Bouncing across  chop, the scow fleet encircled the Pride of Baltimore II and let fly with all manner of invective.  How dare this privateer ply the Potomac!  Every scallywag with half a halyard knows the British merchant marine is already claimed by Whistlebritches, Chalupa and the soon-to-be-named Melges.

The bow guns rolled to the ports but no fuse was lit as the Melges slid under the sprit of the hulking, wooden sirenia.

Continue reading Running off the Interloper →

“Is that a J-24 there?”  “I think its a J-32”  “No, that’s a 24”  “Yeah, Yeah”  “They’ve got some good wind.”  “Should we go after them?”  “Yeah, but I want to get upwind of them and stay in that good wind.”  “Definitely…do you think you can point above them.”  “Are you kidding, these boards are toed in…we can get  ’em” Continue reading Stoking Competitive Instincts →

It’s always a lot of fun to get some new sailors into a boat and show them what it feels like to skim across the water with nothing but windpower.   Stuart and Henry joined me for a couple hours in early Juneand they seemed to enjoy it.   Continue reading Scow Impressions →