Our weeks in Annapolis

It was a Dark & Stormy night, actually we had several…it’s a drink a friend, Mike Gooley, introduced me to during our guys sailing weekend over the years…dark rum with ginger beer and a twist of lime. Apparently, all the sailors here in Annapolis drink them too.

Our stay at the Annapolis Harbor Boat Yard was a good experience. They completed all the work in a friendly, professional manner. With the tachometer working again and knowing the heat exchanger is clean, we will confidently cruise with the engine at 2,000 RPM’s and moving at 6.5knts/hr. We loved our stay in Spa Creek, just past the draw bridge.

My brother Rick has been visiting Annapolis every year for the last ten to celebrate his wife’s birthday…this one was a milestone! We met them upon their arrival at Pusser’s Landing, then to the Boat Yard for dinner and a band, then to O’Brien’s (they do not serve a good Dark & Stormy), then on to Rams Head….it was a dock an storme nite by de thyme we swaggered wack to the dink.

Two of our sons, Ryan and Robert drove to Annapolis to visit for a few days…it was sure great having them here. Neil had to work so he couldn't make the trip. 

A visit from Ryan and Robert

Rod, who we met at Eastport Yacht Club and is a Senior Professor at the US Naval Academy, took the four of us on our own personal tour of the Naval Academy. The labs were pretty impressive and the dorms were better than the Whitehouse and Buckingham Palace! Julie decided to take the opportunity to hitch a ride back to Toronto with our sons for a few days and my good friend Neil Bower arrived within minutes of their departure. We had a great time hitting a few pubs and restaurants and playing Hold’em at night…despite the 1L bottle of Appleton’s 12 year old Neil brought, my rum stock took a beating.

My buddy Neil

USNA tour

Powered by different fuels

Instrument used to measure the speed of light

An engine used to power a small navy ship

The dorm

Dining in the dorm

Crypt of John Paul Jones

Julie made her return with dear friends of ours, Colette and Cara,

 who stayed aboard as we all took in the Boat Show, always a great time had with the lady’s. All visitors were introduced to the meticulous sport of eating steamed crab…with Old Bay of course.

Remember the 25 year old girls, Katie and Jessie, from Michigan we met in the 1000 Islands…they made the front cover of Cruising Outpost…cool!

A portion of the Boat Show

The Annapolis SailBoat Show has come to an end; they are now setting up for the Power Boat Show this weekend. The good thing is we didn't have any large ticket items to purchase since we had already arranged for the solar panels which are now nicely mounted on the davits…just have to wire them up. We went with a Polycrystalline instead of the monocrystalline solar cells…advantages to each – poly is better for the southern heat, mono provides more watts with low light but we’re not talking about a lot of watts. We’re anxious to see the amps generated in hopes we won’t need to run our genie as often as we do now.

With the boat show complete, Julie and I sat at a local pub while running back and forth to the Harbour Master Laundromat. We reviewed the weather and planned our stops down the Chesapeake. By next Tuesday we hope to be in the Dismal Swamp (a scenic alternate route with only 6ft depth) just south of Norfolk, VA. It appears the temperature in Norfolk will be about 10F warmer than Annapolis!!!

Sunset from Spa Creek