A nice evening sail on the Olson with a few friends. Left Pax around 5:30 to head out into the bay. Better than anticipated breeze meant we made great speed but also faced stiff chop crossing to the eastern shore. Got to the lighthouse around sunset & set up on a long broad reach on the way home. Got a little seasick in the chop, which isn’t usually a problem for me. Otherwise a great sail & nice to get out for a cruise.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Friday, August 19, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Quick paddle around Solomons harbor at sunset to enjoy the cooler, breezy weather.
Thursday, August 18, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Traffic at the windward mark
Helped out with Thursday RC on crash boat again. Ideal racing conditions until the very end of the race, and a nice time had by all.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Sailing into the storm
Chasing down our competition
Due to a last-minute first aid issue on the race committee boat I was placed in charge of Barba Roja for the evening. We had to tack into the start and bled a lot of speed, and light conditions made it difficult to make up for lost time. The wind shut off almost completely at the windward mark, and we debated retiring due to the impending weather. We stuck it out, and the wind finally filled in. Had to gybe at the mark to negotiate a right of way situation, and very briefly got a spinnaker up before the wind clocked too far forward. The wind continued to clock over the course of the final leg, until we were pushed slightly below the mark by the time we got there. Put in two quick tacks, crossed the line, and got the boat put away quickly before the storm really hit. We also managed to beat the boat that boxed us out at the windward mark.
The crew did a great job of correcting mistakes and working together to manage boat speed in difficult conditions.
(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield)
Friday, August 12, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Limbo under a tree
Perfect weather for a Friday evening paddle off Leonardtown Wharf. Very low tide up McIntosh run plus a couple downed trees made for some interesting navigating. Out a little longer than planned, and had to paddle back in the dark.
(Photo courtesy of Joe Macri)
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Helped out with smallboat RC once again. I was on crash boat today, and took our the club's small skiff for the first time. We set a course in the middle of the river, and had some trouble on both ends of the course getting anchors to set in the deep water. First race was a throwout as the windward mark dragged back towards the line. Once we got the course figured out everyone enjoyed a nice night of racing. 14 boats racing, our best turnout this season.
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Forget burying the rail, I was about to bury the windows...
The storm right before the start
On our way back in
Out for Wednesday night racing ahead of a thunderstorm. Half the fleet retired but the Barba Roja soldiered on in steadily building wind and a small fleet of starting boats. Got caught in a nasty squall about 30 seconds later, with an observed peak gust of 37kts. We still had full sails up and got knocked pretty hard, and the crew quickly went to work getting sails down. I started the motor to regain control as we were being pushed towards another racer, and was able to get us pointed into the wind. Unfortunately a loose jib sheet wrapped the prop, but thankfully we drifted just clear of the other boat, the line cut itself, and we were able to limp home.
Superb crew work all around, my hats off to the entire team today. Glad we handled the situation and everyone made it back safely. A valuable learning expereince, but hoping not to have a repeat performance any time soon.
(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield & Polly Traynham)
Saturday, August 6, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
A nice weekend cruise on a friend of a friend's Olson 30 named "Sloopy". We did a little minor maintenance, and got out on the water around 8:30am. Light breeze in the Patuxent that filled in nicely once clear of the Navy base. We sailed out to the Hooper's Island light and back and had a great, relaxing day on the water. I got to take a turn at the helm, and learned that the Olson provides a much more immediate, responsive experience than the Pearson I usually drive. I guess being 1/3 of the weight at the same length will do that...
Thursday, August 4, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Volunteered for Thursday RC, unfortunately it was cancelled due to weather. Just a quick delivery from SMSA to Zanheiser's to drop the RC boat off at its slip.
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Headed to the windward mark
Relatively light conditions and a long two-lap windward/leeward course made for a long race. A great start, followed by some traffic dodging to the windward mark. Had some trouble getting the spinnaker down at the bottom mark due to using our spare halyard that runs inside the forestay (main spin halyard hasn't been re-run yet after gov cup). RC called and asked us to take a position established halfway through the last leg, but we finished with moments to spare.
(Photo courtesy of Hawk Caldwell)