Century Club: Jonathan Nepini

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Friday, July 15, 2022 to Sunday, July 17, 2022
Number of days:
3 days
30th Running of Screwpile
  • Duking it out with Jahazi
  • Doing my thing at the helm
  • Relaxing after the finish Sunday

This weekend I participated in the 30th running of the Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge. After poor perfromance on windward/leeward courses last year, we participated in the CRCA fleet, running longer distance races around mid-Bay government marks. 

We didn't end up getting to race Friday due to a lack of wind, but we got some sailing in while waiting on postponement in an effort to convince RC to start a race. No luck.

Conditions started out very light Saturday morning, but filled in and allowed a delayed start. In the meantime, several of the crew swam off the back of the boat and cooled off. The race started light, but wind steadily built throughout the day and we ended up with ideal racing conditions. We pushed a Bavaria 38 off the line at the start, and we had some friendly competition with them throughout the day, ultimately catching them on corrected time. We sailed a great, clean race, and managed a 4th place finish.

Conditions started light Sunday morning as well. We set up for a spinnaker reach at the start, but the wind shifted, and a strong current very nearly pushed me into the RC boat. After the hectic start, we carried our reaching kite at a very high angle, but still couldn't get high enough to reach our mark. We doused and ran two solid beating legs and two reaching legs. RC shortened course before our last mark, and we never got in a spinnaker run where we hoped to make up time. Great crew work from everyone on the boat, but we only managed a 6th place today.

All in all a solid weekend of racing. The whole crew worked hard and we sailed fast, clean races. I hope to see our place improve as we continue to tighten up details in our crew work and upgrade sails & equipment on the boat.

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield)

Thursday, July 14, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Boat Prep

Mostly a boat work day today, I scrubbed the Barba Roja from stem to stern to get it looking great for Screwpile, and unloaded a ton of unnecessary junk from the boat. Took a quick trip across the harbor to empty the holding tank & got to see a nice sunset.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Screwpile Practice Day
  • Sailing into the sunset

Rigged the boat up with all the sails we plan to use for Screwpile this weekend so the crew could practice with them. A nice course tonight, taking us through several points of sail. Finished the race on a screaming, knife-edge reach with a spinnaker and genoa, and I had a real workout keeping the boat from rounding up. A good practice session & tune up for the weekend festivities. 

Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Pre-Thunderstorm Lap
  • Today's route

Planned on attending a full moon paddle at Leonardtown Wharf but it was cancelled due to coming weather. A couple friends and I decided to take a lap anyway, and we got about a mile in before lightning and thunder in the distance convinced us to come in.

Monday, July 11, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Monday Workout Paddle
  • A cool view from the boat ramp
  • Today's route

Quck after work paddle off Clarke's Landing. Went for a fast first leg up the back of the creek, and explored some very shallow wetlands. Took a more relaxed approach on the way back, and paddled out in the river a bit to look at some of the big houses on the riverside. 

Sunday, July 10, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Kayaking with a friend
  • Today's route

Went kayaking with an old friend who recently moved back to the area. A pretty relaxed trip, we mostly chatted and caught up, but we did get to explore a couple interesting coves. The cool weather persisted from yesterday, and it was nice to get back outside after all the rain.

Thursday, July 7, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Breezy Thursday RC
  • Race #3 Start

Helped out with RC again this week since Steve was out of town. Set up a nice course, but received some feedback that it was too long. Shortened course after the first race, and the wind picked up, making for a very quick second race. Despite no weather on the radar, storm clouds started moving in during the second race and so we decided on a single W/L lap for the last race. A nice evening on the water and some nice racing for the competitiors. 

Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Light Wednesday
  • The crew spinnaker reaching
  • Sailing into the sunset
  • Spinnaker run at the finish

Full crew this week, with 9+ on the boat. Relatively light conditions meant we could've done without some of the crew weight, but we still managed decent performance. We had a slightly late start, followed by a clean upwind leg. We had an hourglass in our spinnaker on the next leg, but we got it resolved and still performed decently. We had some close action on the last leg, but both boats in our fleet beat us in the end. Lots of crew weight and a dirty bottom hurt our performance, but a protest between the other two boats should allow us to net a second place finish.

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield & Chris Staley)

Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
McIntosh Run Social Paddle
  • Today's route

I got the date/time right and participated in the Tuesday social paddle at the Wharf this week. A small crowd (just the event leader, a friend, and I) and an unusually high tide from the afternoon thunderstorms meant we were able to paddle all the way to the winery at the top of McIntosh Run. I saw lots of birds and wildlife, and had a great, relaxing evening.

Sunday, July 3, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Attempted Beach Paddle
  • Today's route

Tried to go for a paddle at the beach with a couple friends, but fairly high winds and decent chop meant that my two inexperienced friends wanted to stop when I otherwise still would've gone out. Not much of a paddle, but I got off the dock so it counts. Afterwards we had a nice afternoon at the beach.

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