Sunday, April 14, the day before taxes are due, was sunny, warm and windy, which was a great excuse for all who procrastinate on their taxes to get on the water. We had 6 cats, 5 Albacores and 4 Lightings out on the water – not bad considering that RC was a couple Albacores and Buccaneers and the Lightings were off drinking moonshine. It’s been a while since six Hobies showed up on the water, so kudos to the Hobie fleet for getting the boats out!

We got off a total of 4 races by about 2:30PM, which was a big difference from last weekend when we got blown off the water after one race by gusts approaching 30 knots. And we competed with the barbeque record set last week, with last sailors leaving almost at 7pm. However, no charcoal was in site, so we munched on cupcakes from Georgetown cupcake brought by a potential crew and some tasty jalapeno, cheese and bacon bites made by one of the Hobie sailors.

Breeze was mainly out of the north, coming from the direction of the National Cathedral, and was anywhere from 0 to just under 15 knots. The races were a mix of triangles and windward-leeward courses, all twice around except for the last Lightning race, which was just once around. And what a hard fought race that turned into. Chris and Rick were battling to get the windward mark just as the breeze died. Combine the lack of breeze with a current that was not in their favor and it became a painful slog to the windwark mark. Just as they got the windward mark, the breeze filled in, and it was a quick run down to the leeward mark, where the race committee was about to head with an “S” flag and a whistle, so they could finish and head on home. But alas, it was not their day.

The Carolina 19 had been tied up to the Bayliner for most of the day, as it was much more fun to hang out on the Bayliner, which was functioning as a doggy day care facility and had shade. Enthusiastic RC members cast the 19 off the Bayliner, before starting the engine. This turned into a slight issue as the engine refused to start – it turned out that it just needed a couple pumps of the bulb, but of course this happened while we were finishing one race and the boat was drifting away. It also meant that the Lightnings were able to round the mark and started heading up to the finish line.

But it wasn’t meant to be. The wind completely died, the current was strong, and the sailors ended up losing their patience after about half an hour and one by one gave up and started paddling home.