Happy Father's Day
18 June 2017
• Annapolis MD
by Mike/still hot
A word to the wise. Anyone coming to pick up a mooring in Annapolis the advantage of being right off the town dingy dock is, in our opinion, more than offset by the disadvantage of being rocked around by the wakes from Ego Alley, and the various cruise vessels that are moving around each and every day from 0900-2200. On the other hand, if you go through the bridge into Spa Creek there are some mooring balls in there which are cheaper and you don't get bounced around. The negative aspect is that you are just that little bit further away from the action but even that, to put it in perspective, really isn't much more than a couple of hundred yards - easily walkable, and if you want to you can get the water taxi for $4/pers. The only really potentially negative aspect of being up in Spa Creek is the bridge and it's restricted openings during the rush hours which can impact your departure times in the morning. As it is Barb and I are on mooring ball 11 and really are so warm that we can't summon up the energy to actually shift from one ball to another. Next time we are here we will elect the Spa Creek option.
Still, can't help but remark on what an incredibly well organized and busy little Port this is. Tour vessels, transiting yachts, water taxis, multiple marinas, and multiple yacht clubs all cheek by jowl with the US Naval Academy. It makes for a really happening place on the water even without the Annapolis Boat Shows and that doesn't even begin to cover the history on the land side.
As a Father's Day celebration we went in to Chick and Ruth's Delly for breakfast, something that simply can't be recommended strongly enough. Then we walked about and found an interesting bookstore with a spiral metal staircase that takes you into the basement for even more books, a coffee store and a number of other really interesting little stores. We came back later to one of them that wasn't open on our first trip so Barb could get some wool.
Well geeze!
This morning the Admiral and I brought the dingy around to the side of the boat so I could adjust the idle on the outboard and when we did so she noticed that the starboard pontoon was almost totally detached from the bolt line that holds it to the dingy. Rats! Three solutions: fix it, which would be a difficult process on a mooring bouncing around; replace the entire dingy, which had its attractions but would be rather expensive; and get a new set of pontoons. We called West Marine who provided the original ones and they happened to have a set in stock. That made the decision easy, but I am glad that I didn't ask the price before I committed to buying them. The originals were something like $399 at a boat show price. These, ten years later, were $800 and that was with a small discount because the cardboard box was beat in. Twice the price! But when you need it you gotta get it and they were cheaper than a new dingy. The fellow from West Marine was kind enough to deliver them to the dock and 30 minutes later with much swearing and even more sweat they were on and we were on our way back to Nelleke. On the plus side the dingy looks a lot cleaner. Our plans are to repair the old one at home or take it into someone who can "weld" the PVC seams back together and to keep it on the boat as a spare.
Our current float plans remain in a state of flux. With the forecasted weather we could position ourselves north to the west end of the C&D Canal to transit with the current and run down the Delaware Bay. The issue is what are we going to do when we get there. On one hand we could make the 24 hr trip up the coast to NYC and go through the East River to Long Island Sound or on the other we could make the 48 hour jump from Cape May to Block Island at the entrance to Buzzards Bay and be that much closer to home. The trouble is I don't see a 48 hour window for the next week and a half. Then when we get to Cape Cod there is likely to be another wait for a window to cross the Gulf of Maine.
Sheesh!
I guess that's why they say that pregnant women and clergymen should not go sailing. The weather doesn't care about their timetables.
Anyway, by evening things had died down a wee bit in the harbour, not out in the bay, but the amount of to-ing and fro-ing had dropped enough that we could have our dinner and sundowners without mishaps. We watched the sunset and light gleaming off the water and relaxed for another day. Our thoughts are with our friends aboard Moonlight Maid who we believe are at sea trying to claw their way up the coast. We are hoping that all is going well with them. Moonlight Maid is not likely to have a vendetta out for them as they only left her in Indiantown for a few months.
On a final note - Happy Father's Day everyone!
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