Lots of chances of thunderstorms lately, but I thought I had a clean weather window for a paddle. I planned a route to mitigate risk, but still had a storm start to pop up 15 minutes in. I high-tailed it back to the ramp, and ultimately the storm didn't end up materializing until much later in the evening anyway. Better safe than sorry.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Monday, June 30, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Out for another sweltering paddle this evening off Clarke's Landing. I headed to the end of the southernmost cove, then up to visit a house I'm particularly fond of. The repair on my board held well, and I enjoyed a great ride at sunset.
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
After a busy day volunteering I decided to sneak in a quick paddle off SMSA. The skies threatened a bit of a chance of thunderstorms, so I used a route that let me stay close to the launch. No rain ever materialized thankfully, and my paddle turned out to be a great way to cap off a lovely weekend.
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Out on Dangerous this evening for a fun sail with friends. We headed out towards the Bay, and enjoyed gorgeous conditions and a beautiful sunset. We intended to make it up to Cove Point, but didn't quite do so on account of one of our guests getting seasick. I got to catch the tail end of a band I like at the Tiki Bar afterwards, which made for a great finish to a Saturday that would be awfully hard to complain about.
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Out for a brief paddle off Forest Landing today in hot, still conditions. As a result of it being so still & quiet, I noticed a small pinhole leak in my board. Nothing that can't be fixed, but I may ponder plans for a replacement given this one is getting up in age and is very well used.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Spinnaker reaching in the sunset
Today's racing was delayed by a thunderstorm headed right down the Patuxent that threatened the whole fleet as we were getting ready to get off the dock. We packed back up and held, and other than some gusty winds the storm never made it to Solomons. We got off the dock about an hour late, and headed out for a short race in light air. We sailed a nearly flawless upwind leg, and found ourselves lacking in breeze at the top mark. We headed back down, and couldn't quite hold off Woo Hoo, but managed a very close third. Great to get out and race when we got so close to cancelling.
Photo by Faith Chambers
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
I waited until very late this evening for a paddle on account of the unbearable heat, and headed off Clarke's Landing at sunset. I paddled out on the river and went north, enjoying the last notes of the orange sunset and the lights on houses. It was nearly dark as I made my way back, and I paddled by the light of the moon and the river marks on my way back. Going at night was definitely preferable given the extreme heat.
Monday, June 23, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Tonight's paddle group
The heat wave really cranked up today, but we still went out for a Monday night paddle. We listlessly drifted around in the heat, and occasionally enjoyed a bit of breeze to slighlty cool things off. We got a great view of an egret flying around the marsh, and other enjoyable scenery. Still worth going out despite the oppressive heat.
Sunday, June 22, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
The skipper & I
Reaching at the start
Back on the boat for another round this morning, this time with our esteemed owner onboard. We started the race in light spinnaker reaching conditions, and headed towards G77. We worked to keep the boat moving and in clean air, and ultimately doused the spinnaker as we reached the upwind mark. The breeze filled in, and we reached back town to the finish. Not the most exciting race, but we did well - 4th of 13 boats in the spinnaker fleet. The program is coming back together quickly, and I'm excited to see where we go from here.
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Number of days:
2 days
A small crew getting it done
On the downwind leg before things got hectic
I was given the task of taking Dangerous on her first real trial after launch - running her in the Smith Point race. We sailed with a crew of three, so we all stayed busy all day. We started the race in light downwind conditions, and the breeze quickly became patchy, where it existed at all. We drifted for a bit and pressed as much as possible, ultimately dousing the spinnaker when the wind filled. After a failed attempt to cross Rakali's bow on port, we led them and Pursuit around the first mark, and held them off for the first half hour south. As conditions slowly built and we rounded the target on the channel side, I chose to play to the boat's strengths and stay out of the waves building in the center of the Bay. I went back in and favored the western shore for the remainder of the upwind leg, until I could lay the turning mark.
By the time we rounded the mark breeze had built into the mid-teens, and continued to build on the downwind leg. I favoted the east side of the channel on the way back up, and we managed a pretty slick re-rigging solution to fix a spinsheet problem. Conditions built until the time came for a nerve-wracking gybe in 17kts of breeze and plenty of wave state. James and Randy pulled it off flawlessly, and we set off on a fire-breathing spinnaker reach, surfing the boat down waves and not seeing less than 8kts for an hour and a half. We finished the race on a tight reach in much less breeze, and ultimately managed to pull off a second place finish against some serious competition. Not bad for my first effort callling the shots on the Bay!
Counted as two days as permitted by Summer Sailstice rules