Chapter 55: Annapolis

Log 55
Annapolis, MD.

6:30 AM
Sunday, June 11, 2000
Yacht Basin Co.
Annapolis, MD.

We had a great day yesterday. It was a short 40 or so miles from Solomon Island to Annapolis. The morning was just perfect, with a light wind from the south, and crystal blue skies. As we came out of our marina, and rejoined the Chesapeake, I set the chart plotter to the mouth of the Severen River (Annapolis), and hit the autopilot. For the next 4 hours we cruised at about 10 mph, and enjoyed the day, and the bay. We decided to go slow all the way to Annapolis, and it was definitely the right decision.

Side note: As you have noticed, we have not had any maintenance items lately. In fact everything is working great, but we did have an issue I had to deal with. A couple of nights ago the water pump was running much more than usual. (You can hear it when it runs, and we are always listening for any sounds that are not normal) I also noticed that when we got to Solomon Island the water level in the water tank looked strangely low. It concerned me that we had developed a leak somewhere. I looked everywhere, and couldn’t find anything, so when we went to bed I shut off the water to be sure. In the middle of the night I woke up and had an idea of what could be the problem, and sure enough it was. We have a wash down nozzle on the bow of the boat to wash down the anchor, and Steve always uses it to hose himself down to cool off. Well, it seems he forgot to turn it off, and it was leaking down into the anchor compartment, and draining outside. I can tell you it made my morning to find out that this was the problem, and not so many other things that could be a huge pain. So…..still no maintenance problems.

We arrived Annapolis a little after 1 PM. It was hot by then, so washing the boat down, and getting wet was not a problem. After everything was clean, we put the dinghy in the water, packed a cooler, and saw Annapolis by dinghy. We had a good time, but it was very hot, and I was looking forward to getting back to the boat, and sit inside for a while. (Which is exactly what I did)
For dinner we walked into Annapolis (only about 2 or 3 blocks), and took our chances without a reservation. We wanted to eat at a place called Middletown Tavern (Deb and I have been there, and it is kind of neat. It is where George Washington, and his buds used to hang out) and as it turned out they had a place for us. The waiter, and the food were great. The only issue was the prices were a little high, but “hey, we’ll worry about the cost later.” I can see with Rome and Theresa aboard, we might as well sell some of this stuff in the refrigerator, because the chances of us using it are slim.
After dinner Deb and I went for an ice cream cone, and took a slow walk back to the boat. Rome and Theresa decided to walk around Annapolis, and head back later. Which is exactly what they did, because when I went to bed they were not back yet. In fact I’m assuming they made it back, because I haven’t seen them yet this morning. (By the way, if you have never been to Annapolis, and you get the chance, you should go, because it is a great small city)

Today is even easier than yesterday. We are only going to Baltimore, which is probably only about 20 miles by water. We have made this trip many times when we lived here, and it’s great. We have reservations at Inner Harbor Marina, where we have been many times, and I’m looking forward to seeing it again. Baltimore Harbor is a wonderful place, and although I’m sure it’s changed in the last few years, I’ll bet it has changed for the better.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.