Steve signed up for RC today so he left me in charge of running the Barba Roja in tonight's fun race. The race format is a sprint to a pre-determined mark, and once the first boat rounds everyone turns around and races back to the finish, making for an "out" winner and a "back" winner. No classes, a single start for the fleet. Since I knew there was no chance of us going toe-to-toe with a pair of Melges 32's and a custom ocean racing yacht, I opted to go for "back" honors. We set a spinnaker for a fashionably late downwind start, and planned an early douse to give us time to head back as soon as possible. No luck on "back" honors, but the crew worked well together, we sailed the boat fast, and our RC got some epic photos of the 17-boat fleet sailing into the sunset and the Solomons bridge under spinnakers. A great fun race and a nice change of pace to break up the season.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Great turnout for today's social paddle. I took a little swim beforehand to cool off, and had a short but relaxing trip a little ways up McIntosh Run and back
Today's route
Just a quick lap today, a thunderstorm brewed up right after I left the dock. Got out to the mouth of the harbor and got to take a look at an old Naval Academy yawl project that's currently for sale. Not having great luck lately with my paddling weather.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.