#106
“You know, our wives think we’re nuts.” Well, that may have been an appropriate quote for last night, but 5 of us ventured out on Barba Roja for a cold-air sunset, night sail. When given the chance, I took the helm and we sailed in the dark up and under the Solomons bridge where we gybed and headed back down the Patuxent River. Our top speed was 6.8 knots with just the Genoa sail. Sure, it was cold, but we enjoyed the sunset and we had the river to ourselves.
The saddest day of the year is the day when the boat gets hauled. Today, I moved the boat over to the travel lift lane and pickled tge engine. She gets hauled tomorrow.
This was the first time in the Frostbite Series that it was actually cold. Good sailing on Barba Roja.
Another good Sunday afternoon sailing on Barba Roja.
This was another warm day for November and we enjoyed the temps and the steady breeze. We did not come close to winning but we all had a good time on the water.
# 101 - Can you call it "Frostbite" if it's 80+ degrees? Well, they did, and we did, racing tough in fickle winds. We beat 4 boats, including Elan!
#100 - It didn’t quite play out like we planned, but in the end we made a smart decision and I still got my 100th day on the water in calendar year 2023. We had planned to sail our Aloha Spirit, with myself, Dave Ohler, and the girls. However, when we got to the dock we realized that we had too much wind for the young, inexperienced crew. Instead, we ended up at the Calvert Marine Museum. Now the Museum operates the 100+year-old buy boat WM. B. Tennison to run tours on the water around Solomons, MD. Century Club recognizes 100 days on the water whether it is by sail, power, kayak, canoe, ocean liner, tug boat, or other. Dave ran and got us tickets to go out on this historic boat. At 2:00 p.m., the boat backed away from dock, the four of us were underway and I had #100, and my second consecutive year of making the Spinsheet Magazine Century Club, and I got to do it with my son! Thank you family for helping me to achieve this goal once more!
#99 - For 45 miles, in 22 knots of wind, gusting 35, the crew of Barba Roja sailed their hearts out today in the Solomons to Hoopers Light to the Point No Point Race. Top speed was a blazing 11.1 knots! Special thanks to Sailing Team Barba and the crew!
#98. We had great crew and a good wind. Steve put the two ladies on the helm, something they had never done before. Steve was in full "teaching mode." I was on main sheet all night. We had a good time and a lot of good laughs!
#97 On a cool, late afternoon I paddled to the northern end of the "dead-tree zone," just south of Camp Roosevelt. The air was cool, but it is noticeable that the water temperature is dropping. Since I don't own the proper dry suit and boots to paddle in really cold water, my kayaking may be coming to an end. I saw a heron and a couple of squirrels, but not much else in the way of wildlife. The level of the water seems higher since TS Ophelia. I don't think it's just the beach erosion that is making the water lever appear higher to me. The visibility is excellent right now, enabling me to easily see the Bay Bridge, some 25 miles north of here.