Out racing the Meatball today for the Rum Runners Regatta. The event is a fun distance race inspired by the escapades of Capt. Bill McCoy and his efforts to sell alcohol during Prohibition. Light, fluky condtions prevailed for most of the race, and the progress we made over a great start and large initial lead were slowly eroded by the halfway point. We maintained a great second half, and finished third in fleet. A fun day on the water, and an enjoyable challenge to do some random course racing instead of the usual windward/leewards I usually do on the boat.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Friday, July 26, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Took a quick lap off SMSA this evening after looking at a boat with a friend (No luck, the boat wasn't worth further consideration). Ran into some friends who are getting ready to launch their boat after a long time on shore, and had a nice paddle out to Drum Point in the cool temps. Got some surfing action going on boat wakes on the return. Nice to be out there and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
After getting rained out for smallboat racing I took a quick sunset paddle at Leonardtown Wharf. Nice to get out on the water and enjoy the cool temps, and I got to take a peek at an old racing sailboat that's lingering on a lift on Breton Bay.
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Drifting along in the Meatball
Dewey was out of town so I took the meatball out for the Out 'n' Back fun race. After a small rainstorm blew through extremely light conditions prevailed. We got a tow out to the course, and hung close to the line to make the start. I ended up having to port tack the whole fleet, but given the light conditions I was able to make it work without issue. We spent the next couple hours looking for the breeze whenever we could find it. We made it about halfway to the bridge, aided greatly by putting a spinnaker up on a reach once we made it above 6A. Once Vlad rounded the bridge, winning the "out" honors, we headed back. A fun, relaxing day on the water and a nice sail.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
A short paddle off SMSA today for a quick workout and some water time before an evening meeting. A short lap out to SMSA T and back. Pretty hot and humid but nice nonetheless, and I spotted a J/35 that's new to the area.
Monday, July 22, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Tonight's paddle group
Despite the rain when I was loading up my car, the forecast looked promising and I decided to persist and drive to the boat ramp. Just as predicted, the rain let up about 5 minutes after I arrived, and we were able to enjoy perfect, glassy conditions on Mill Cove Creek. We paddled back to the beaver dam again on account of the high tide allowing us to do so. A pleasant and relaxing Monday night paddle, and a great way to unwind after Screwpile.
Friday, July 19, 2024 to Sunday, July 21, 2024
Number of days:
3 days
Screwpile 2024 PHRF 3 Champions
Just Floating Around
Red, White, & Blue at the start of Race #6
Screwpile 2024! What a fantastic weekend on the water!
Headed out on Friday into surprisingly big and choppy conditions that made it difficult to reach the start line. We put up the #3 and pounded through it, ready for a great day of racing. Conditions fell off as we got ready to start, and dipped below the range of reasonable power for the small jib right at the start of the first race. We quickly changed down to our #1 and got going. Strange, shifty conditions prevailed for the upwind leg, but we fought through it and gained some ground. Second boat around the weather mark, and a clean set to set us up for a good downwind leg. A couple competitors thought they made a mistake and circled back early, but we kept going and sailed well to a second place finish. RC attempted to start a second race, but the wind fell apart after the first leg and they abandoned after a line of boats got parked at the leeward mark.
Saturday proved to be the big racing day as predicted. RC ran 3 races in consistent 12-14+ and wave state to match. We pushed the boat hard with a #3 up, and the whole crew was razor sharp all day, even with a couple issues at the starting line and having to protest a competitor. We managed a second and two thirds for the day, placing us at the bottom of a 3-way tie for first.
Sunday was hot, sunny, and flat calm, and we began our day with a raft-up and swim call with many of our competitors as we waited for the breeze to fill in. Thankfully it did after a couple hours, and we were able to get one race in with great, consistent breeze. It was a real nail-biter, but everyone did everything they could and we ran a totally clean, fast race, finishing first in fleet and making our needed victory by 25 seconds.
In the end, we took home a class win and the Northern Bay Championship for PHRF 3. The racing in our class was super sharp and competitive all weekend, which made it feel that much better to take home the victory. The crew really gave it their all, and together we put in some of the most consistently excellent sailing we've ever done on the boat. It's great to see us succeed with such a young program, and I couldn't be more proud of all the work everyone has put in. I'm excited to see what's in store for us ahead.
All photos are property of their respective owners. Credit to Steven Birchfield, Will Keyworth, and Mark Jump.
Thursday, July 18, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Out racing the meatball on a Thursday night. Better than forecasted conditions, blowing about 8-11. A very clean first race, and though I was working through some rig tension issues we managed a second place. Got the rig tightened up and went for the second race, performing well until James & I fumbled a gybe, wrapped the spin around the forestay, and laid the boat over just before the finish. At the RC"s recommendation, I let the current drift the boat across the line and still managed to beat one boat. Got her back upright, got her mostly re-situated, and dove right back in for the third race. Started about a minute late and clawed back some time on the upwind. James untangled and re-rigged the spinnaker on the first downwind, and we flew it on the second. A bit of a challenging day on the water but still a fun time. I keep having moments of great success with the boat and moments of calamity, working on getting the good parts more repeatable.
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
A tidy boat end start
Moderately heavy conditions and the threat of rain for the last Wednesday night of the series. RC set us up for a quick two-lap windward/leeward. Conditions held for the first lap, but started to fall off during the second, costing us time on the second upwind leg. I trimmed headsails for the first time in a while. A pretty good race overall and a nice warmup for Screwpile.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
A cousin who was in town reached out and wanted to go sailing on my boat, so we set up a time this evening. The weather was very hot and conditions were heavy, with occasional gusts into the low 20s. I decided we should go anyway, and we ended up having a great sail. Given the gusts and a totally green sailor we tooled around under just the main. The boat still performed great, and in a couple puffs we got up on plane on a reach. Not bad for a 47 year old boat! Glad we were able to get out and catch up on a day I otherwise wouldn't have been likely to go sailing.