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.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Nearing the leeward mark
Kicked back on the way 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.
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
I guess I didn't traumatize James too badly last week with our heavy air sailing and unexpected swim as he came back to crew again this week. Still a bit heavy at the beginning and puffy in places but much nicer conditions overall. We set a spin and practiced a couple gybes on the way out to get that process dialed in. Got a pretty good start in the first race and played the right side of the course. We worked through some minor issues on the spin set, but overall ran a clean race. Had a bit of rights trouble in the second race and had to chuck in a penalty turn. Conditions lightened up in the third race and a botched douse hurt our standing. A beautiful evening on the water, and a great learning opportunity as James is making great progress getting up to speed as crew and I'm continuing to learn more about my role as skipper, good tactics, and big picture strategic decisions. Can't wait for next week!
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
the RC crew
Dewey was out of town this week, so he tasked the rest of the crew and I with running RC. Our RC team consisted of three of us from Dangerous plus a few regulars who consistently help with race committee. With the wind blowing from the bridge we set a different course from the W/L courses we've been running lately to take advantage. The race went smoothly, the course was well received, and all involved had a great time.
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Tonight's crew
Out tonight for the first official Monday night paddle of the season. Nice, if slightly breezy, weather and a good turnout. We took a nice trip nearly to McIntosh Run and back, and enjoyed views of osprey, herons, and eagles in our travels. Always nice to be out here.
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Driving Elysium with Michael trimming my main
Flying a spin against a picture-perfect sky
Start of the second race
Semi-skippered Elysium, a friend's J/33, today for the SMSA Vice Commodore's Cup. My brother was in town, and we ran the boat with 5 with the intention of getting a spin up for the first time in a while. Light conditions prevailed in the pre-start, but we were able to get going on a nice first race. Went out in the middle of the river in search of better breeze, and did well. After the mark rounding, Sean inadvertently plugged the spin in sideways, and we hoisted a clew before realizing the mistake. We got it fixed, and had a nice spin run until the breeze died shortly before the line. After some floating around and a douse we were able to finish in third place.
In the short second race, we got off a great downwind start, followed by an early-ish douse, a tidy rounding, and a nice upwind beat to a second place.
In the much longer final race, we enjoyed nice conditions for the first 2/3 of the race until the wind fell off and we encountered a big shift towards the end. We sailed the boat to a slow but clean 3rd place finish.
A fantastic day on the water on my favorite boat in my subset of the Solomons fleet, couldn't ask for better.