Michael and I decided to use the very last of the weekend's warm temps to sneak in a quick paddle off Forest Landing. We made it about 2/3 of the way to the river before turning back due to gusty breezes and rapidly freefalling temperatures. We took a lap up one of the smaller coves, and landed after about an hour. The temperature was 15 degrees cooler when we returned than when we left the dock - I guess we're finished with the summer temps for now. A nice way to cap off a fun weekend.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Spinnaker sailing into the haze
A practice sail on Red Baron today to tune up our spinnaker work ahead of the first race next Wednesday. We did three laps of windward/leeward work, three sets & douses, and six gybes. I drove and made some recommendations from things I've learned from Dangerous, and we made great progress in getting the crew up to speed and making some improvements. A nice afternoon on the water and a productive tune-up prior to Wednesday.
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
(Most of) tonight's paddle crew
With the SMSA boards open for checkouts again, Dewey and I planned a paddle with Michael and some Dangerous friends off SMSA in near 80 degree temperatures. We introduced a couple friends to paddling as well. It was pretty gusty, but we couldn't plan a route that allowed us to go upwind first, so we set off on a downwind course and accepted the consequences of that decision. We enjoyed a pleasant ride out to the end of Leason Cove, and a casual ride back. When we turned to the main channel of Mill Creek we had to work a little, and hugged the edge to stay out of the breeze as much as possible. The breeze was funneling around Molly's Leg as it often does for the last bit, and a couple folks in our group were getting tired and had to put in some good work to make the final crossing. It was a great evening on the water, and I look forward to many more opporutnities this summer to get out and play on the river.
Monday, March 31, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Glad I was able to sneak in one paddle in March. Unseasonably warm temps and a free evening on my schedule inspired me to take a lap off Forest Landing. The water is still cold and it was gusty so I stayed pretty close to shore, but I managed a nice lap out to the end of Half Pone Point and back. I couldn't quite make my usual turning mark due to the breeze blowing in off the river. I enjoyed seeing the spring colors and scenery I missed over the cold winter.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Nearly nailed the start
Dion was out of town today so he entrusted me with the helm on Red Baron. Gusty conditions on the river, so after a bit of a tight launch off the dock we set out with a full main and a reef. Gusts continued to build into the low 20s towards race time, so we put in a reef to keep the boat manageable.
With a little luck I pulled off a timely start, and we kept the boat powered up on the windward leg. We took an early-ish tack to clear air, and by the first rounding we were still ahead of much of the fleet. As the wind was periodically light going back downwind, we sailed gybe angles to keep the 3 powered up. We found a bit of unnecessary yelling at the leeward mark, and I took a wide rounding to avoid an altercation with Harm's Way. We sailed another quick beating leg, and rounded to a deep angle to the finish. We were able to just hold off Splash, and beat them boat for boat by inches. It feels pretty good to beat a well-sailed J/105!
We took third for the race and third overall for the series. Not bad for my first time fully running a keelboat in quite a while. Other than the gusts it was a gorgeous sunny day and we had a fantastic time out on the water. A great way to wrap up the spring frostbite series!
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
The lighthouse is looking a little better every time I visit
Out for a casual bay sail today on Neptune's Wager. We put up the cruising jib, and headed out towards Hooper's Island. We enjoyed a nice reach out, and played with some boat setup while we enjoyed the ride. On the way back we were somewhat more upwind, and we played with settings on the new hydraulic backstay to find a good moderate air baseline. A great day for a nice, relaxing first trip to the lighthouse for the year.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Peppermint Patty flying nicely
Fun/practice sail today on Red Baron using their asymmetric spinnaker, which Dion aptly named Peppermint Patty. Light conditions to start, so we sailed upwind with just a main to get some distance to run the spinnaker across the basin. We sailed towards the opposite shore, and I experimented with how high I could bring the boat with that sail up (pretty high, if it's light enough). We executed a sloppy gybe and then had to do a conventional takedown as the breeze had come up and furling unit wasn't working well. We hoisted the #3 and had a relaxing upwind sail home. Fun to play with the new toy and get some helm experience with an asymmetric kite for the first time.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Attempting to chase down Harm's Way
Big air this evening for a fun sail, so we pulled out the tiny hank-on storm jib. A pretty evening out, if gusty, and we made some wide tacks up to the bridge and ran back down. We found Harm's Way out practicing with the boat, and took some pictures and tried to chase them down for a bit (to no avail, those j/109s are fast!). Another great day to be out enjoying the spring weather.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
A gray day in Solomons
Out for a quick after-work sail on Barba Roja ahead of some storms. Conditions were very gusty, so we just flew a headsail, and managed a quick trip up to the bridge and back, both on reaches. We got some sturdy puffs on the way back from the bridge and rounded up a couple times. Finding ourselves with some extra time, we took the long way into the harbor through the inside channel, somehow still on a reach. We never put in a single tack the whole evening. Nice to get out and a nice sail despite the threatening clouds overhead.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
The Red Baron crew as we power past Barba Roja
A nice day to be out on the water after missing last week due to forecasted high winds and rain. Dion asked me to take the helm on Red Baron to practice for next week when I will be skippering the boat on his behalf. A line of gusty conditions shortly before the race had us quesitoning whether to carry the big genoa, but ultimately the breeze calmed shortly before race start. Unfortunately as a result we ended up rather late to the line, but got the boat powered up quickly and made back several places by the first mark. It took some time for me to get my bearings back at the helm, but by the second leg I had most of the feel back. We sailed a tidy, if not particularly fast beating leg, and rounded into a run. We went wing-on-wing for much of the leg, save for a brief set of gybes, and chased down a rival J/70. We rounded into the final leg, a close reach, and were able to power ahead of the smaller boat. Unfortunately, when the results came in, their non-spin rating difference got us in the end, but it was a fun matchup for a great afternoon on the water.