Jake, Lars and me took advantage of the great weather to spend the afternoon sailing in breezy conditions 8 to 10 knots sustained; 18 knot gusts. Radio chatter indicated someone capsized near Hains Point, and an airplane crashed south of the 301 Bridge.
The SW breeze and ebbing tide made a 1 to 1.5 chop which Arcas powered thru easily. We reefed the headsail but not the main. Good feeling to trim the main hard and flat for the upwind beat.
The breeze died about 20 minutes before the start. We struggled toward the windward mark but retired after an hours effort. Twenty one boats started but only three were lucky enough to finish.
Our post race party however, was lots of fun and we had a good turn out.
Pete invited Jake and me to move his 36' Cape Dory back to her home port on WhiteHall Creek. Beautiful sunny day with a 9 to 13 knot easterly breeze on our beam. We used the autopilot a good deal and his new main sail was textbook easy to trim.
Several one design race fleets we competing as we passed Annapolis, all part of the 2-4 May Helly Hansen Regatta (formerly NOODs). Saw some boats from Canada and New Zealand.
A warm and breezy night on the Potomac---northwesterly 11-12 knot breeze with 17 knot gusts. Paul, Sara, Joshua, and me are doing RC aboard Arcas tonight.
Crewed aboard Jake's Baveria 28 however the forecasted 10 to 12 knot northwest breeze which was to make for a leisurely sail to Galesville never showed up. We motored all the way there. As we closed in on West River we saw yellow flower and tree pollen making swirly shapes on the water's surface---a sure sign of spring!
Grabbed very late lunch at Pirate's Cove Restaurant and then watched the start of PCRC's first sailboat race of the season. Yes, by 6PM the breeze finally arrived. Too late for us but right on time for PCRC.
Perfect conditions tonight; no gale force winds which cancelled last weeks race! Warm, northwesterly breeze blowing 8 to 12 knots. Bob, Paul, Laura, Sara and myself aboard. First spin launch was troublesome but we got it up and almost immediately sped up to 8+ knots! Caught the rest of the spin and did it again on the second downwind leg. As usual, the other spin boats pulled ahead on the upwind leg. We finished 3rd.
Bob invited Moe, Laura, and me for a day sail on the Bay. Sunny, cloudless day with light breezes sometimes from the south but mostly from the NW. We motored out of Galesville on Bob's Tartan 34-2 toward Thomas point Light. As we approached the light the wind went light so we hoisted the gennaker which added a knot. Broke out lunch as we turned around and slowly worked our was back to the slip.
We jumped aboard the RC boat because the Skipper Steve was short on help. Breezy 15 knot NW winds and temps in the low 40s. It was chilly especially after sunset. Steve's electric outboard got us out and back with wattage to spare but it was slow going against the wind.
A first, USN drone was escorted by a power boat through our race course. Also we had a tug pushing a large barge southbound along with the usual water taxis and dinner boats.
Steady 12 to 15 knots southerly breeze with opposing current, a 1.5' chop when Paul, Colin, Dave, Sara, me made an afternoon sail. Beating back to the slip, our 1st reef outhaul broke so it was difficult to point and no one aboard had ever taken in the second reef before. So we nurse the malformed mainsail to the marina channel and dropped it with no apparent damage.
Less commercial traffic compared to yesterday.
Brendan, Dave, Josh, myself went out for some spin practice. Main multiple jibes upriver to check out new buoyage resulting from the 28 January plane/helo crash. A new buoy was placed about 30 feet west of government green 9. Harbor Patrol place d some smaller buoys north and west of #9 to create a "restricted area" (no water craft allowed). Lots of commercial traffic stuffed with sightseers on this warm weather day.