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.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Monday, July 11, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
A cool view from the boat ramp
Today's route
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
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
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
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
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
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.
Thursday, June 30, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
The fleet at the start of the race
A pretty sunset
Helped out with smallboat RC this evening. Ideal conditions and a good number of boats on the line made for great racing to watch. We had to reset the course right before starting due to a big wind shift, but we got 3 races in and made sure everyone had a great time.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
The beginning of a long run
Having a great time at the helm
The crew doing our best on the downwind leg
Some great, action-packed racing this evening. We had a very full boat again, and the wind was blowing pretty well at the start of the race. RC put 8 boats over the line at the same time (combined no spin and PHRF C), making for a pretty tight start. We immediately tacked out of traffic and had a great upwind leg, ending with a mark rounding while 3 fighter jets flew about 100ft overhead. Next up we had a long spinnaker run under the mylar kite. A bit of chaos ensued as we crossed the entire fleet at the Solomons bridge, but we got to clear air and managed another strong beating leg, followed by a deep reach to the finish. We managed a bullet for the first Wednesday in quite a while. Even with a few newbies I feel like the crew is starting to gel well, and we’re able to correct mistakes quickly. This one was pretty stressful in a couple of places but overall a blast!
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Met up with a friend from the Barba Roja crew to do the first social paddle of the season at the Leonardtown Wharf, but when we got there they had moved the start date to next Tuesday. We went paddling anyway, and had a nice ride up McIntosh Run. It was near low tide so we had to dodge some sticks and shallow water, but otherwise conditions were perfect and we had a great time.
Sunday, June 26, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
The crew looking serious
The Barba Roja on the course
SMSA Summer Invitational. We had a small crew and decided to go non-spin to create a fleet for the other boat that was wanting to do so. Got a clean start, a nice first beating leg, and a great downwind leg going wing-on-wing. The wind and waves built throughout the race, and we had a tough beating leg through the chop and across the channel in the Bay. Our competition retired (didn't want to push a borrowed boat too hard), and we had a lively reaching leg back to the finish. We crossed the line enjoying a fried chicken lunch, much to the dismay of the race committee.
(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield & Kristen Gyorgy)