Wind NE 15 - 30 kn. Cracking race down the bay, but once we got offshore it was bruising and hard work. The slug attachments of my new main started failing, which led us to abandon. Ultimately the boat and crew were not yet ready to take on this race so soon after the purchase.

Wind 2 - 8 kn. Sunny day but the wind was not so accommodating. Struggled to keep the boat going. At least we finished, which is an advantage to a faster boat. After race party was great. No wind for the second day.

Wind 0 - 10 kn. Got a crappy start, and then was overtaken by a windless zone. But we still finished.

Wind 15 - 18 kn. A race to forget. Problems dogged us constantly, beginning with jib raising problems that made us late to the start. Then it was a struggle all the way around. Almost T-boned somebody after the finish. Too much drama.

Winds 0 - 8 kts. Chose to go the wrong way. Anchored for awhile. Once the breeze filled in we couldn't finish before the party so we hung it up.

Wind 2 - 5 kn. Got a decent start. Wind was really fluky with 80 degree shifts. But still hung on for a podium finish.

Wind 2 - 7 kn. Light wind and a reverse start. Had to beat out of Hampton Creek in traffic. Beat the other Bene 36.7 which was satisfying.

Wind 8 - 18 kn. Pretty much a windward/leeward 114 nm race. Most of the time the wind was around 15 kn, things got foggy after dark. Saw one boat drop out on AIS, and heard radio chatter of other problems. After rounding the only mark, I chose not fly the spinnaker because of the lumpy seas. But once I heard the Figaro 3 radio his finish, I put the spinnaker up to close the distance. Hit a max speed of 12.0 kn. Didn't know I had won until several hours after finishing. It was all about perserverence and not having many problems.

Singlehanded class. Wind 0 - 5 kn. Light wind. Things were going well until 2 nm before the first mark at Block Island. Wind died and I drifted backwards for 4 hours in the current. Eventually got around the south end of BI and seeing the mirror-like sea stretched out before me I abandoned the race. Pretty good experience, though.

Wind 0 - 4 kn. Struggled to get ahead, even anchoring for a bit. Got what seemed like an insurmountable lead, only to fall into a hole a watch 2 boats pass us short of the finish. Frustrating, but typical for Chesapeake in summer.

Wind 10 - 13 kn. Doublehanded in CRCA fleet, using our ORR-Ez rating. All downwind in misty conditions. Pleased with our performance against fully crewed yachts.

Wind 11 - 15 kn. Reverse start. Did well until we encountered the usual snarl of traffic that is endemic of short courses with a reverse start. I didn't manage it well so we got stuck in bad air too much. Did better than last year, though.

Wind 15 - 20+ kn. Reverse start. Great breeze. Not much tactics, just focused on boat speed. The finish was a tangle of boats; we managed to squeak over the line overlapped with some of our class. Found out at the awards party that they subdivided our class and we got first place in the fast group. It helps when half of your class drops out because of the higher wind.

Wind 3 - 5 kn. Course was shortened because of the lack of wind. Was over the start early so that pretty much killed our race. Crawled back to a mediocre result.

Wind 1 - 15 kn. CRCA division. Wind didn't fill in until over half the race was completed. Still happy with the result, and got to mix it up with some of the PHRF A fleet.

Wind 1 - 20 kn. Start was in complete fog, and the fog didn't really lift until almost to the Gulf Stream. Gulf Stream crossing wasn't bad until the other side when the seas were really confused. Made good time until the Bermuda High stopped us for half a day. Struggled with sargasso weed catching on everything. Light winds to the finish. Still happy with the result.

Wind 0 - 45 kn. Start was in healthy 20 kn winds, but a cold front hit us with a couple of squalls where we lost 3 mainsail battens. The lack of any wind after the front allowed us to install 2 spare battens, but still missing 1. Good breeze took us up to the Gulf Stream where everything changed. Patterns of squalls prevented us to get north, one where we lost another batten. Escaping the Stream was not the end, with foul current and lighter wind. Near the end faced a cold front 20 nm from the finish with contrary 20 kn wind. A fight all the way to the finish. So glad it was over with only sail damage.

Wind 4 - 10 kn. Mostly light, especially towards the finish. Most boats in our class didn't finish. One of the advantages of having a faster boat.

Wind 4 - 7 kn. Mostly light, particularly fluky in spots. Happy with our finish since a reverse start on such a short course can lead to pile-ups.

Wind 11 - 22 kn. CRCA division. Pretty straight forward race, not difficult to choose which direction to go first. As usual on a reverse start, getting to the finish was in lots of traffic.

Wind 15 - 22 kn. Windy with threatening rain. Most competitors expected the race not to be run. They were wrong. Won a bottle of rum. Good way to end the racing season.

