Another light day out on the river, but we were able to get one race in. Not a super fast start but decently efficient, and we sailed a great upwind leg and found ourselves second around at the mark. Tailed Jimmy down to the offset, but lost the breeze and couldn't qutie bring it home. 4th place, which I was happy with all things considered.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Took a nice paddle today off SMSA up to the end of St. John's Creek and back. Pleasant conditions and nice sightseeing. I saw a couple boats I'd love to buy and a couple worth saving. A nice way to ease the bummer of starting work again after an exceptional holiday weekend.
Sunday, May 26, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Did some messing around on the paddleboard today at the beach and got Lelia up on one for the first time.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Out in the river
Out with Michael and my friend Lelia from college today for the SMSA Beer & Soda Run. The event is a fun race that consists of a race around the river, with a visit to the "store" and points for sodas & other beverages drank. Light conditions in the narrows at the start remained flukey through the harbor portion of the race. We worked on making good progress up to the "store", and found better breeze on the way back out. After a small mishap at the mouth of the harbor we got going well and enjoyed some nice long tacks on the river. We briefly set and carried a spin on one of the reaching legs, and enjoyed a fast, tight reach on the way into the harbor. After getting just about swallowed by a powerboat wake we found light conditions to the finish. A properly fun day on the water, and we took a win for the day.
After a great cookout lunch at the club, we set off on the Barba Roja for an afternoon fun sail. We anchored in the river and had a great swim call for about an hour, and did many halyard swings and dives off the boat. Afterwards, we set a spinnaker and had a quick run up to the bridge, and a comfortable beat back to the harbor.
One of the truly great days on the water that only come a few times a season, and I was glad to be able to share it with great friends from different parts of my life.
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Nearing the leeward mark
Kicked back on the way in
Light but otherwise pleaseant conditions for the race this week. Got out early and did some practice spinnaker work before starting the one race of the evening. A bit slow on the start, but we remained competitive and in the mix, and sailed a solid upwind leg. Conditions lightened on the downwind, but we sailed high angles to keep the spinnaker full and the boat moving, to good effect. Stayed to the left side of the course for better breeze, but RC called a shortened course and we got caught on the wrong side. Ended up with a 5th overall, the best yet this season, and I gave James the helm and we enjoyed a nice relaxing ride back in.
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
At the helm
Out on Elyisum tonight while Dewey is out of town. Sean put me on helm as per usual, and we had steady moderate conditions. Almost got a great start with some pretty hot maneuvers, but were called over early (another member of the RC team disagreed), and had to come back and restart. We worked on keeping the boat going fast, but couldn't make much of a return on the fleet. We worked through some tactics issues on each leg, and were a bit slow getting a spinnaker up both times. Nice to be out there on a fast boat in great conditions, but we definitely could've been tighter on our crew work and the results reflected that.
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Decided to take advantage of the fantastic weather to go for a solo paddle off Clarke's Landing. Headed south around Myrtle Point and down to Little Kingston Creek, took a lap around, and cut up the narrow channel to Little Kingston Creek. A nice quick evening paddle and a fun way to get a workout in.
Monday, May 20, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
A nice Monday night paddle with ideal, not too hot conditions, and a great breeze. The group got pretty spread out this week but I enjoyed a nice trip up McIntosh Run and back with a couple friends.
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Took a quick paddle out to Drum Point and back after doing a bit of work to my boat. Far nicer conditions than yesterday and a pretty sunset on the way in.
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Headed up the river with the fleet
Sailed with Dangerous for the Frost Goode race. Unseasonably cool temps and the threat of rain made for a less-than-promising sailing day. We had light but workable conditions up the river to the mark, and carried a spinnaker on a pretty tight reach for most of the way. We worked to keep the boat going upwind with the rest of the fleet, but couldn't quite make it work for some reason. Further investigaton required. Conditions became patchy on the way back down, with the wind completely dying just south of the bridge. We remained determined and were able to use the favorable current and just a bit of breeze to finish the race. We promptly got rained on right after the finish. Not bad, but certainly less than favorable weather and wind conditions.