Good Times in Annapolis

October 6 - 12: Annapolis, MD

Cruising Party

Prior to going home for my visit, Bill and I met a great cruising couple, Jan and Iain Robertson on s/v Jockslodge. They are originally from Scotland, but lived in Canada for sometime before setting off on their 33 foot Canadian Sailcraft to live on board. They are now in year 3 of a 5-year plan to cruise. They have been to Cuba, the Bahamas and back up to the Chesapeake. This year, they plan to go to Cuba then on to South America. They have been so helpful in teaching us the tricks of living aboard. I call them our cruising godparents. Jan has even taught me to bake bread from scratch! I'm talking the whole science experiment process of yeast mixing with water and sugar to start a chemical reaction that looks like Jed Clampet's "bubblin' crude". So far, I've made pizza crust and french bread...both of which came out pretty darn good. Ian has spent time with Bill going over the charts, pointing out good anchorages on the way down the ICW and areas to avoid.

At one of our get-togethers they came up with the idea of holding a cruiser's party to meet other folks anchored or moored in Spa Creek for the boat show. Our first attempt was rained out. The second, successful attempt was held the Sunday I returned to Annapolis. Everyone brought what they wanted to drink and a snack to share. It was great getting to meet so many folks and listen to their stories. We truly are "newbies" at this, when you consider those who have lived aboard 3, 5 or 8 years and travel south every year to Trinidad or Cuba or other exotic ports. I got so caught up in talking that I only took two pics...but hey, it's better than none.

We held the party under the shelter in a little park on Spa Creek. Lots of good food and tall tales!

This young French couple had two children. The baby slept through most of the party. Their young daughter was about 7 and adorable in a little floral dress. Wish I'd taken her pic as well. Can't imagine living on board with two small ones, but what a great opportunity for those kids to see the world!

Oh, I have to tell you a funny story. We were talking to Jan and Ian about the new generator we got to top off the batteries when we are on the hook. Bill was asking if they thought it would be powerful enough to use an electric blanket when it gets cold. Jan, who is a very practical, replied in her beautiful Scottish brogue, "Oh for heaven's sake, put on some socks!" Now, when we get up in the morning and are quickly climbing into our layers of clothes our favorite refrain is, "put on some socks!"

Annapolis Boat Show

On Monday, the set up for the boat show got underway in earnest. We couldn't believe how fast the area was transformed.

This crane was used to set pilings in the bay for the floating docks.

Two boats were used to move the floating docks into place. This one is called "Pull."

And this one is called "Shove." Pretty clever, eh?

They moved one line of docks in...filled them with boats, then moved another line of docks into place.

This is an early view of the set up, before all the boats were in place.

Editor's Note: Our camera bit the dust...er, water
Ok, I don't know if you can understand how excited Bill and I were to watch the show come together. The Annapolis Boat Show is the largest in the U.S. and it had always been a dream of ours to attend. Here we were...not only about to attend the show, but there on our own boat, to watch the set up! Just too much. We decided to go over to Pusser's (Rum) Restaurant to watch all the activity. Pusser's has a long deck that is directly next to the boat show area. Well, one Painkiller led to another and then another. We went back to the boat on the dink. As I was stepping from the dink to the back deck, my foot slipped and SPLASH, I was in the water. Luckily, I grabbed the aftstay on my way down (a stainless steel wire running from the top of the mast to the back of the boat). I managed to keep myself only about waist deep in the very cold, very dirty water while Bill jumped on the boat to lower the swim ladder for me to climb back on board. I cut up my hand pretty bad, but it was worth it because I was able to save my Blackberry which was in one pocket of my jacket. Unfortunately, the camera in the other pocket did not fair as well. So, I'll do my best to provide links or descriptions for the rest of the boat show story. Sorry folks. We really are not alcoholics, just seems like the good stories happen when the spirits come out.

