I left something on the RC boat the night of the PSA Moonlight Race. Tyoical, it never fails. Problem was boarding a 40 foot Catalina from a kayak was dicey. But it worked. Of course, I had to do it twice because I left the "thing" lying in the cockpit. After that, a rain storm and some decent fishing along with the younger of the two F1 Progeny. Nice day!
Century Club: Tim Ford
Friday, July 7, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Mission 1
with 20 mins til storm
decent white perch
Saturday, July 1, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
refilling the floating dock with small sailboats
Thought I'd help get the grounds back in order but so many people showed up that there wasn't much to do. Moved two boats and then got to clean-up aisle 9 on the i550. Wasp patrol was one task and rainwater in the bilges was the second. Managed to chip more paint off the ever-dissembling hatch cover, so that goes back on the list. Added to the list are: replace a jib sheet that somehow got shortened, restore prod in-haul and out-haul, tighten and caulk many cleats and line control bits & bobs.
Sailboats are entropy machines.
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
red spot marks furthest penetration yet
white film everywhere
Weather was a little snotty but I still got in a 2-hour paddle. VERY high tide tempted me to search out the Lost Lagoon, but I was thwarted by brush I'd need to portage past. I was motivated but not THAT motivated. Decided instead to test the white perch and sure 'nough, they were plenty cooperative. Strictly catch and release this time. I think the river is beautiful in this kind of weather. It is certainly less populated, at least for this time of year.
Tried to figure out where the white specks were coming from. There were hundreds and hundreds of yards of it, piled up for the most part on weather shores of the creek. My final guess is it's blow-off from the cordgrass lining the back of this part of the creek. Who knows....
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
matching Dragonfly, taking off from kayak
Had to get things straightened out after Sat. with the RC gear and then kayak fished with one of the kids - hooked a really nice pickerell but my light line must've met its teeth and it departed with my lure in its mouth. I hate that...feel bad for the fish.
Beautiful little dragonfly whose coloration perfectly matched the kayaks made a cameo, too. Photo: EM Ford
Saturday, June 17, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
McGiver'd X = Y
We were happy to see 21 boats registered for our Moonlight Race, as we only had 8 last year. And as PRO, I was really psyched about the weather forecast, and the likelihood we wouldn't need the "S" flag. A few glitches including a request to delay a start b/c one boat was late (we kicked them back to the end of the line), a smoky cabin due to a fried alternator, and having to sail to repositoin the finish line, but all-in-all it went well. Great night and there was even a little bit of food left when we finally got to the club around midnight.
Oh, and a note to Region 2 racers: "Y" is actually a mark on the course and was added last year (2022) to the CBYRA Reg. 2 list of marks, complete with Lat/Lons and distances to other Region 2 marks. (But we did have to improvise a new course board)
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
First "sail" of the season on the i550 -- was more of just a trial run to see all the things I need to fix. Busy dock with the FS sailors all getting ready. But alas, no breeze in the river.
Note to osprey: you built a nest on a shoal pole that everyone crosses closely dozens of times a day. So don't holler at us, we're just passing thru.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Took a brief paddle and then raced on a club member's boat. It was windy and we broke stuff. Lots of dolphins in the river!
Nice day with puffy breeze and a bit of drama.
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
the Red Cloud
5 blasts
some of the closer racing we've seen this season
Always fun when a ship has to transit your starting area just before the normal warning signal. I sometimes wonder how much patience it takes for the ship's master to deal with a bunch of sailboats moving randomly in very near proximity. We remained a politely distant proximity. Have a safe voyage.
Friday, June 9, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Wow I was psyched that the tide was so high. I figured there'd be fish. The fish figured otherwise. I also paddled to the stern of my sailboat just to check the condition of it, since I rarely see it due to the way it is docked. It looks ugly and I need to clean it up...one day in the future.
I will. Sure thing.
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Persistant haze and big storms wobbling by to the northeast. A lot of breeze (12-19 kn) that died down toward the last third of the race (< 10 kn). We were doing pretty well until a ship came in with its destination being the Coal Pier at Lazaretto Point. That burried us. We had to duck their stern and that not only added a few hundred yards to our last leg, but also put us in a ghastly wind shadow for a mniute or two. Game over man, game over. Still a nice night despite the weird smoky haze.