Crew today on Steve's Bucc for the Thursday Night races. Ideal moderate conditions for 4 W/L races. I had a great time on the boat and was able to get in the groove quickly, and we had two great upwind legs during two of the races. No spin hardware is set up on the boat so we suffered on the downwind legs, but still finished respectably. A fun evening on the water and nice to get to enjoy some small boat racing here and there.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Playing games with Making Waves on the downwind leg
Last race of SMSA Wednesday Night Series A. A crew of 3 for a light race. Timed the start poorly so we ended up well behind the fleet but made up good time on the upwind leg. A long, slow downwind leg as we got caught a little below the breeze. Tried to make it up on the last upwind leg but couldn't quite manage it. A 5th place overall. Still slowly chipping away at making the boat go well in varying conditions.
Monday, May 22, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Today's paddle took me out in the river around Myrtle Point and over to Little Kingston Creek. Saw some herons, a beautiful house up on the hill, and got to check out a spot I had never been before. I'm glad the weather is warming up and I'm able to get out paddling regularly.
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
A great early afternoon paddle off Leonardtown Wharf. Pretty breezy so I started upwind, but quickly ran out of water as I reached McIntosh Run. Turned around and took a nice long ride down Breton Bay and did some boat spotting aong the way. Tons and tons of rays like I've never seen before all over the place. Had a bit of a fight into the wind coming back up to the Wharf but overall a nice relaxing afternoon on the water.
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Parked near St. Leonard Creek.
Sailed on Dangerous for the SMSA Frost-Goode Race. Light conditions at the start, but we caught a good breeze and had a very nice upwind sail for the first hour. Nearly missed a mark and had to make a big move, costing us a bit of time. The wind slowly ground to a halt near the top mark and we drifted up to it over the course of an hour or more. As we rounded the mark at St. Leonard Creek the owner was concerned about running aground, so we briefly fired the motor (unknowingly forcing our retirement). Eventually the wind filled back in and we sailed another nice upwind leg back down to the finish. Overall a nice day on the water, but frustrating that our effort couldn't be counted as we would've been first in nonspin class.
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Dewey and I came down to the club intending to help out with RC, but ended up deciding to crew on an Interlake instead. Wind close to the teens made for a good bit of work, but we had fun putting the boat through her paces and did pretty well overall. We got 3 good W/L races in and had a nice evening on the water.
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Coming back uphill at the leeward mark
Breeze in the high teens and a crew of 3 on the boat. We put up a #3 and set out for a 3-lap W/L course. Kept the boat moving well but had some trouble getting her to go fast upwind, and our downwind legs suffered with the small jib. Continuing to work on cleaning up our crew work and figuring out how to make the boat go fast when it's blowing. Likely just need more people to balance upwind.
Monday, May 15, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
A nice long after-work paddle off Clarke's Landing. I set a fairly brisk pace and made it around most of one half of the creek. Lots of good bird watching and rays in the water.
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
The fleet, as seen between the lifelines
Out for another great Wednesday night race on Dangerous. Light-ish conditions and a crew of three made for ideal racing. Got a clean start and stayed ahead of the whole fleet for the first two legs. Had a protest-worthy close crossing with a C boat, skirted the shallows going to A, and did our best to keep the speed up on the downwind leg. Another nice beat to V, but couldn't keep the speed up on the last downwind leg and the Merit 25 got us on corrected time. Took second in non-spin. It feels really good to be figuring this boat out and seeing some results from our effort.
Monday, May 8, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
A nice sunset at the Wharf
Today's route
Finally got the right combo of availability and weather to drop the paddleboard in for the first time. Took a long, meandering lap around upper Breton Bay. Saw some osprey & other birds, and got a good workout in. Glad to finally be back out paddling, and now I can start really laying in the Century Club days.