NOOD Comes to Annapolis….

But, unfortunately, the wind didn’t — at least for today anyway.  Boats from all over the country have come to Annapolis to race in the Sperry NOOD one design series.  Town was bustling last night as racers rolled in for practice and race preparations.

Today started with heavy fog and a one hour postponement.  The breeze was really light.  I was sailing on a boat that is part of division 4.  So, our start was down by Thomas Point light.  The trip south to the rendezvous was disorienting because of all the fog.  Once we got there, boats tried to practice a bit.  You would see jibs and spinnakers go up and down here and there.  However, the wind never filled in.

An additional postponement was announced just before noon — which meant that it was time for lunch on the boat.  Luckily, I’m sailing with a bunch of folks who are skilled in the kitchen.  It seems as if there’s a little duel going on to see who an make the best sandwiches over the course of the regatta.  Today’s choices included rost beef or turkey on a kaiser or whole wheat roll topped with field greens, american or swiss cheese, bacon, and roasted garlic aoili. Yes, one of the crew members was up at 5:45 this morning roasting the garlic for the sandwiches.

Once lunch was done, it became clear that a thunderstorm was headed right for us.  What luck — too little wind to sail AND we get blessed with a thunderstorm?!!  Race committee moved us north to avoid most of the storm.  Once it cleared, we had hopes of a breeze and got a bit more practice in.  Unfortunately, wind direction kept changing and then died.  Which meant an early day back at the dock for all of us.

Hopefully, wind will be better the next two days, but the forecast doesn’t look spectacular at this point.