Fairly heavy conditions for the last Wednesday of the season. RC set a nice two-lap windward/leeward to take advantage of the condtiions, and we enjoyed really tight, competitive racing and a second place finish. Clean work all around despite a continuation of the shambles theme (with Dewey on the helm), the crew has learned a ton this season. While I am ready for a break I'll still miss getting out here every week.
Century Club: Jonathan Nepini
Monday, September 9, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Monday night paddle off Leonardtown Wharf for the first time in a while. Nice cool weather and light breeze. We paddled around the corner to a huge mansion for sale, then took a lap across Breton Bay and a leisurely ride back in. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a relaxing evening.
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
A pretty, fall-like day on the water
Out for a fun sail on Dangerous. Fall-like weather and shifty, moderately heavy conditions led us to set a course up the river. We sailed roughly the Frost-Goode course, and turned around to sail back in lighter air. Back in the mouth of the river, we chased Red Baron around for a bit, then had a brief sail out to the Bay and back in. Several folks got a turn on the helm and we all had a great time.
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Today's route
Quick paddle in Solomons Harbor after washing & waxing my boat. Breezy conditions so I set a reach-y course to avoid paddling into the breeze.
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Chasing down Jolly Roger & Gue
Perfect conditions this Thursday. A good fleet of 16 boats despite a lighter than usual complement of Buccs on account of BNACs happening in Florida. The wind filled in nicely, and we got two short races in. I nailed both starts and we had tight work on both upwind legs. I got lured into duking it out with Steve & Jolie on Jolly Roger on both downwind legs and let boats sneak by. 6th of 16 and just behind some very competitive boats, I’ll take it. Shame the season is starting to wind down.
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Hanging out after the race
Dewey got tied up at work so I rode on Elysium. Nice conditions at the top of the range for the light #1, and a good, if short, windward/leeward. I trimmed headsails and enjoyed more time on one of my favorite boats in the fleet.
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
A quick paddle off Clarke's Landing to get some fresh air.
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 to Monday, September 2, 2024
Number of days:
6 days
Dewey and I contemplating pointy end tasks
The Friday race crew
Bad Cat getting it done out on the course
Dangerous wasn’t able to make it down for the regatta as we originally planned, so Dewey and I managed an invite on Bad Cat, a J/111 out of Solomons. We have several friends on the boat and I was glad to have the opportunity to sail on a new boat with an asymmetric spinnaker.
After our usual Wednesday night race on Dangerous, we enjoyed an uneventful delivery overnight Wednesday and arrived in Deltaville early Thursday morning.
Dewey and I were up on the foredeck all weekend, and did a lot of quick learning on how asym boats work. Friday’s distance race featured Clarke McKinney as a guest, bringing the level of seriousness on the boat up a notch. The breeze was moderately light, and we did a couple tidy sets, gybes, and douses, sailed clean, and managed a third in class for the day.
Saturday provided similarly light conditions, and we kept the boat moving well for most of the races, landing a 3rd and a 5th on the day. Some sloppy race committed work resulted in a misunderstanding of the proper course, a big protest hearing, and the third race being thrown out.
Sunday provided the best sailing conditions of the weekend, and we got two great races in with perfect conditions, taking a 5th and a 3rd for the day, resulting in a third overall for the regatta.
We left in the evening and had an uneventful return to Solomons and arrived early Monday morning.
As always, FBYC’s hospitality was great, the parties were fun, and we all had a fantastic time camping and enjoying the weekend. I look forward to this event every year and this one certainly didn’t disappoint!
Monday, August 26, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Tonight's paddle group
Great evening paddle off St. George’s Island. Cool weather and nice scenery on the creek and back in some marshy areas.
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
The only picture I took - a mystery boat now identified as a Beneteau FC 10
After rebuilding the hubs on the trailer I decided to go for a sailing adventure on the Potomac as a dry run for an upcoming trip to Lake Anna. After some time getting the boat road-ready, we had an uneventful trip to Abell’s Wharf. Unfortunately, we forgot the jib in Solomons, so I had to go get it. We finally got the boat rigged and launched, and had a nice ride around Breton Bay for a couple hours. We stopped by a friend’s house to say hi, and I showed Dewey some different parts of the area.