Despite the raw, damp, gusty conditions, I was dead set on the idea of a paddle today, and headed off Forest Landing for a quick lap. I headed up to Camelot (though the property is being sold and the sign has been taken down) in misty rain, and then back past the boat ramp to the beaver dam. The tide was way up, and approaching the top of the ramp when I returned. I'd stop short of calling it a nice paddle, but I think the fresh air was probably good for me on what's ended up being a stressful week. A bad day on the water beats a good day at the office, right?
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
A gorgeous sunset over Piney Point
Wanted to go take a peek at a house down in Piney Point and decided to go for a paddle while in the neighborhood. I hugged the shore up around Lighthouse Rd and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. A nice way to ease into the weekend.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
A gorgeous sunset view
Out for our weekly sunset sail today on Barba Roja. Great conditions and pleasant weather for a relaxing sail with good company. We put up "Dory" the staysail and experimented with rolling the furling headsail to tack. Afterwards, we leisurely ambled across the river basin and sailed almost all the way back to the slip.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
A very brief lap off Clarke's Landing after work and before going to dinner. Heavy conditions but warmer than anticipated weather made for a good workout on the way out and a pleasantly quick ride back.
Monday, October 20, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Got going late today, but managed to squeeze in a cool, short paddle. Gorgeous glassy conditions and nocturnal scenery made for an enjoyable and different, if brief, experience.
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
A breezy non-spin start
Took our annual team Dangerous RC duty for the Fall Invitational. Heavy, puffy conditions from the south prevailed for the day, and we decided to set courses in the river. After some discussion with competitiors, we started the fleet on the first race, an Olympic triangle around the mouth of the river. We found out after the race started that our upwind mark, one of the semi-permanent SMSA marks, had blown away, but everyone largely figured out where to round. The missing mark shot a hole in our plans for the second race, and we created a simplified version. We started the fleet, high-tailed it to the mouth of the harbor, and set our finish just in time. Our communications were a bit ambiguous, but most of the fleet figured out our intentions. A tough day out on the RC boat and not the sharpest work ever, but we mostly received positive feedback from our comptitiors and had a great day on the river.
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
A light downwind start
Chasing T-Bone and Diablo up the Bay
Arranged my plans to join team Dangerous for what might be the last ride, and certainly the last big distance race. We started in light conditions downwind, and kept our trimmers busy until we arrived at PR1, when the angle shifted forwards enough to go to the jib. By the time we reached Hooper's Island light we were just about beating, and passed the lighthouse and kept going until we could lay Point No Point. We tacked and I took over the helm for a spell, and as we got closer to the lighthouse we were able to crack off, having overstood a bit by not anticipating the shift arriving earlier than planned. We set a spin on the last leg, and enjoyed building conditions all the way up the Bay. Perfect weather and conditions made for a fantastic day on the water, and we managed to clinch a second place and firmly cement our second in the middle distance series despite missing the first race.
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Looking into the sunset (photo by Bob Ohler)
A good crowd for the weekly sunset sail on Barba Roja. Several SMSA boats out as well. Pleasant fall conditions and some friends briefly back in town on the hook by Drum Point led us out to the Bay, and after passing Elan we tacked and headed back towards the bridge. We sailed a ways across the basin, and headed back into the inlet in failing breeze and sunlight. A relaxing evening on the water with friends.
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
A glassy sunset
Today's route
A quick sunset paddle off forest Landing. A little cool, but nice to see the sunshine after so much cloudiness, and surprisingly calm conditions despite the blustery forecast.
Saturday, October 11, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
I decided to get ahead of the coming noreaster and enjoy one last big weekend paddle for the year. I launched off Snow Hill beach and headed south with no specific goal in mind. After several miles of wavy conditions on the beam, I reached St. Thomas Creek. What a hidden gem! Gorgeous tree-lined creeks with beautiful houses up on the bluffs made for great scenery. I paddled to the back of the creek, took a quick break, then high-tailed it back north. I tucked into Cole Creek on the way back up, and had to fight a huge flood current to make it back out. A great 8mi paddle to round out the season (though I'll keep going on weeknights as long as daylight and temps allow).