before heading over to the chili cook-off!
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Great crew!
Number 8 passed us a few times - welcome, Andrew!
We went out with Bhavani on J#2 this afternoon, and the weather couldn't have been nicer. Wind was E, 5-10, not too gusty, and I got to take us as far as the Canton turning basin. After an expert(ly coached) heave-to, I handed off the tiller and we rode partway out the channel past Ft. McHenry on Bhavani's first sail of the season - nice and smooth, you'd never have known she had a few months off!
We traded back off after a while, and eventually made our way back to the T-head on the newly reopened A dock for some docking practice. I was able to land 5-6 smooth upwind dockings and Bhavani did the same. Definitely have a better feel for upwind angle and speed now; Rebekah still wouldn't let me parallel park for real on B dock.
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Just the two of us
We passed Daniel on our way back
Emma and Joanna had a quick sail too
Today was the Cruising Program Kickoff and "sock burning". Before the event, I got out with Rebekah for a little under 2 hours on J22#2. Just got out to Ft. McHenry and back; I didn't get any tiller time today, too busy with last minute social arrangements, but the weather was so nice I didn't really mind.
Friday, March 20, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Near Seagirt, unfortunately couldn't get Paul in frame
Friday was a short day at work, so Rebekah invited me to join her afternoon sailing plans with a few other DSC regulars. Moderate winds, maybe 8-12kt, high 50s, partly cloudy progressing to fully overcast.
We wound up taking J22#8 along with a member I hadn't met yet, Paul -- he's spent a lot of time around boats but is pretty new to sailing. I took the tiller for our departure into NE winds, which shifted to E/SE as we rounded Domino and headed out past Ft. McHenry. A bit more than halfway to the bridge, I handed the tiller off to the skipper, but got a lot of good practice tacking and using the main sheet to keep us from getting blown over when gusts picked up.
We made it to the buoys before the bridge in a bit over 2 hours, then zipped back downwind, with only a few gybes all the way to the Fort. Our return to DSC was uneventful, but we had a little time left in our reservation so we headed past the dredging operation in front of Pier 5 to visit the Rusty Scupper before coming back to dock, during which Paul got some tiller time in lighter winds. Docked just in time, we beat the start of some light rainfall by 15-20 minutes. A little chilly at times, but a great day on the water!
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Number of days:
1 day
Official frostbiting has already wrapped up for the season, and unfortunately I had to miss most of them for one reason or another, but Richard is always up for it whether it's on the calendar or not. Wind was poor-to-terrible but at least the weather was nice, so we set up a little windward/leeward course just in front of Harbor Point and ran a couple of laps.
The light air was frustrating at times, but everyone was still in good spirits. I got on the tiller for our second round out of 3, and somehow managed to find a perfect wind line that pulled us straight to the upwind mark, which felt really great. It was the only race we won but that was good enough for me.