Wind 10 - 28 kn. Had a great sleigh ride to the Chesapeake Lighthouse. Then the wind got stronger. Spent the rest of the upwind overpowered but the sloppy wind-against-tide was a not a good time to change jibs. Otherwise a great, sunny day.

Wind 5 - 8 kn. We are able to make the leaders nervous, but that's about it. At least the race wasn't abandoned or shortened.

Wind 5 kn. Shortened course since the wind was dying. Close reach the whole way. Got a bad start and then sat in everyone else's wind shadows. Pleasant day, though.

Wind 5 - 8 kn. Reverse start. Non-spinnaker. Fortunately the 2 leaders slowed each other down and we passed them. Good times.

Wind 5 - 9 kn. Had some flashbacks to the previous time we did this race, but this time it turned out better. Since it was a team event we tried to minimize damage to teammates. It worked since our team won the event.

Wind 8 - 12 kn. Reverse start. Picked the right direction. Was attached like a bungie to the other 36.7. We would fall back, but then catch up. Alas, finished right behind them. The rest of the light wind racers legged out on us. Super nice weather, though.

Wind 10 - 18 kn. Was able to press through the traffic at the start to be ahead by the first mark. But lots of reaching meant we didn't save our time on handicap. Beautiful day and perfect temperature.

Wind 12 - 15 kn. A race to forget. Had problems raising the jib so we started with no jib. Had some terrible maneuvers and watched everyone sail by.

Wind 0 - 35 kn. Started on a cold but sunny day with a beautiful SW breeze. Wind eventually died in the early evening. It shifted to the N enough to fly a spinnaker for about 5 hours until it was up to 20 kts. I had overhauled a few boats in the class ahead of me. But, alas, 34 hrs into the race my autopilot brain died and took out all the instruments except for the chartplotter and radio. And it happened in the middle of the Gulf Stream with 35 kts wind against current. Had to drive to Bermuda in shifts and let the boat drift when I wasn't at the wheel. I still averaged >100 nm every 24 hrs which is pretty good with only a jib. Once in Bermuda I couldn't fix the problem, so when my double handed crew showed up, we just delivered the boat back to Norfolk. Pretty disappointed, but at least I got to Bermuda and back. And it also shows that no matter how well you are prepared, something bad can still happen.

Wind 12 - 14 kn. Windward/Leeward course. Started well, did just okay on the windward leg. Started making tracks on the downwind reach but just couldn't get past an earlier non-spin boat. They were not going to let us pass. So that was it.

Wind 20 - 25 kn, gust to 30 kn. Started late because of a jib-raising problem (sound familiar?). With the strong wind we were not going to sail to our handicap. We still gave an identical boat to us a run for their money, changing leads, but ultimately couldn't get it done. Had some mechanical issues that stunted our performance a bit. I hate when that happens. At least we finished. Many boats did not.

Wind 4 - 8 kn. Had a decent start, and then romped away to crush everyone. It felt good to have such a good result on our final race of the season.

Wind 14 - 18 kn. Rainy, miserable, and cold defined this race. First time using our new ORC Performance Cruiser rating. We were over the line at the start and had to go back, but it was a long 20 mile race. From then on it was hang on, minimize maneuvers, and sail conservatively since we were light on crew. Turns out we were the only boat in our class to fly the spinnaker in the lumpy conditions. We won by such a margin we were awarded the Cape Henry Cup perpetual trophy. Super happy about that.

Wind 6 - 9 kn. Another ORC race. Again light on crew, but it was a very nice day for sailing.

Wind 6 - 20 kn. Ripped the spinnaker during a botched hoist and had a very close lightening strike so I abandoned. Just as well since I misunderstood the start line and we were OCS.

Wind 2 - 7 kn. ORC class. Very light wind at the start and was one of the few to actually make progress. But then the sea breeze filled in from a different direction and everyone that sat at the start line for 1.5 hrs overran us. Typical August Chesapeake sailing.

Wind 9 - 14 kn. ORC class. Very nice downwind race. No strategy involved, just head for the mark. Lost by 15 seconds which really shows the ORC rule works.

Wind 2 - 14 kn. ORC class. Light start but then the wind filled in nicely. Were doing very well until I misunderstood the sailing instructions and rounded a mark the wrong way. I'm seeing a trend here. By the time we corrected my mistake all was lost.

Wind 8 - 12 kn. Reverse start on a lovely day. We couldn't catch the last boat, but a nice result.

Wind 10 - 15 kn. ORC class. One of my favorite races because of the choice of course. We thought we had the correct choice but we were 'wrong'. We walked out of the after-race party with a 3rd place. But! the ORC correctors hadn't been applied yet. Once done, we placed 1st. Yes!!

Wind 9 - 11 kn. Final race of the season. Really nice weather with decent wind. All reaching, but we managed to save our time. Nice way to end the year.