Headed out today for a lunchtime lap off Northside Park before hitting the beach. I launched at their pier and enjoyed the surrounding wetlands and natural scenery before heading north to paddle the canals of the adjoining neighborhood. It's finally getting warm again which has been a welcome change from the cool, damp temperatures I've gotten so far on this trip.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Out for a paddle today on the first day of my vacation. It was pretty cool & cloudy, so instead of heading to the beach I launched off the marina in Ocean Pines to see a part of the Bay I had never seen before. I followed the shoreline out to the route 90 bridge, and enjoyed seeing the wide variety of nice homes. I ran the length of the bridge out to the Isle of Wight, and paddled along to the fishing pier. I largely retraced my steps on the way back. Despite the cloudy conditions it was an enjoyable paddle and cool to check out a different spot from my usual fare.
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Heading back uphill in the best breeze of the race
A tight start (that's us in the back)
I'll be out of town next week and Dangerous goes back in the following, so this was my last race on Red Baron for a while. We started the race in moderate conditions with the #3, aiming to make conservative calls with a large, pretty green crew. So much for the conservative calls at the start, as a favored boat end and a number of jostling starters resulted in me sticking the boat in the back of a large pileup, with mere feet to spare between competitors. Our mast man helped in making very timely calls, and we were able to start clean with no contact. Several boats were over early, but RC handled the flags incorrectly so they were able to get away with doing so on this one.
We sailed a solid, if slightly slow upwind leg, and executed a nice spin set. We doused and headed upwind again, but found the #3 to be a little soft for the conditions and couldn't build speed like I wanted to. We managed another clean spin set, and ended in 6th of 8. Not our best effort, but not awful given the circumstances. Of course there are no excuses in sailing, but I suspect we may have gained a couple places had everyone started fairly...
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Hazy sunset
Brought in as a consultant for a sunset sail on Neptune's Wager. We headed out towards the Bay in light winds, and enjoyed fantastic views, good company, and a lovely sunset. The breeze fell off as the evening wore on, but we sat out for a while enjoying the lovely weather and scenery.
Monday, June 2, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Tonight's paddle group
After much ado I convinced the Monday night crew to take advantage of the light conditions and head out to the Solomons Bridge. We took a leisurely ride out and enjoyed great panoramic views. A bit of breeze kicked up for the ride home, but nothing to cause any real concern. A great day for a relaxing evening paddle with some folks I hadn't seen in quite a while.
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's Red Baron crew
Out for a practice sail on Red Baron to get some details back together prior to the next Wednesday night race. Pleasant but gusty conditions made for great weather to test the newly repaired #3, and we set off upwind to the bridge to put the boat through her paces. It took me about 10 minutes to get my feel for the helm back as I hadn't driven the boat in nearly a month. We rounded the bridge and set off on a nice pleasant broad reach to have some lunch on the way back down the river. The boat became overpowered a couple times, and I had to interrupt my sandwich eating to keep her on a steady course. We continued sailing downwind out into the Bay, and then put in a couple upwind tacks to head home. A beautiful day on the water with some good opportunities to get tuned up and ready to skipper the boat again.
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Michael and I decided to take a paddle off SMSA before some potential afternoon weather. We headed all the way up St. John's Creek and back in gusty conditions, and tucked up Back Creek to Spring Cove on the way back. It was a bit cool & blustery, but sunny and not otherwise unpleasant, and we got a great workout in.
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Michael came down for the weekend, and he, Dewey, and I took a lap off Clarke's Landing. Conditions were calm, so we decided to head for the bridge, and paddled out under the center span. We followed the shore back up, and ended up checking out Little Kingston Creek on the way back. A great, relaxing paddle for a start to our long weekend.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Misty, choppy conditions on the course
I headed to Zanheiser's with the intention of helping the Neptune's Wager crew out with race committee, and ran into the Whirlaway crew debating whether they should sail given a very light crew. I hate seeing a boat skip a race, and I had always wondered how the old Frers sails, so I hopped onboard with the. We sailed nonspin with a crew of four, and started in moderately choppy conditions at the top end of the #1's range. We stayed in the breeze and managed to round the top mark first, and set off on a deep reach to the second. Misty rain made it difficult to find the mark, but ultimately we did and stayed in the mix. The breeze lightened as the race went on, and left us with a bit of a slow finish. The race went very well overall, and though our 5th place finish wasn't fantastic I enjoyed my time on the boat.
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Glass at the launch
A quick late evening/night paddle off Forest Landing after the rain to get out for a bit. Exceptionally glassy conditions after the storm moved through.