Stardate: 09182010.0930
Well, it's been almost a month since our last post and other than preparing Midnight Breeze for a possible hurricane and taking day trips, nothing much has happened. I did get the holding tank repaired (see last blog entry). I have to take time here and give five stars to Annapolis Yacht Sales and their service department. Cathy in the parts department really went out of her way to help us with the parts we needed. They even went as far as making a special tool for the cap replacement since the design changed from the one we had. Chris and his service department are top notch and I highly recommend there services.

On to other things. I have been living in this area for well over twenty years and boating on the Chesapeake for at least 15 of those years. For the first time last week I decided to learn how to eat a crab. Now, don't get me wrong, I love crabs. I just have a hard time understanding the crab eating process, by that I mean I sit there and watch everybody else digging for crab while I just pick up my crab cake sandwich and enjoy my meal. I look at the process in several ways.

First; by the time I went through a dozen or so crabs, a couple of hours would have passed and I would be hungry all over again. Second; by eating a crab cake or the like I would satisfy my hunger curve, be finished way before the others, thus leaving more time for additional drinks! Third; watching everybody pounding away on a crab that is already dead looks really exhausting. Fourth; after watching everyone gutting the crab, how the hell can they eat it?

Well, old habits die hard and after twenty years Mary talked me into trying crabs the old fashion way. What a mess! Hell my hands were so, I don't want to say dirty, wrong word, so I'll just say covered, that every time I went to pick up my beer I dropped it. On top of that it took me hours to finish what I had started and I really was hungry and thirsty again! Mary kept saying it's the togetherness that really counts. I must say she was very patient with me. After we were finished I used the excuse of going to the bar to watch the Philadelphia Eagles play Green Bay and while there ordered a soft shell crab sandwich and a beer.

The following day, back on Midnight Breeze, I wanted to thank Mary for her patience and turned to her and confessed. I told her the crabs, I think the words I used, were fresher and tastier and our being together and being able to talk while not stuffing our mouths with food was a welcome bonus I really enjoyed. Her eyes had this gleam to them and she had the prettiest smile on her face and thanked me in only the way "she can" and then said I told you so. And with that we had reservations for crabs again next week!!
Let's see I believe the Philadelphia Eagles are playing Detroit........

Star Date:08192010.1255
Winterization says I, why says you? And with that Midnight Breeze has an appointment for this winters layup. October 25th is the big day. Why so early some people would ask? Well she's scheduled to get a new motorized windless and another battery bank and two solar cells. We are also debating on having chaps made for our dinghy.
On another note....
A smelly thing happened last week while at our marina. It must have been around 12 or 1 am when Mary woke me up saying she smells something awful. I agreed. It smelt like the city built a new sewage treatment plant in the slip next to us. Since I was the closest to the head I was elected to investigate. You can guess what I found. Mary came over looked in and said you clean it up and I will disinfect. She looked at me and said; well it is your boat! After it was all done I took the panel off behind the head where the holding tank is located. Now, the tank was ¾ full according to the indicator, however when I looked at the tank it was less than half full. Yep, the other 1/3 I had just cleaned up. The tank looked solid but I noticed a little drip around the side inspection cap that is used to clean the tank out. The huge cap must have a seal and that is what gave way. What a mess! I'll have to go to Beneteau and see about a replacement. I cannot find it in the manual. I can say this, we may never be ready in three years to let go of the lines but I will know every system on Midnight Breeze. Every week it's something new. There is some truth to some of the articles that I have read, suggesting just do it and things will work itself out during the trip.
Welcome to boating says' you, Aye says I.

STARDATE: 08062010.1300
I know, it's been awhile but give me a break I just got married! I was just thinking the other day, yea I know that's dangerous for me, but in only two more months the four year plan goes to three. Time really does fly when you are having fun. Two weeks ago Mary and I were walking back from the pool at our Marina trying to figure out what we wanted to do with the rest of our weekend. I suggested that we sail over to Annapolis and pick up a mooring that way we won't have to worry about dragging our anchor. I also wanted to give Mary some time behind the wheel and this would be a good time since she had done very well with the mooring training we had. The winds were light out of the southeast but it made for a good sail even though a long one. As we approached the Annapolis Harbor Mooring field we had our choice of moorings to pick from. Mary picked one where we would not be on top of anyone and made her approach. Following my hand signals she nailed it and I was able to grab the line on the first try. We called the Harbor Master and checked in and paid our $30.00 for the night. As we settled in for the stay, one, then two, then three, and finally on the fourth we were surrounded by other boaters at the mooring. It always amazes me how boaters are like magnets. The party had begun!! We decided to call the water taxi instead of using the dinghy and headed for town to do some bar hopping oh, I mean window shopping! We had a great time. I really would like to get out more to help improve our skill set but we take what we can get and hope the weather cooperates. As for our three year plan I am not too sure when to start buying the books and charts that I will need for our trip south after I retire. If you have suggestions please by all means drop us a line. I started to buy some guides to the Bahamas and Caribbean but no charts. I am a little skeptical on getting stuff to early then not having the most up-to-date information. At the same time planning does take up most of the time for a trip. One other item I would like to mention. I have noticed that I am banging my head more on Midnight Breeze than on my Sea Ray I used to own. Anybody have any reason for this? I am always coming home with bruises and a lot of time I draw blood. Mary said she is going to buy me a helmet to wear! Until next time...Be Safe!

