Under Armour Women's Offshore Sedna Shorts

So I live in Baltimore home of Under Armour. I love the company and often sail right past their headquarters. So when they made a line of offshore shorts I was so happy. I went out and got a pair right away of the ones I tried on the Sedna were my favorite. I have been wearing them sailing. ( yes even sailing past the Under Armour headquarters)

Pros
1. Cute
2. The semi belt buckle aspect is lovey and makes them fit wonderful at the waist
3. The zippered pockets are convenient and open and close well but too small see cons
4. The fabric is durable and has held up to non skid without pilling
5. The fabric is sweat wicking and quick dry
6. Baltimore company

Cons
1. Too short : they are not long enough that if you are sitting on the rail your bare skin is against the rail which is painful
2. Related to 1 the too short aspect also causes rolling up in the thigh area with extensive movement
3. The pockets are not deep enough for a multitool or really much of anything a but deeper would be nice
4.A minor thing they only come in black and purple. I own the black which is nice looking but a dark tan or light gray would be good since well purple shorts are a but much for me.

Overall
B- I might get them again but they are better for cruising or hanging out at the bar rather then racing.

If you want to but them they are $37.99 and you can get them here

Note I am in no way affiliated with Under Armour I just wear their clothes and sail past their headquarters.

Sugar sheets and making a Mr Yuk cake

So a friend of mine asked me to make her a Mr Yuk cake. Yes a cake that looked like the symbol of poison that you remember from the 80's. Odd I know.

Now as most bakers know getting true dark black is a challenge and getting really crisp lines in frosting is also a challenge. So I made a basic chocolate chocolate chip cake and added a dirty icing layer nutella using the nutella in place of icing. Then I used lime green fondant to cover the whole cake round. Then here is the new part to me at least . I used Wilton Sugar sheets in black and simply cut the pieces I wanted out using scissors . You can cut whatever pieces you want and they you peel off the backing. Now they say it sticks great to buttercream but was a smidgen too dry to stick to fondant so I used a small kitchen paintbrush and brushed on corn syrup to back of pieces and then placed them with my kitchen tweezers where I wanted them to be. The result was pretty darn great. Now my picture quality was awful but still.

Overall much sharper black lines then I would have gotten otherwise and the friend I made the cake for was over the moon. Additionally this used up less then a third of a sugar sheet so I still have a ton for some future project.

Solomons Screwpile 2013

I sailed the race to Solomon's on Friday into Saturday.  Lovely long starboard tack all the way down the bay. Winds around 15-20knots the whole time except the start. The start all of the sudden winds died and went every which way. Add in wind shadows from boats and it was wonky at the start.  However great run down bay finished about 3:30. 

Screwpile day one
No air postponed til 1pm and then wind picked up first to 8kt and then for second race to 15 knots.  I was on a different boat then race down and we had a shorthanded crew and a bunch of kinks to work out so did not do great but a fun day. The race committee had a contest for which boat had the most of several things during postponement and that provided some odd entertainment.  

Screwpile day two
We had an on the dock postponement till ten then they announced races would stsrt on water at 11:30. We got three races in which was really great winds were about 12knots.  So dang hot however.  The pool back at zanhisers marina was so wonderful. 

Screwpile day 3

Lovely lovely wind n the 15 knot range. 

2 races were gotten in ob the south course then back to fuel dock and main dock to drop off crew and then delivery back to annapolis. The wind and day was great getting back to annapolis

Review Musto Evolution Womens Sailing Shorts

Sailing shorts for women are hard to find good ones.

First lets define what makes good sailing shorts. 

1. Good fit. ( This is a major issue for most sailing shorts)

2. Pockets- they need to be of useful sizes and easy to open with gloved hands

3. Belt loops - I at least like to mini carabeener my multitool via a long line to a belt loop so I do not drop it overboard

4. Reinforced or padded and reinforced rear end.

5. Fast drying

6. Long enough to protect the back of your thighs when on the rail without being so long as to be ugly.

7. Movement you need to be able to have full movement for climbing around on the boat without the shorts pulling against your legs

8. Durable- Non skid can do a number on your clothes and given the amount of sailing I do has ruined several pairs of shorts. Sailing shorts are not cheap and for these prices should hold up. 

