Even on vacation I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a sail, so we took an invite to sail on Little Wing, a Pearson 365 ketch sailed by a friend of a friend out of Lewes, Delaware. The forecast was quite heavy & choppy, with gusts into the mid-20s. After an enthusiastic launch off the dock, we motored out of the inlet and to the Bay. Given the heavy conditions, we sailed with a reefed main and a partially furled headsail. The boat handled the chop well, and we reached a ways across and back. Unfortunately my brother and I both got a little seasick (big chop + a dodger that blocks forward view = not good), but still lovely to spend a couple hours on a totally different kind of boat from my usual lightweight racing fare and to enjoy a new sailing venue.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
The fleet in the breeze & chop
Dion pulled the plug on today's racing on account of big conditions and potential for storms, so James and I hopped on Neptune's Wager instead. We got in the mix at the start better than prior races, but were still a little late. We sailed a reasonable upwind leg, and turned down to head on a long-ish downwind. I talked Jay into setting a spin, but we had used up most of the leg by the time it was up. Unfortunately I was the only person on the boat who understood the whole spin process, and trying to explain it to everyone live as it was happening went about as well as one might expect... As we reached the mark we got into a rights situation with Cheetah and executed a quick, if messy, douse, and headed up to the bridge. One more upwind home and we finished the race. Challenging conditions and subpar performance on our part, but it made for a fantastic learning experience for everyone involved and got us to have a great conversation about the spinnaker process afterwards. Always good to learn something out on the water, even if it is the hard way.
Today's route
Breezy conditions today off Forest Landing for a quick after-work paddle. I headed out to the marinas and a couple of the shorter coves, and fought a bit of chop making my way out of the creek. I had a faster, more pleasant ride back.
Today's route
Wicked conditions off Clarke's Landing for a quick paddle before an evening meeting. I hugged the shoreline and fought my way upwind, anticipating a speedy ride home, but naturally the breeze backed off as I made my turn and my ride back was a bit slower than intended. Still a fun paddle and a great workout.
Hanging out on the rail
Oiut on Neptune's Wager again today in honor of Sam's late mother. We headed out to the Bay in heavy conditions for a quick run out to Hooper's Island Light and back. The way out was a nice pleasant deep reach with following seas and borderline surfing conditions. The way back was a bit tougher, and we settled on a slightly wider close reaching course to keep the boat and its occupants more comfortable. Another great day on the water made for an ideal sailing weekend.
The crew working on our tans for summer
SMSA Frost-Goode Race up the river on Neptune's Wager. We started the morning diving the boat for the first time this season and getting her cleaned up and ready to go. Hot weather and plenty of breeze prevailed, allowing for reaching conditions for much of the race. We spent lots of time adjusting trim and keeping the boat happy in the gusty conditions, and were rewarded with a third place finish. A fantastic day on the water, followed by a nice picnic lunch and cool off in the Spring Cove pool.
Post-sunset at Clarke's Landing
Today's route
For all my paddling off Clarke's Landing, opportunities to cross the river are fairly rare, so I took advantage of the light breezes and little boat traffic this evening for a hop across to Calvert County. I enjoyed a pleasant downwind run to Tongue Cove, and did some poking around of places I hadn't explored since middle school. I enjoyed calm conditions and a great sunset on the way back. A nice way to relax and ease into the weekend after a busy week
Drifting under spinnaker
Sailing on Neptune's Wager this evening for a big-time drifter. Storms were threatening as we were looking at leaving, so we got out pretty late. I filled mast and helped Chris with bow work as needed. We were late to the start on account of an unforced error unfurling the jib, but we quickly gybed around the pin and set a spinnaker for the downwind leg. We worked to sail angles and keep boatspeed up, and made it to the mark just a bit behind the fleet. Unfortunately we had some rigging issues once we took the spinnaker down, had to put in an extra tack, and generally fumbled the rounding. We did finally make it around, and were rewarded on the upwind with a 10-minute burst of breeze that the rest of the fleet didn't get to take advantage of. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough in the end, and we were the last boat across the line and missed the time limit by 9 seconds.
Not our best performance on the water, but a good learning day with some memorable takeaways for how to do better in the future.
Today's route
A quick after-work paddle to get out and get moving. Spitting rain and high humidity at the start made for less than ideal conditions, but I got out there and had a nice paddle anyway. I made a speedy lap out to Lover's Point and back. Tried intentionally pushing the pace on this one, and was able to get a few extra tenths out, but the board really doesn't like to let me have much more than 3.5mph. I felt much better for having gone and gotten some fresh air out on the water despite the dreary weather.
Today's route
Snuck out for a paddle in between Mother's Day plans. A gorgeous, summer-like afternoon on the water. I did a fast 7 mile paddle up to the top of St. John's Creek and back. I was sad to see a derelict Hobie 33 up towards the top of the creek has now sank, never to be saved. Lots of beautiful scenery, and today really felt like summer for the first time this year. Glad I was able to make it out and enjoy it.