A nice cruise today on the Olson with a few friends, including a good friend of mine on his first sailboat trip. Set up a fake race to V, then attempted to sail up the river above the bridge. Got up to Myrtle Point and the wind died off, so we headed out to the Bay to find more breeze. Had a nice ride out the mouth of the Bay and a nice trip back in. Spotted some other SMSA sailors on Rakali and some friends on Rocinante and snapped some pictures. All in all a nice relaxing day on the water.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Sunday, September 18, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Today's crew
Chasing down the Rocinante
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Always at the helm...
Finally made it to #100! Went out for a nice afternoon cruise up the Potomac with my family on my uncle's powerboat. Took off from Piney Point and my uncle ended up giving me the helm for most of the day. Cruised up above the 301 bridge, had a nice picnic lunch, and cruised back down. Lots of chop on the return trip so it was a bumpy ride despite my best efforts with the trim controls. Fun to drive a powerboat for a change but after seeing how much fuel a pair of Yamaha 300s burn in an afternoon I think I'll stick to sailing!
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Playing with a J/105
Last Wednesday of the season in the books. A crowded downwind start, but we were able to do some clever maneuvering and get a clean lane. Some issues getting a kite up, but once it was set we rolled past a non-spin J/30 and kept pace with a non-spin J/105. Tidy mark rounding and a solid beating leg, followed by a reach to the finish. In classic fashion we gained half a knot when we put a staysail up, and carried it a bit too long so we gained half a knot again when we took it down. Great crew work as has been par for the course the back half of this season.
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Quick evening paddle at Clarke's Landing, probably one of my last solo trips of the year. The weather is starting to get cooler and the leaves are just starting to change. A nice way to decompress after work.
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
New main in action
All smiles on the course today
Great breeze tonight. We had the new main up from the weekend’s festivities and wanted to put it to the test on a beercan race. A tidy downwind start led to a decent spinnaker run despite a flawed hoist with the halyard inside the forestay. We doused early and reached to the first mark, followed by a powered-up beat to the second. We crossed several boats and had lots of tight action. Our third leg was a close reach, and we managed to hold off Elan, winning the night and taking the lead in the series.
Monday, September 5, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
View from the beach
Quick paddle off Snow Hill park down to Cole Creek and back. Lots of breeze so somewhat difficult given the short duration.
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
The paddle crew
Today's route
Met up with my brother to finally do a long-anticipated paddle around Baltimore harbor. Launched off Tide Point and took a lap up to the Inner Harbor and down around Fell's Point and Canton. Lots of great scenery and perfect weather. It was everything I had hoped for.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Dueling Spinnakers
A short crew for this evening's race ahead of Stingray Point this weekend (I unfortunately can't attend). Nice breeze to a downwind start towards the Bay. We nearly nailed the start, but had to douse our mylar kite partway through the first leg due to a small split at one of the seams. Got it down and quickly got the reaching kite hoisted, and still managed to beat the competition to the first mark. An easy beat to the second mark followed, and we ended the race with an upwind leg to the finish. Everyone worked well together, recovered quickly when mistakes were made, and we pulled off a solid second place finish.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
About as much wind as we had all night
Who needs TowBoatUS? Just call the Barba Roja!
Once again was in charge of the Barba Roja for the evening. Arrived at the start a bit late due to some late tacks while teaching new crew. The wind slowly fell off throughout the first leg, until we drifted with the tide up to the first mark shortly before the time limit expired. Rounded the mark, and immediately started drifitng sideways. Due to some race committee confusion we retired after the time limit expired. On the way in we found our main rival was having engine problems, and towed them into their slip. A long evening on the water but a pretty good one.
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
The official social paddle was cancelled due to scheduling concerns, and may be done for the season. I went out with Joe and a friend visitng from California, and had a great paddle out into Breton Bay. We saw a seaplane land and take off up close, a unique experience.