Oct 1
Today we are moving from Baltimore to Annapolis. Where we are docked, there is a powerboat behind us. I have been contemplating how to get us out since last night. I may be able to just back up past him, if I can get enough steerage before I get to his bow. Or, I can probably back up a little, then go forward and make a circle between the piers since one of the two tall ships that was here has left. Well, just after we awoke and were not even out of bed yet, I heard a prop in the water. I looked out the stern window and saw the powerboat leaving. This will make it easy as long as nobody else shows up. We got up and had coffee and cereal and started preparing to leave. We were ready to go except for untying the dock lines when another sailboat approached with the intent of tying up behind us. Barb ran down the dock quick and told them we were about to back out if they could wait a minute. So they made a circle while we cast off and backed straight out.
Today's weather is cool and clear, with hardly a breath of wind. We motored out the Patapsco River, under the Francis Scott Key Bridge and into the Chesapeake. There were lots of small fishing boats out, but no commercial traffic at all. Baltimore Harbor really is an easy place to visit, since while commercial traffic exists, it is not heavy, and there is plenty of deep water in the harbor so it's easy to stay out of the way. Once out in the bay, we turned south towards Annapolis. The wind was only about two knots, so we just motored as usual.
Along the way we got to hear about a twenty-five foot fishing boat almost sinking on the VHF. The boat owner called the Coast Guard in a very frantic voice and said he was taking on water fast and that he was headed for shore. They asked where he was, and the Baltimore Police also responded right away. The police had a boat nearby and headed his way. A sailboat in the vicinity also had eyes on him, but couldn't go to his aid since the powerboat went into shallow water. The power boater managed to run the boat up on the beach before it sank. Tow Boats US and the police got there right after that to help him.
As we got close to Annapolis, the boat traffic increased dramatically. Given it was a pretty Saturday, tons of boats were out, many of them sailboats. There were at least four or five sailboat races going on which we tried to stay clear of. There are numerous marinas in Annapolis, as well as two places to anchor. Our friends Wayne & Nancy on Dances With Dragons are anchored in Back Creek, so that's where we are going to go and try to anchor near them. As soon as we got in the anchorage area, we saw Dances With Dragons and saw somebody in the cockpit. Barb got up on the bow and started yelling "Wayne!". They guy didn't respond. Then she yelled "Dances With Dragons!". This time the guy turned around and we realized it wasn't Wayne. Turned out to be their friend Rodney. He was on the boat alone waiting for Nancy to come back with Tal & Carolyn, other friends from Kemah who are coming to visit.
We circled around and dropped the hook next to Dances With Dragons. There are about ten boats anchored here, with room for maybe two more. As we backed down on the anchor, it did not set. We hoisted it, moved up and dropped it again with the same result. After five tries, we moved over a couple hundred feet between two other boats and tried again. This time it held, but I wasn't entirely happy with how close we ended up to the boats behind us. I figured I'd consult with Wayne and Nancy when they returned and see how the boats lay.
We deployed the dinghy and lowered the motor onto it. I hopped in and started the motor. It had given me trouble back in Texas, but had worked fine the whole time we were in NY. Well, now it wouldn't run unless I kept the choke out. Of course when the choke is out, the idle is quite fast, so driving it that way would have been exciting. After messing with it enough to have it warmed up, it still wouldn't run when not choked. So, I took the cover off and started to mess with the carburetor again. The carb has been the problem in the past, partly from the gas getting gelled due to lack of use before we left Texas. I got it off and took it apart. There was no evidence of gelling or dirt in the carb this time. I put it back together and it ran the same.
Meanwhile, Nancy came back with Tal & Carolyn. They saw us and dinghied over to say hi. Turns out Wayne went to the Gulf of Mexico for a job and won't be back until later in the week. He works on oil rigs on an on-call basis. Nancy informed me that the holding in this creek wasn't very good, and in fact Dances With Dragons had slipped her anchor a couple days before and drifted over to one of the marinas. With that info and the uncooperative dinghy motor, I decided to see if we could get in a marina. One of the biggest boat shows in the country is going to be here next weekend, so things in the marinas are a little tight because of that. I called the marina that we were right in front of and asked if they had a slip for a few days. They did and Allison, the woman on the phone, asked the boat name. I replied "MoonSail" and she said "aren't you anchored right off my fuel dock?". I explained that I was but that my dinghy was not running, thus the need for a slip. She told me what slip to go to and we said we'd be in shortly.
