Decided to bring my board with me while up visitng Michael so we could go for a paddle, and we decided on a trip out to Hart-Miller Island. We launched off Rocky Point, and enjoyed a leisurely crossing to the island. We pulled up along the shore and spent a good amount of time swimming and enjoying the beautiful day. We dodged some boat traffic on the return trip, but otherwise had a great day on the water in a new spot neither of us had been before.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Flying a spinnaker for fun
Today's race was cancelled due to rain and a chance of thunderstorms, but we had unpacked the boat by then and the chance looked like it was dissipating, so we went for a sail anyway. Pleasant sailing in very light, shifty conditions, and a nice opportunity to get some folks from Red Baron up to speed on a couple things.
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Took a very brief lap late off Forest Landing after running errands and enjoyed pleasant, cool conditions. Got to meet a couple of very friendly dogs upon my return.
Monday, August 11, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
A quick paddle off Leonardtown Wharf to enjoy the great, cooler weather and sunset.
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Watching the Billie P. Hall
We stayed overnight in Oxford after the race, and woke up bright and early this morning to watch the historic log canoe races. A competitor from yesterday's race invited us out on their spectator boat, so we were able to get close to the action and cheer on the team on the "Billie P. Hall". The morning race was action-packed and great entertainment, and very cool to see such high-stakes performance out of 100+ year old workboats.
After a nice lunch and sightseeing in town, we headed back to Solomons on a pleasant, uneventful delivery. Another great racing weekend in the books!
Friday, August 8, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Team Dangerous at the finish
Putting the Melges 24s behind us
Out racing on Dangerous for the inaugural Solomons to Oxford race. Exceptional weather and fairly light conditions at the start. We put in a couple tacks, and ended up chasing good breeze up the Calvert shoreline, while others went east early. Ultimately going east paid off for the boats that did, but the gaps closed as the breeze filled in everywhere and we set off on a close reach up the Bay. The wind clocked east as we entered the Choptank, and we continued to tack up the river. By the time we reached the Choptank light, the Melges 24s we had been dueling with had gotten just ahead of us, but we managed to reel them in in the last mile to the finish. We enjoyed a great party at TAYC afterwards. Second in PHRF A and third overall for the regatta. This was a great event and one I hope to see continue in future years!
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Fighting to get the spinnaker up
Out for our usual Wednesday Night Race in moderate conditions. RC set a fairly reachy course, and we started under spinnaker. The wind built to above our #1 conditions for the upwind, so we fought our way back. We went to set the spinnaker for the second downwind, but had some process failures during the set and spend about half the leg fighting with it before we just doused again. We swapped to the #3 for the final leg, and managed a fourth overall on a very tight finish. Not our best race, but it prompted a good discussion and we learned how to avoid some problems in the future.
Monday, August 4, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
A quick evening paddle out to Drum Point and back. Really pleasant conditions, but tons and tons of jellyfish out on the water - so many they clumped together in places. Glad I'm not likely to fall in! A nice relaxing evening paddle to take the edge off a bit of a rough start to the week after a busy weekend.
Sunday, August 3, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
An easy, pleasant ride back from St. Mary's City to Solomons to conclude our Gov Cup weekend. We motorsailed the whole way and enjoyed great weather, nice breeze, and good company for the trip.
Friday, August 1, 2025 to Saturday, August 2, 2025
Number of days:
2 days
Powered up at Thomas Point
The crew getting ready for battle
Second in class finish
The big day - sailing my 5th Governor's Cup, and third on Dangerous. We finally got what we've been wishing for years, a heavy air downwind race. After jockeying at the start, we began under spinnaker with breeze in the high teens, sailing just under Diablo. They kept us in their bad air for a while, before we finally swung above them to clear air. We pressed south at incredible speed, though we weren't quite able to hold a rhumb line angle. About at the nuclear plant we doused the spinnaker and climbed back up under the #3 to make a second spin run. Once we reached the Eastern Shore we popped a kite for a second time and rocketed down the Bay, frequently surfing well into the double digits and making it all the way to the target before dark. The wind steadily increased as we made our way south, and at 25kts and increasing waves and challenging conditions, we finally doused the spinnaker and continued with a jib and a reefed main. I took my second turn on the helm around this time, and drove the boat through increasing waves, peaking at some gnarly 10 footers near Point Lookout. I had the helm for a new speed record of 15.8kts surfing down a particularly violent wave, besting my all-time boat speed record and setting a new one for team Dangerous. Things calmed as we headed into the Potomac, and I returned the helm to our owner as we got ready to round into the St. Mary's. We finished the race in comparatively light conditions, changing down to the #1 and only putting in one pair of tacks to make the finish. We crossed the line at 12:43am, for a second in PHRF B/C.
This race was some of the finest, hardest sailing I've ever participated in, and I applaud every single member of our crew for working hard the whole race. No breaks, no complaining, just 9 hours of fantastic, intense sailing. I suspect it'll be a while before I see another Gov Cup like that one!
Thanks SpinSheet photographers for the great photo by Thomas Point!