9. Style/Price

I have been searching for the best pair for years. I've tried on or owned almost all of the major contenders from Camet, Underarmour, Gil, Zhik, Atlantis,Henry Loyd ect. 

Finally I found a pair I actually love. Musto Evolution Performance Women's Shorts

So how do they do on the criteria we established above

1. Fit- Seems to be true to size. Waist to hip area is comfortable(which is rare usually sailing shorts either have a really tiny waist and huge hip area or no assumption of hips at all) and I wear the same size I do in most normal shorts. 

2.Nice deep pockets. The big thigh pocket I wish was on the right leg not the left but that is just me. It is plenty of space for your cell and money at the after party or during the race I often put the gloves in that pocket before the race. The thigh pocket is really two pockets the velcro one on top and the zipper one underneath. I mainly use the velcro one. It is nice for a roll of tape or a pair of gloves which getting things rigged up on the way to the race course. The hip pockets are also good I use the one on the right for my multitool and they are deep enough for that and that is a rare thing. After races it is big enough to hold a beer can. 

3. They smartly put the belt loops right at the top of the pockets so carabeenering stuff with an idiot line( a bit of light line connecting a tool to a carabeener so that you do not drop overboard like an idiot) to your belt loops and putting it in the pockets works great. 

4. These shorts do not have padding or the option for padding but that is ok. They do have a reinforced rear end which is nice and great protection against abrasion of nonskid. The texture also helps prevent slipping on boats with insufficient non skid when on the rail.  A comment from one of my guy friends was that the placement and grey color of the reinforced rear tends to emphasize attractive rear ends of female sailors due to the curve. I am not sure if this is true or my friend is just a typical horny sailor. 

5. Well last night I was wearing these and got splashed with bay water and soaked at one point on the rail and they were entirely dry by the end of the next leg. So they pass that. Not sweat wicking but they do dry fast. 

6.I'm 5'10''  with  lot of that extra height being legs so sometimes shorts are too short on me. These fall about five inches above my knee cap. This is long enough that they protect my thighs on the rail and help prevent those obnoxious rail line bruises. 

7. They have a nice oval in the crotch gusset and such so I can fully do the splits or get one leg entirely up and the other entirely down without issue. Total full range of movement in them without pulling on the crotch or back of legs. Perfect in this criteria. 

8.Durable. Since I bought these I have done probably 20 races in them things from ocean races Annapolis to Newport to Wednesday and Thursday night races on boats from 22- 80 feet and they still look brand new after washing. No rips, tears, pilling, or worn down spots. Rare are the shorts that can withstand all that with no damage. 

9.Style/Price- They are totally attractive enough to wear to the post race party but not so cute that you would wear them out in a non sailing crowd.  At $110 they are in the range but at the high end of the range for price of women's tech sailing shorts.

Overall I think these shorts are a 9 out of 10.  They are the best female racing shorts I have found go get yourself a pair.

What would I change?

They only come in Black or Stone. ( I own black) but my ideal color would be a dark tan. Stone is too light and shows dirt black is too dark and gets warm. 

I would put the thigh pocket on the right side not the left.

If they could get the price below 100 that would be much better.

Note: I am not affiliated in any way with Musto or any sailing gear manufacture. I just wear their stuff. I am also not affiliated in any way with APS which is where the link goes to buy these shorts. I just know they stock them. Neither company knows I exist and this review is unbiased in that regard. 

Back to Blogging and spin catching a mark

Sorry I have been away for a while between some family issues and summer sailing season I have been away from it.
Delicious recipes forthcoming but just for giggles and to know that there are other minor mishaps out there watch this video at about 35 seconds they catch the mark with their spin.