Century Club: Jonathan Nepini

A quick evening paddle out to Drum Point and back. Really pleasant conditions, but tons and tons of jellyfish out on the water - so many they clumped together in places. Glad I'm not likely to fall in! A nice relaxing evening paddle to take the edge off a bit of a rough start to the week after a busy weekend.

The big day - sailing my 5th Governor's Cup, and third on Dangerous. We finally got what we've been wishing for years, a heavy air downwind race. After jockeying at the start, we began under spinnaker with breeze in the high teens, sailing just under Diablo. They kept us in their bad air for a while, before we finally swung above them to clear air. We pressed south at incredible speed, though we weren't quite able to hold a rhumb line angle. About at the nuclear plant we doused the spinnaker and climbed back up under the #3 to make a second spin run. Once we reached the Eastern Shore we popped a kite for a second time and rocketed down the Bay, frequently surfing well into the double digits and making it all the way to the target before dark. The wind steadily increased as we made our way south, and at 25kts and increasing waves and challenging conditions, we finally doused the spinnaker and continued with a jib and a reefed main. I took my second turn on the helm around this time, and drove the boat through increasing waves, peaking at some gnarly 10 footers near Point Lookout. I had the helm for a new speed record of 15.8kts surfing down a particularly violent wave, besting my all-time boat speed record and setting a new one for team Dangerous. Things calmed as we headed into the Potomac, and I returned the helm to our owner as we got ready to round into the St. Mary's. We finished the race in comparatively light conditions, changing down to the #1 and only putting in one pair of tacks to make the finish. We crossed the line at 12:43am, for a second in PHRF B/C.

This race was some of the finest, hardest sailing I've ever participated in, and I applaud every single member of our crew for working hard the whole race. No breaks, no complaining, just 9 hours of fantastic, intense sailing. I suspect it'll be a while before I see another Gov Cup like that one!

Thanks SpinSheet photographers for the great photo by Thomas Point!

Day 100! The earliest I've ever made it. Out today for a doublehanded sail on an Xp33 owned by a gentleman who found my name through the Crew Finder. Pleasant, if not especially breezy conditions as we headed out of the harbor gave way to breezy conditions in the Bay. We made our way across the Bay, only for the breeze to totally die and leave us drifting for an hour. Thankfully it finally filled back in and we sailed back across, up to Cove Point, and back home. Some language barriers and boat maintenace issues made for a bit of a challenge, but I mostly managed to make it happen. Interesting to spend some time on a modern hull shape, much more ergonomic than the classic plastic I tend to spend my days on.

Out tonight in beautiful conditions for the SMSA out 'n' back race. We spent some time figuring out a rig tuning issue, then set off for the race. Conditions were a little sporty for the #1, but we nailed the line and popped a spinnaker for the run to the bridge. We managed a strong showing, and were second behind One Trick Pony on the "out" leg. We finished somewhere mid-pack on the "back" leg given how far down the course we went. An amusing, if short race to break up the season after a hard weekend at Pax Pursuit.