Century Club: Erin McNamara

This was my first time doing bow on a J/22 and I quickly learned there is a bit less real estate up there than on the J/24. We had fun, sporting conditions and the wind shifted left all day. Mikey, Brad Sainsbury, and my Dad were great teammates and we had a lot of fun and duked it out to come in on top of the podium. The team of campers (with a few responsible adults) on Artemis II also had a great day and won the non-spin division. The kids were psyched to get the trophy! Fundraising efforts to help support the DSC were also pretty great. This regatta is definitely a fave since the DSC holds a special place in my heart.

This was one of my favorite vacations EVER! There is a beauty in the paradox of cruising, moving at your own pace while also having a mission each day and being governed by the wind. Spending a whole week uninterrupted with the love of my life while exploring the wonderful Chesapeake Bay with all of its nooks and crannies to sail and anchor in was so fun and made my soul sing, literally and figuratively.

Some highlights:

• Breakfast in Bodkin Creek looking out to the vast expanse of the Chesapeake
• Mikey catching a striper while having a jam session underway
• An awesome charcuterie board with celebratory champagne that our neighbors gave us for our wedding
• Kayaking from the anchorage to shore to go eat at The Granary in the Sassafras River
• Going through the C&D Canal at sunset and anchoring at night in the Delaware Bay with so many navigation lights that could be seen
• Heading back through the canal and over to Middle River and just having an exciting and windy and wavy day
• Starting the trek to St. Michael's but then having the wind die just south of the Bay Bridge, so making the decision to stay in Annapolis for the night and getting to go under the Eastport drawbridge to get to our slip for the night
• Sailing up to Round Bay, beam/broad reach conditions each way, lovely green scenery and beautiful houses that actually blend into the shore along the way
• Sailing into the Magothy River and ending up at The Point where we ended up getting a free slip for the night so we could enjoy happy hour and live music and crash on the boat for the evening. We chatted with Tanya, a fellow Tartan 10 owner, who Mike knew from back in the day.
• A sporty ride up from the Magothy River and home to Baltimore since the remnants of Hurricane Ian were on their way for the weekend.

Cruised around the harbor on Artemis II to test the autohelm in preparation for our honeymoon sailing trip. A new DSC member Kirwin was at the dock with his daughters, and he decided to join us for our sunset cruise. Nova came along too!