Century Club: Tim Ford

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Saturday, October 21, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Oct21 - BCYA Harbor Cup
  • Larry Forgy's ITINERANT gets launched
  • intrepid crew
  • wind data

We tried going off with a single reef and a number 3.  Clearly we had too much sail area up and it quickly became an exercise in futility.  I asked the skipper how he felt about retiring.  He said fine.  We asked the rest of the crew, they said yes, we are fine with that.  On the way in we heard two boats in the CRCA fleet having a conversation on 72.  One said they were going to retire as he expected the breeze to build.  We had already seen gusts over 35 all the way up to 39.  But the data from the Patapsco "smart" buoy suggests he was right, as by 3:30 there were puffs in the 40s, one up to 42.7

So it was a good decision.  Out of 42 registered boats, only 14 finished.  Hats off to them!

 

 

Thursday, October 19, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Oct 19 - weird times
  • dry below, another miracle
  • Back in Muskrat ville, haven't been here for a few months
  • re-enactment of whiffle ball find

Paddled a bit before our club AGM - the one that marks my esacpe from being Rear Commodore.  It's been a ride.

In the weird department, a couple of days ago I was looking through old photos and saw one, I guess my mother took, of me and my dad.  I was holding a whiffle ball bat and I guess they glued or taped a whiffle ball to the bat that made it look like I was making good contact. I got to thinking about whiffle ball and how much fun we had.  I hadn't thought about whiffle ball for a couple of decades, I reckon.

So, yesterday,  I'm out in the kayak just leisurely paddling and I see something white just below the surface and I thought, hmmmm....a bit early for Lion's Mane jellies, and a bit late for the standard Chesapeake Bay sea nettles.  So I got closer and it turned out to be a whiffle ball. 

Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Oct 17 - Last BCYA Tuesday Night Race
  • the old S2 9.1 out on the water again, I hope someone fixes her up
  • There's a helicopter in here somewhere
  • gorgeous October evening

Ugh, what a sad title!   Fun season on board BOXCAR and I am sad to see it end.  But there's always the Harbor Cup in a few days. 

One thing I will not miss is being on the dock next to a heliport.  When they come in and out, all conversation comes to a stop.  Some of them are rapid response for medical issues, so no problem with that.  But it is disconcerting to have these rotary blades a couple dozen yards away from a bunch of sailboat masts.

Results are not up yet, but I think we won the last two series (due to light winds being BOXCARs sweet spot).

 

 

 

 

Saturday, October 14, 2023 to Sunday, October 15, 2023
Number of days:
2 days
Race to Rock Hall - Oct 14 - 15
  • CRCA start
  • big dryout after returning
  • Big breeze and great sail home
  • Duck a big one
  • soogy RC crew

Was PRO for the PSA Race to Rock Hall.  Weather could have been better but a very fun trip.  Sail back to the Magothy was epic on Bryan's Tashiba 42 in 20-25, gusts to 32.  What a ride.

 

 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Oct 11 - 7 casts, 3 fish

I went out to eat lunch (cold pizza and an NA beer) and just for grins, took a rod but no tackle.  Then I noticed that it was high tide and I figured, hey...I might catch something.  2nd cast, a nice white perch.  4th cast a smallish rock.  7th cast a much bigger rock that may have met the 19 inch size minimum.  Unfortunately he knocked off my paddletail and I was done for the day.

But this was all catch and release and that's fine.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Oct 10 - BCYA Die Hard Series Race 2

BOXCAR continues its streak of light air domination. The boat is a force below 7 kn of breeze.  Weird getting back to the dock in total darkness though.  Maybe total twilight would be more accurate.  With all the light pollution in Balto Harbor, it's hard to tell when Twilight ends. 

I try to prepare myself for earlier sunsets but somehow every year it seems shocking how abruptly they show up...

Friday, October 6, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Oct 6 - Paddle at Assateague

In spite of a huge amount of convection over on the mainland, we launched at Old Ferry and did a little hour long tour of the creek and guts.  Very beautiful day and conditions, before things got gnarly the next day, with gusts into the low 40s and a struggle to keep three tents from being blown east into the ocean.  There's a lot to be said for sand pegs!

A colony of Large Egrets with their youngsters was a real treat to paddle past.

Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Oct 4 - Paint, Paddle and Pickerel

DId some touch up on the i550.  Then launched a paddle to sling a few lures in the water.  In the exact same spot where I hooked the rockfish last week, I landed one of the bigger pickerels I've ever caught, easily 28 to 30 inches.  Catch and release though.

Cattle egrets have arrived on the river, and seem pretty tame in that they allowed me very close proximity. (not apparent in this photo, which really looks photshopped but isn't)

Friday, September 29, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Sept 29 - RC Duty - Cape St Claire
  • giant spider at PSA post kayaking

Late season Friday night (yes, it did turn into night) Race Committee task on Inc.  We set the course, sent folks off (approx 6-7 boats) and dove into dinner.  The food on Inc. is always amazing (BBQ from Dickey's).  By the time the 5th or 6th boat finished, we could not see the pin.  Thankfully there was a fresh set of batteries in the flashlight on board.  It's an interesting transition to race at BCYA one night and do race committee on the Magothy in the same week.  There are some powered up race boats in the city, whereas the CSC fleet was enitely composed of stately cruisers and I assume a lot of them are very new to racing. 

Fun night and good to be back on Inc.  I think this season has been my lowest number of races on Inc. since maybe 2010?

 

Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Number of days:
1 day
Sept 27 - Fish(s) On & Off
  • the usual spot
  • 1st hefty perch
  • 18.7895 inch rocker
  • catch and rel
  • 2nd big perch

Went down to get the water from Ophelia out of the boat, but took a rod with me in case the tide was high. It was quite high, in fact. 

I really hadn't planned on fishing, did not bring anything other than a rod that had a jig/paddletail already on it. I figured I'd fish until I lost the lure.  Did not anticipate two large white perch and a striper just maybe a quarter inch less than 19 inches, and I didn't have a stringer with me.  So it was basically just a catch-and-release day, which was fine with me.

 

 

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