We hoisted the dinghy back on the davits, raised the anchor and headed into the marina. The slips here have only short finger piers, so it's easier to get off and on the boat if you back in. While this boat backs up very well, it has to have a little room to get going before it steers well backwards. The fairway we are going in is short and narrow. I pulled in all the way to the end and then tried to back into the slip. I wasn't getting enough speed to turn well backwards, so it got a little ugly. Not only is there not much room, but there are two pilings at the end of the slip that I have miss. So, I pretty much have to get the boat sideways in the fairway before entering the slip, but the fairway is only about as wide as the boat is long. After a little back and forth, on the third try I had it in the slip. I had to use my boat hook to push us off the neighbors boat, but never hit anything other than the pilings at the end of the slip. I tore the cover to the Lifesling on the piling, but eventually got us secure. As is always the case, there were lots of witnesses to the ugly docking. Nobody is ever there to see when you slip it in like a hand in a glove.
Once secure we got checked in at the office. They filled us in on where the showers were, how to get the water taxi, and the fact that they have a transient car available. We took showers and relaxed for a bit. We ate dinner aboard, and then Nancy, Tal, Carolyn, and Rodney came over for drinks. We chatted until 21:30 catching up on things.
GPS N 38-57.921 W 76-28.814 Miles made good this leg 28. Total miles covered 2663.
Oct 2
Today will be tourist day. We were relaxing with our coffee when we heard a loud boat horn blast a few times. I looked out, and a large dinner-cruise type boat was docking at the fuel dock. We made a joke about the darn loud boat and finished our coffee.
The deal with the water taxi is this: They don't stop at this marina regularly, but if you call them by quarter till the hour, they will pick you up at quarter after the hour. Also, they have a three-person minimum for the special stop, so it will cost us $3.50 x 3, or $10.50 for the trip. I made the call before 09:45 and they said they would pick us up at 10:15. So, about 09:55 we headed over to the fuel dock. There were two guys there who were with the dinner-cruise boat who started chatting with us. We told them we were waiting for the water taxi. A few minutes later, I heard one of them on his hand-held VHF talking to the water taxi. Turns out the big boat is owned by the same company as the water taxi. The captain of the big boat confirmed that the taxi was not bringing anybody our way, so he said he would take us and save the taxi the trip. Allison, the marina lady, heard all this and came out and told them not to charge us the three person minimum since they didn't make a special trip to get us. And, she gave us $1.00 off coupons, so we got to ride to town in the fancy boat for $5.00. The captain also took us up to the wheelhouse to look around. I have seen this type of boat before, but I let him give us the nickel tour and enjoyed his hospitality. As it turned out, another couple also showed up for the taxi, so we chatted with them as we rode over. They were a local couple who spend weekends on the boat and race it a lot.
The boat docked at the main downtown harbor where it was going to pick up the passengers for the charter they were doing. We thanked them and walked to the main street. We stopped at Starbucks and got more coffee, then just walked around the streets looking at the neat old houses. A couple blocks from downtown was the State House. Annapolis is the capitol of Maryland, and for a short period of time back in the 1700's it was the nation's capitol. We went inside and looked around. The first floor contains the house and senate chambers, as well as a number of rooms of exhibits about the history of the place. Since it was Sunday, we got to see the chambers as well as the exhibits. Back outside, we walked some more amongst the old houses and the shops along the main drag.
We called Nancy to see what their plans were, and decided to get together with them for dinner. We walked over to the Naval Academy to look around. Once there we found they offer a guided walking tour for a nominal fee, so we signed up. We watched a fifteen minute movie about the Academy, and then started the tour. Our tour guide was a retired fellow, who was born in Argentina of German parents. He had nothing to do with the Navy, but volunteered to give one tour a week on Sundays. He was very interesting and knowledgeable about the Academy. Since he only did his one tour a day, he didn't have to hurry and be back at a certain time, so we had a nice long tour. Being the weekend, we didn't see a lot of midshipmen on the grounds. The juniors and seniors can leave the base on the weekends, while the freshmen and sophomores must stay on base and be in uniform any time they are outside of the dorms. The whole place was very interesting, especially the chapel and the crypt of John Paul Jones.
After the tour, we went to have lunch at the Middleton Tavern. The Middleton Tavern has been here since colonial days. If you wanted much other than a burger it was pretty pricy, but it was a cool place right on the main street at the end of the city docks. After lunch we started to walk over to Eastport. Annapolis is laid out like three fingers. Spa Creek and Back Creek make the water between the fingers. The marina is on the south side of Back Creek, while downtown is on the north side of Spa Creek. Eastport is the finger between the two creeks. There is a bridge over Spa Creek connecting downtown and Eastport. My reason for wanting to go over to Eastport is that this is where I bought MoonSail. Bay Yacht Agency is who I bought her from, and the yard that hauled her and made her ready for her truck trip to Texas is there.
As we walked towards the bridge, I noticed Pusser's Landing. I knew this was here, but had forgotten. Pusser's has several places in the BVI, and their signature drink is the Painkiller. We were introduced to Painkillers when we did our first charter in the BVI a few years ago. Back then, you couldn't buy Pusser's rum (a key ingredient) in the US, so it was unique to get the drink there. Since then, they have started importing the rum and a pre-mixed mix of the juices to complete the drink. But, we still needed to stop in and have one drink to complete our Pusser's tour since we have been to all but one of them in the BVI.
