2025 Annapolis to Miles River Race
Over the weekend, our crew aboard the J/42 DIANTHUS took part in a 20-nautical-mile race that started near Thomas Point Light and finished near Miles River Yacht Club. The course took us southeast past Kent Island before turning into the river for the final leg.
We had six on board: Dave, Carol, Wendy, John, Mike, and Jon D. Conditions were breezy throughout, with steady winds over 20 knots and gusts reaching 27. Whitecaps were visible across the Bay, making for a fast and challenging race.
Our fleet was the fourth start of the day. We managed a well-timed reach at the boat end of the line, staying high and clear of traffic. A few of the faster boats eventually came through below us, but we held a solid position early on.
As we crossed the Bay, the course shifted to another reach into the Miles River. We started passing some of the slower boats ahead of us while faster boats from behind caught up. Many boats were flying symmetrical spinnakers—some handling them well, others less so.
When the course turned to a deeper run, we put up our own spinnaker and stayed in control, even with gusts still hitting 25+ knots. We saw boat speeds up to 10.5 knots. Around us, a few boats wiped out in the breeze, but we managed to keep things clean.
Rather than gybe in those conditions, we chose to drop the spinnaker for the final short leg to the finish.
After the race, we rafted up at the club and checked the results: 4th place, just under a minute out of 2nd on corrected time. A strong finish in heavy air and a good day on the water.
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