Great breeze tonight. We had the new main up from the weekend’s festivities and wanted to put it to the test on a beercan race. A tidy downwind start led to a decent spinnaker run despite a flawed hoist with the halyard inside the forestay. We doused early and reached to the first mark, followed by a powered-up beat to the second. We crossed several boats and had lots of tight action. Our third leg was a close reach, and we managed to hold off Elan, winning the night and taking the lead in the series.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Monday, September 5, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
View from the beach
Quick paddle off Snow Hill park down to Cole Creek and back. Lots of breeze so somewhat difficult given the short duration.
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Met up with my brother to finally do a long-anticipated paddle around Baltimore harbor. Launched off Tide Point and took a lap up to the Inner Harbor and down around Fell's Point and Canton. Lots of great scenery and perfect weather. It was everything I had hoped for.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Dueling Spinnakers
A short crew for this evening's race ahead of Stingray Point this weekend (I unfortunately can't attend). Nice breeze to a downwind start towards the Bay. We nearly nailed the start, but had to douse our mylar kite partway through the first leg due to a small split at one of the seams. Got it down and quickly got the reaching kite hoisted, and still managed to beat the competition to the first mark. An easy beat to the second mark followed, and we ended the race with an upwind leg to the finish. Everyone worked well together, recovered quickly when mistakes were made, and we pulled off a solid second place finish.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Once again was in charge of the Barba Roja for the evening. Arrived at the start a bit late due to some late tacks while teaching new crew. The wind slowly fell off throughout the first leg, until we drifted with the tide up to the first mark shortly before the time limit expired. Rounded the mark, and immediately started drifitng sideways. Due to some race committee confusion we retired after the time limit expired. On the way in we found our main rival was having engine problems, and towed them into their slip. A long evening on the water but a pretty good one.
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
The official social paddle was cancelled due to scheduling concerns, and may be done for the season. I went out with Joe and a friend visitng from California, and had a great paddle out into Breton Bay. We saw a seaplane land and take off up close, a unique experience.
Saturday, August 20, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
A nice evening sail on the Olson with a few friends. Left Pax around 5:30 to head out into the bay. Better than anticipated breeze meant we made great speed but also faced stiff chop crossing to the eastern shore. Got to the lighthouse around sunset & set up on a long broad reach on the way home. Got a little seasick in the chop, which isn’t usually a problem for me. Otherwise a great sail & nice to get out for a cruise.
Friday, August 19, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Quick paddle around Solomons harbor at sunset to enjoy the cooler, breezy weather.
Thursday, August 18, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Traffic at the windward mark
Helped out with Thursday RC on crash boat again. Ideal racing conditions until the very end of the race, and a nice time had by all.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Number of days:
1 day
Due to a last-minute first aid issue on the race committee boat I was placed in charge of Barba Roja for the evening. We had to tack into the start and bled a lot of speed, and light conditions made it difficult to make up for lost time. The wind shut off almost completely at the windward mark, and we debated retiring due to the impending weather. We stuck it out, and the wind finally filled in. Had to gybe at the mark to negotiate a right of way situation, and very briefly got a spinnaker up before the wind clocked too far forward. The wind continued to clock over the course of the final leg, until we were pushed slightly below the mark by the time we got there. Put in two quick tacks, crossed the line, and got the boat put away quickly before the storm really hit. We also managed to beat the boat that boxed us out at the windward mark.
The crew did a great job of correcting mistakes and working together to manage boat speed in difficult conditions.
(Photos courtesy of Steven Birchfield)