After Pusser's we crossed the bridge to Eastport. Once again, as pedestrians, we got stopped by an open drawbridge. We found Bay Yacht Agency and I showed Barb where MoonSail (then Chrysalis) had been on the hard in the parking lot when I first came to Annapolis to meet the broker whom I had been talking to about buying a boat. She was the only boat I even looked at, and I had actually parked under the bow of her when I pulled in. We walked around a bit more and then got a call from an old friend. One of my high school friends who had also been my next door neighbor growing up, lives in PA now, but was in Annapolis for the weekend at a wood working show. She and her husband were done with the show and wanted to stop and say hi before heading back to PA. So, I gave them directions to where we were and they met us at a local pub near where we had been. We visited with Barbie & Jim for an hour or so and caught up a little on the old times and new. They gave us several nice gifts of things they make in their woodworking business, Longan's Custom Woodworking.
From there we walked to the dinghy dock on the south side of Eastport. This is right across from our marina and it is where Nancy has been leaving their dinghy when they go ashore. I was hoping to find their dinghy and hijack it. But, it was not there. I called Nancy hoping to beg a ride from her, but she didn't answer. Turned out she was elsewhere in the dinghy picking up Tal & Carolyn from a day in town. As we were sitting on a bench there deciding whether to call a real taxi or not, another couple walked up. I asked if they had a dinghy and when they replied yes, I offered them five bucks to take us across the creek. The guy said he wouldn't take my money but would be glad to take us across. Then I realized they had a motor-less inflatable dinghy. He thought four would be too heavy a load, so he said he'd take us and come back for his wife. I told him I couldn't possibly expect him to row us across and then come back for his wife, but by then he insisted. When he got us across, I again offered him a few bucks to get a beer, but he refused. Cruisers are certainly a wonderful bunch.
About 19:00, Nancy sent Tal in the dinghy to fetch us for dinner. We enjoyed a good dinner with them and stayed there until about 21:30. Nancy brought us back to the marina and we hit the sack.
GPS N 38-57.921 W 76-28.814 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 2663.
Today we will run errands and see if I can fix the dinghy motor. Once we had gotten into the marina, I had looked up the local Honda Marine dealer. I was prepared to just replace the carb on the outboard. The guy who answered didn't have a carb, but he asked me what mine was doing. I told him, and he told me exactly what little tube in the carb was probably clogged. So today, I took the carb off again and took it apart. I got the little tube out, and ran a piece of very thin wire up through it. There didn't seem to be anything obvious stuck in it, but who knows. I put it all back together and put it back on the motor. Since I backed into the slip, I cant actually launch the dinghy, but I hooked up the gas line just to see if it would start. It did start and seemed to idle without being choked, although the idle was as little faster than normal. I couldn't run it long without cooling water, but maybe I have accomplished something.
We then got the marina car and took off. First stop was West Marine. We picked up several things like filters, PFD re-arming kits, and a new TV antennae. I also wanted to get a shore-power cord replacement end. One of my cords is slowly frying one of the connectors like they often do. Well, it turned out the replacement end kit was $53 and a whole new cord was $50. Hmmm. Something is wrong with this picture. We then went and found a place to buy a piece of coax so we can hook up the cable TV when we are in a marina that offers that. Next stop was a liquor store, and then the grocery store. After two hours, our $5.00 car rental had enabled us to spend a couple hundred bucks. What a deal.
Back at the boat, I tried to install the new TV antennae. I had not looked carefully before we left at exactly how the old one broke off. I thought the extension pipe it was on had broken and that the actual mount was ok. Well, it turns out the mount itself broke, so that will have to be replaced too. Next West Marine... While I had the boat backed up far enough to reach the davit arch, I also checked out the stern light. Last time we were out overnight I thought the reflection off the dinghy looked like only half of the LED's in the fixture were on. Sure enough, half of the LED's were out. These nav lights are LED inserts made by Orca Green Marine. They replace the bulbs in a regular Aqua Marine fixture. This is the second insert I have had trouble with. OGM replaced the first one with no hassle just before we left Texas. Well, they have stopped making these inserts now, because obviously they were having problems, and now they sell a whole replacement fixture for three times the price of the inserts. They have offered to refund my money or credit it towards a new light. I told them to send a refund since the Aqua Marine fixture I have is new and I just put a regular bulb back in it.
The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and writing the logs. Tomorrow we will begin the trip to Norfolk. That will be a four day, three night trip, stopping and anchoring every night. At least that's the plan.
GPS N 38-57.921 W 76-28.814 Miles made good this leg 0. Total miles covered 2663.