STARDATE: 07252010.0127
Well, I am no longer a single man and for one, glad all the hustle and bustle is over with. Everything went as planned and we were only 20 minutes late getting started due to some invited guests getting stuck on the Bay Bridge due to traffic. Here is how it went....Thursday morning at 0800 hours Mary and I left home port (Bay Bridge Marina) and headed for St. Michaels, MD for a honeymoon. Five hours later we dropped anchor next to the St. Michaels Harbor Inn and had the anchorage to ourselves, at least for a little while. We put the dinghy in the water but the new Nissan 6 horsepower four stroke we just bought would not idle properly. We had no problem getting it started but had to give it a little gas to keep it running. (We later found out that there was oil in the carburetor from us laying the motor down on the wrong side.) The sail over was just great! We never had the engine on the whole time except for leaving the marina and anchoring when we got there. We averaged just over 5 knots for the trip over. The first item on the agenda was a drink to celebrate, so we headed into town and stopped at the TIKI bar at the Steak and Sea Food restaurant across from the Harbor Inn. Then I took Mary on a tour of the town while we headed for the Crab House for dinner. After a full meal, we both had lobster; we headed back to Midnight Breeze for the night setting up the next day for a full day of window shopping. On the trip over we had 20-25 knot winds from the northwest and put the rail in the water once. We later found out that a small craft advisory had been issued. Now, I did listen to the weather before we departed and there was nothing said about a small craft advisory. Over the next two days the wind was to die down to 5-10 knots. Friday, turned out to a beautiful day and the small craft advisory was lifted around 3pm. This, I hoped, would set up an easy sail back home. Mary was looking for a pedicure and could not get an appointment anywhere. We were getting ready to head back to the boat and I recommended that we first get a drink at the Harbor Inn that way she could check with the Inn about her pedicure. She could not get a pedicure but was able to get a four pm appointment the next day for a massage. So after shopping all day on Friday, we went back to the Harbor Inn and while she got her massage I went to the bar and watched world cup soccer match between the Netherlands and somebody, and downed a few cold ones. She wanted me to get a massage with her but I just don't like people touching my body. Never had a massage and don't want one! Now, I don't mind Mary giving me a massage, as a hair stylist she also has her license in massage therapy! Saturday dawned with variable winds from the west. We upped anchor around 8am had the sails up at 8:30am. We got as far as the Eastern Bay and the wind died. So we started the iron horse up and ended up motoring the rest of the way home. After six hours we pulled into our slip and headed for a refreshing dip in the pool. Later, Mary did go out and get her pedicure that evening. Sunday, July 4th dawned bright and hot and we were both running around getting things ready for the wedding service at 3pm. Of all the things I remembered to bring I forgot a razor. Ended up using Mary's and should have just left the stubble on. As I said above, everything went off just fine. Mary surprised me with a different wedding ring than what we had bought together. It is really nice! Now what to do with the other one! We all had a great time. Monday was cleanup day and while Mary cleaned up down below I did the topsides. And we both just lazed the rest of the day away at the pool. Tuesday we headed back home, Mary had to get to work by four I was still off until Wednesday. A fun time was had by all. Check the gallery out for some of the wedding day pictures. I'll have more to add later as I receive them from friends. We did not hire a photographer, been there done that, don't want it this time.
What's on the horizon? Stay tuned! I have another overnight trip planned in a couple of weeks. Just have not decided where I want to take Mary.
Dave

We set our departure time for 10:00am and we were lucky to get away by 11:00am.We sailed across the shipping channel and took down the sails for our motor through the Mill Creek Channel. As you make the first left into the channel you can spit and hit the shoreline on the starboard(right) side. That's how close it is.You don't want to make a wrong turn here. We made it through without incident and were securely anchored by 12:30pm. It was HOT,HOT,HOT! We decided to celebrate and take a dip in the cool Mill Creek waters, and it was refreshing! Mary hoisted our Party Flag and the Skull and Cross Bones hoping to keep intruders away. It worked! The Midnight Breeze (no pun intended) was perfect and we decided to sleep outside side under the canvas in the cockpit. The breeze was just strong enough to keep the bugs at bay and keep us comfortable temperature wise. The only incident we had was around 2am I was awakened by this awful sounding noise. The first thing I thought was we dragged our anchor and beached the boat on the rocks. Then as my senses were returning I realized that we were still sound at anchor but there were a pair of ducks fighting over a spot on the side of our dinghy to sleep. What a racket! They finally settled down as we did and we were up in time to see the sun rise. Oh, what a life! After a fantastic breakfast we decided to sail out to Thomas Point Lighthouse and return to the Marina by 4pm. What a great ending to a wonderful weekend. It does make going back to work a little bit easier. Just a little bit mind you!
That week at work I came down with a cold and by the time we got to the boat, this past weekend I was not feeling to good. Mary suggested we just stay at the marina and go to the pool.
That's exactly what we did. We have a big three day trip coming up next week starting Thursday. We are heading to St. Michaels for three days for our honeymoon. I'll tell you all about it next time, the trip that is! Our trip will be Thursday- Saturday and the wedding on Sunday, July 4.
The next issue will be devoted to our wedding trip and the wedding. No cold feet here!

Did you ever stop long enough and look deep into your reflection? I'm not talking about the one you see in the mirror every morning, at least for me, that's to damn scary! I'm talking about your reflection that you would see in a pool of water or the like. This past week I was sitting on the swim platform on Midnight Breeze while at anchor and I noticed my reflection staring back at me from the water. I sat there and ponder the meaning of this encounter for some time. Who was that person looking back at me, do I like what I see? Was I disappointed? Was I happy? Just who was this person looking back at me and looking into my soul? I'm not going to say my whole life flashed right in front of me those few minutes because it didn't but I will say this... I saw someone who was happy with his life, someone who has made peace with himself and within himself. Someone who has committed to a journey that he does not know how it will end. But most important, I saw someone that is no longer afraid of what the future holds, who does not live in the past but for the day at hand and looks forward to the future. I saw someone who embraces life to its fullest capacity.
I saw me and I was happy!