Went to the club to make sure we have all the boards and flags for our (and MYC's) PSA to MYC Race on Oct 4th. Turns out we don't have any Patapsco River CBYRA Marks, so a race to the Big Box store for spray paint and plywood. Rowed out to RAINBOW for brunch. One of those kinds of days you only see in Camden or Boulder, but here I was in Anne Arundel County. Go fig.
Century Club: Tim Ford
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Sure gets dark early these days, but at least the sunsets are worth it. We did OK, coulda done a lot better. Bit more wind than our sweet spot but still a nice night out.
Saturday, September 27, 2025 to Sunday, September 28, 2025
Number of days:
2 days
Alberg 30s at their starting time
Enough breeze to race!
rain ended, amazing sunrise
hard to leave but coffee beckons
We did the Magothy Mayhem and put in a strong effort to validate the name of the race. It's a pursuit race and we were doing very, very well by the 2nd mark.
Only, we rounded it to port and the SI said it must be left to starboard.
Another competitor was nice enough to hail us and let us know we'd screwed up...at that point we were not sure until we pulled up the SI on a cell phone and, sure 'nuff, it said round the mark to starboard!
At that point we were many hundreds of yards downwind, with the kite up and so we did a quick douse, sorted out the spaghetti on the bow, put the genoa back up and sailed back to round the mark correctly.
So, we didn't win and you know what? That was fine. In my opinion, it was even better. It made for a lot of laughs at the party (graciously hosted by PSA) and let other deserving folks take home some prizes and really, REALLY enjoy the day.
A fun race and with the kind of vibes that should be a much larger part of racing!
Spent the night in Hotel RAINBOW and stayed remarkably dry despite periods of intense rain. Those repairs earlier this season paid off! Gorgeous morning, too.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Man was it light. We got lucky and noticed a bit of breeze just west of Dobbins. We made it up there, ghosting along until we got into the zephyr and tacked on a layline to the first Mark, "A."
Luckily the RC decided: 1st - not to require 2X around the course and then: 2nd - the first Mark "A" is now the finish.
It took us an hour to make the first mark and we were pretty much alone, took the gun, dropped sails and motored home. It was a pretty night.
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
I don't think I've ever seen the inner harbor as busy as this particular Tuesday evening. And I have spent an enormous amount of time on the water upstream from Fort Howard/Rock Creek (since I was a 6 year oild kid, including keeping a keelboat in two different locations upstream from Lazaretto Point).
Car carriers, tugs and barges, fueling up a SeaLift ship ready to depart. Helicopters in and out. Bulk ore carriers geting unloaded. I guess it's a great indicator of a vibrant Baltimore Harbor economy and we should be glad to see all this activity.
But it sure as hell puts a different kind of slant on sailboat racing. But, less we all forget, we are just out there for sh*ts and giggles...these folks are trying to earn a living.
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Was able to reload and reattach a now working 3.5 HP outboard without capsizing the dinghy and going swimming. Spent some time below, repairing some wiring and taking refuge from the squalls moving through, associated with the coastal storm that's playing hardball with some mid-Atlantic barrier islands. While I was on board, a puff to 36 kn went thru (as measured at the GIYS Wx station).
It was plain old nasty when the rain went through, followed by barely any breeze at all in the dry slots. These showers feel more like tropical storm/hurricane bands than the usual rainstorm. There's not much that's more pleasant than taking a nap below for an hour or so when the boat is sailing around on her mooring and the rig hums in the big gusts.
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
well-secured dink for motor transfer! (lesson learned)
Sucessfully got the 3.5 HP off the boat, into a dink, and on to a floating dock without anyone going swimming. Next step is to get the 6 HP back on board. Should be fun.
Got to take a few casts from a kayak. It had been a while since I last paddled and I appreciated the effortless way a kayak moves through the water as opposed to my decrepit dinghy. Unfortunately, the tide was ebbing and fish in the creek don't bite on an out-going tide.
Got started on re-wiring the steaming light wires, as I had stupidly hit them with the multitool when I was replacing some soft wood up forward. There's always something.
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
A bit more breeze than we wanted, so taking a 5th was OK. Getting the boat sorted to leave the dock was interesting though, with no less than four helicopters in & out, including a Sikorsky UH-60 fueling and then doing touch and goes 50 - 80 yards away. Watching JESTER leave the marina made folks a bit nervous.
A pleasant night and sailing back nex to the LADY MD was nice, too.
Monday, September 1, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Alright, it's 100% my fault I'm sure, but now I have yet another non-functional O/B. I think I may have stored the 3.5 HP incorrectly, common to 4-stroke stupidity, as it was stowed below and now that I think about it, it was most likely "upside down" in terms of keeping the cylinder free of sump oil.
Still a nice day with a lot of boats, a swim and snacks on the Cal-25.
But we did not sail due to the O/B being uncooperative.
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
One of those nights when nothing seemed to go right.
There's a back-story to the evening. The week before, there was an episode whereby commercial shipping felt burdened by BCYA racers. Probably rightfully so. And, BCYA apparently got a polite note from the USCG saying they'd better get their stuff together and let racers know this kind of thing can't continue. Then BCYA sent out a note to racers saying: stay away from big heavy metal vessels. Fair enough.
So then why, last night, did they send us up to Mark "L" a few hundred yards from a RORO departing the Shoreline facility? TWICE!
Thankfully, the huge Gimaldi Line ro-ro that was supposed to depart at 1900 hrs didn't leave until 1955 hrs. So we were able to round and finish away from the facility and its close proximity to the Ferry Bar Channel.
There's plenty of room (and water) for BCYA to set a course that doesn't interfere with merchant vessels on the NE side of the Fort McHenry Channel. BCYA's insistence on only running strictly W/L races (laudable in roomier venues) will continue to put racers in close proximity to ships in a busy commercial harbor.