Century Club: Jonathan Nepini

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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Smooth Racing, Torn Spinnaker
  • The crew hard at work
  • Pre-start, a nice evening on the water

Today's race was a mix of highs and lows. Much more breeze than was forecasted made for ideal conditions. We worked together well as a crew today and pulled off some clean tacks and mark roundings. We carried a kite on two reaching-ish legs & I got rounded up on one of them due to a lack of communication between myself and one of our trimmers. Still need to work on my driving under spinnaker. Our kite got a small hole at some point, and blew out spectacularly on the hoist for the last leg. A costly race for our skipper...

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield & Polly Traynham)

Friday, April 15, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Friday Evening J/33 Cruise
  • Great sunset colors back at the dock
  • Yours truly taking a turn at the helm

Went out on a friend's J/33 for a relaxing evening cruise. The air was pretty heavy and we sailed the boat conservatively. I got to take a turn at the tiller and I must say I'm a little jealous - it really is a great boat. 

Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Wednesday Night A-1
  • Big crew
  • Drag race to the finish

First Wednesday night race of the season. We had a very full boat, including a few talented newcomers. Our rival boat was out and we had some close, action-packed racing. We just missed beating them boat for boat, but still won our class on corrected time. I drove and Steve called tactics and handled foredeck. Continuing to work on crew coordination & speeding up tacks and mark roundings.

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield & Polly Traynham)

Sunday, April 10, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Spring Invitational - Big Breeze
  • Running under a reefed main & genoa
  • Flying downwind to the finish

Right back out on the water on the heels of Saturday's distance race. Heavy air resulted in few competitors, and sticking around for a second race let us snag a win for the day. Steve helmed and I trimmed headsails, and we performed pretty well despite the conditions. Hoping for some warmer weather soon!

(Photos courtesy of Polly Traynham)

Saturday, April 9, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Little Choptank Race
  • Great Saturday on the bay
  • Floating along in almost no breeze

First distance race of the season. A true tour of all points of sail and wind conditions, from ghosting along in nearly no breeze to a brief 18kt blow. I was at the helm and got lots of practice stringing together wind lines in light air. A little chilly to be out all day, but still a great way to spend a Saturday. 

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield)

Sunday, April 3, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Heavy Air Frostbites #4
  • Just before reefing
  • Things got a little sporty at times

SMSA Frostbites #4, the final race in the series. Some strange shifts caught the fleet at the start, followed by heavy air conditions for the rest of the race. The crew managed to put in a reef while underway after my helm became unmanageable for the upwind leg, and we pulled off some of the best speeds I've seen from the boat recently. We had a couple of brand new sailors out for their first ever ride on a sailboat and they certainly got an adventure!

We ended up taking 7th overall for the series, which did come as a bit of a disappointment, but I'm hoping we can work together as a team better and improve as the season progresses.

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield & Polly Traynham)

Sunday, March 27, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Frosty but Fun
  • Good fleet today and a nice start
  • The Barba Roja passing under the Solomons Bridge

SMSA Frostbite Race #3. I was expecting conditions similar to last week, but thankfully the breeze was much more manageable today, though the temps were a little cold. We put a reef in and the boat was much better balanced than last week. Steve wanted to drive his own boat for a change so I helped with headsail trim and filled in where I was needed. We worked well together as a crew, and while our results didn't quite match our effort everyone had a great afternoon on the water.

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield & Chris Staley)

Sunday, March 20, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Tough Sunday
  • Powered up & working hard
  • A late start for us but a good fleet today

SMSA Frostbite Race #2. Tough race today, the big gusty winds caused us a ton of problems. Between us we lost a hat (recovered), sunglasses, a phone, a Yeti mug, and almost a crew member (saved by the lifelines thankfully). As per usual I was on the helm, and it was a fight the whole way. Our results were disappointing, but the whole crew worked really hard, and I learned a lot about managing challenges and driving in big air. Hoping for better conditions next week.

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield)

Friday, March 18, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Spinnaker Test Drive #2
  • Flying the MD flag for a change
  • Spinnaker reaching at sunset

Went out for another short cruise to test another spinnaker for the Barba Roja, this time a .5oz reaching kite. Managed a very speedy upwind leg on the way back from the Solomons bridge and got some more good helm practice. Looking forward to racing on Sunday.

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield)

Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
New Spinnaker Test Drive
  • Great day for a relaxing sail
  • The new Mylar spinnaker in action

Joined a few friends for a brief evening cruise to enjoy the weather and test a mylar spinnaker Steve picked up for the boat. We had a nice, if brief, run before the wind died off and we had to pack it up. Still need to practice driving under a kite since I haven't had much opportunity to do so yet.

(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield)

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