We attended the first day of the show on Thursday. It was great getting on all the fancy models of boats, including a HUGE 82 foot Oyster, a true cruising yacht and a 50-some foot Hinkley which looked like it had been all hand made out of beautiful dark wood. We also got to board Manitou, a sailboat that John F Kennedy sailed. (My mom would have LOVED that.) I wanted to recreate his famous pic with Bill at the helm, but couldn't do it without the camera. We also met one of Bill's idols, Bob Bitchin, the publisher of Latitudes and Attitudes magazine. He's a former biker who got bit by the sailing bug and has built an empire out of it....magazine, books, videos, clothing line...you name it. He's really down to earth and friendly. His wife, Jody, tried to take a pic with her phone but it didn't work out so you'll just have to click on the link above to see him.

Some of the guys from Harbor North (where we store the boat) were also at the show, working the Hunter booth. We got to hook up with them for dinner the first night, then had TJ and Stan over the next night on our boat. I went to bed early (as always) but Bill and the guys stayed up till 3 am! I felt bad for those guys because they had to work the whole next day at the show. UGH!

During the first afternoon, I was having some lunch and met a couple who had cruised for 8 years throughout the world...the Med, Spain, Croatia, Middle East, Africa...you name it. They said the best piece of equipment they had on board was a water purifier. They never had to buy water after that. Just filled up their tanks and the purifier took it from there. It's been heavily tested and always beat out bottled or tap water for purity and taste. Sounded good to me. We ended up getting one and Bill has it installed. SOOOOO nice just to turn the tap for good drinking water instead of carting it to the boat. We also got good, lightweight rain jackets and some cool LED lights which take up less amps when we are on the hook. (Bill monitors our usage closely. I call him the Amp Nazi. God forbid if you use something without turning it off! But I'm sure I'll be thankful for his diligence down the road.)

On the last night at the show, we got a Painkiller (I know, I know...but we couldn't resist, since they were being served in really cool tin cups that we could keep). I was walking out one of the tents just chatting it up about all the cool stuff we'd seen and what we could use down the road, blah, blah, blah. I turned and said, "OMG, you're not Bill." I'd been talking the ear off this really nice older gentleman who barely spoke English. He started laughing as he took my arm and looked back to wave to Bill. We all had a good laugh over that one. Sometimes I really am such a major DORK!

Shortly after, I again got separated from Bill (the crowds were thick) and ended up at the Sebago shoe tent. Well, what do you know? Bill always gives me a hard time about the shoes I have on board, which, back me up here girls, is not much. I only have 2 pairs of sandals, boat shoes and tennis shoes. That's it! But the boat shoes at Sebago were sooooo cute. And again, you girls will nod your heads in agreement when I tell you they were ON SALE! I couldn't resist. I tried them on and kept looking around for Bill to stop me. I told the sales girls about my dilemma. Finally, after about the third failed attempt to find Bill, one of the girls said, "you know, sometimes the universe puts you in a situation where you just know what to do." Boy, she was singin' my song. I quickly gave her my charge card and told her to ring them up. "Do you want the box?" "Heck no," I replied, "I'll hide them in my bag." Of course, as soon as I saw Bill I had to fess up. He started laughing, saying, "I just KNEW you were in a shoe place."

We went over to the Federal House, our favorite hangout, to meet up with April and Kevin. April is a cousin of Kathy, part of the crew we met back in Fairport, Ohio. Kathy told April about our trip and we've been emailing off and on. She and Kevin live in Solomon's, which is just south of Annapolis. We had a great time. They are interested in cruising someday so were full of questions of how we prepared and how we're handling the trip. Talking to them made me realize how far we have come. It's amazing that the things we thought were such obstacles at first seem so insignificant now. Maybe we are learning a thing or two. Hmmmm

Kevin and April with us at the Federal House. (Pic was taken with April's camera.)

We spent the rest of the weekend getting things ready to leave Annapolis and head south. Bill didn't want to leave but I was ready to move on. I can't wait to see what's down the road and am anxious to have more cruising experiences in other ports. Stay tuned...