Century Club: Bob Ohler

My son Dave Ohler wants to make sure that I make it into the Century Club.  We both had yesterday scheduled to sail together.  We eased out of the slip and headed out into the Patuxent River basin and we found the breeze.  We sailed west, before tacking and sailing to the Solomons bridge.  We took turns taking the helm.  I was at the wheel when we sailed under the bridge and after discussing the idea, we gybed, sailed back under the bridge and returned south.  We criss-crossed the water south of Solomon's Island several times, before reluctantly turning for home.  The problem was, neither one of use wanted the day to end. We sailed up back Back Creek under full sail.  We couldn't make the second mark up the creek, so we tacked and headed in a westerly direction for a quarter of a mile, before tacking again and heading north.  We opted to pass up our fairway at Calvert Marina and instead continued up past Zahnisers.  Approaching the old boat sheds at Washburn’s, we again tacked twice, sailing up past Spring Cove, and eventually all the way up to docks off off Holiday Inn.  We sailed back down Back Creek, but still it wasn't enough. We developed a plan to sail into our slip at Calvert Marina.  The yankee sail was furled first, then the stay sail was dropped on deck.  I made the turn down our fairway under full main, dead-down wind.  One final gybe before Dave released the main sheet, and we coasted into the slip. Perfect.  We both agreed that this one will go down as one of our top-ten sailing days ever!  Put a gold star beside this one!

98 is in the books.  I can taste "100" now!

On a cold, blustery day on the Patuxent River, Barba Roja sailed the last race of the Fall Frostbite Series, and the last race of the year. It was a day that rewarded everyone who dressed for cold weather.  I went with my wool socks, base layer, and 2 layers of wool on my upper body.  A fellow crewman gave me a pair of Hot Hands which I eagerly placed in my gloves.  We had winds around 20 knots, blowing right down the river from the North. For me, it was Day 96, in pursuit of 100 and admission into the Spinsheet Century Club.  I have several confirmed dates planned to be on the water.  I can "taste" #100 now!  

Number 94 is in the books!  To celebrate my 66th birthday my son took me sailing on our boat.  I'm still nursing a bad arm, so he did the lion's share of the work. On a day that felt more like September than November, we sailed all over the Solomons Basin, while we watched the Frostbite racers. 

In light air, and with a very full crew, we enjoyed typical fall weather on the Chesapeake. We didn't win, or even place for that matter, but everyone on board had a good time.