Mike and Kathy
10/05/2008, Annapolis, MD

This house is right near us and the crooked sign is driving Mike crazy.

September 29th Annapolis, MD


After some coffee and a little breakfast we headed out to the laundry. This entails taking the dinghy to the dock next to the Navy Yard and hiking about ½ mile. It's a nice walk through the historic district where the streets and narrow and the old homes have been refurbished. The laundry itself is about a half a block from the State House. It was empty when we arrived, but soon filled up. I walked to the post office nearby and then back to the waterfront to the hardware store. I picked up a few items and returned to the dinghy to drop them off. Then back to the laundry to see how Kathy was doing. One of our dryers hadn't been drying so it took us and extra half hour, but before long we were out of there and back on the boat.

We spent about an hour pricing rental cars and finally decided that Enterprise's weekly rate was the best buy. We also made some other calls that we needed to get out of the way.

After lunch Kathy got the sewing machine out to finish up a jerry can cover which finishes up our sewing for now. There are a couple of things she may do in the next couple weeks but at this point we are out of material.

The gasket that makes the hood of our outboard fit tightly was loose and needed some attention. I took off all the old glue and but it back together with Marine Goop. We'll wait and see it the stuff works.

Later in the afternoon I made some spaghetti sauce using one of our two remaining portobello's. Along with a salad, garlic toast and some penne, it made a great dinner.

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Mike and Kathy
09/29/2008, Annapolis, MD

September 23rd... Annapolis, MD

We set the alarm so that Kathy could meet Jim and Nancy for a big sale. I motored her to the park and she walked to the store to meet them at about 9am. In an hour or so she called back for pick up.

I worked on the Windbugger... and really came up with nothing new. "Morning Glory" came up Spa Creek and took the mooring next to us to get out of the wind ...and because wind and rain are forecast. He promised to stop over to check and assist the troubleshooting in the afternoon.

Kathy and I went to town to give the Harbormaster's office a copy of our Documentation and we stopped at the hardware for some Carb Cleaner for the outboard.

We wasted some time doing puzzles in the afternoon ... and as promised Doug showed up at about 4pm. With the tester and two brains we finally came up with the diagnosis.... a bad diode in the generator. We were only getting about 6 volts and from the unit instead of 12 so only half of the system changing AC to DC seemed to be working. Since the system of rectification consists of only four diodes, one or two of them have to be not functioning...(Sorry Sam)

Anyway, since we're going to have about three rainy days in a row later this week, it will be one of my jobs to tear the thing apart again to test the diodes. I need to know their wattage before I set out for Radio Shack.

We have become obsessive Skype-ers also, since Kathy's new computer has a built-in camera and the kids also have cameras, we can Skype to London for free with video. It's really neat to be able to see the kids while talking to them. Ellie informs me (Kathy) that we can do the same thing with Apple's iChat, but I have not gotten that figured out yet.

We had leftover turkey stew with biscuits for dinner... read until dark and then watched an episode of "Deadwood."



September 24th... Annapolis, MD

Today was a lazy day. It was partly cloudy and cool. There are storms predicted for the next few days but we still didn't do that much. Kathy spent most of the day sewing the cover for the helm cushion and restitching one of our side panels. I worked on the computer looking up info and attempting to order a few items that we'll need during the winter.

I took the carburetor on the outboard apart but it looked clean so I put things back together. I'm not sure what to do at this point.

Later we took a dinghy ride and visited with "Jock's Lodge" and Lenny on "Red Swan."

If anything, the motor ran worse.



September, 25th... Annapolis, MD

We woke to clouds and wind, did a few puzzles and then I tore apart the motor on the windbugger again. My plan was to test the diodes and figure what needed to be replaced. What I found was that there are no diodes and that the current is rectified by the commutator. Which is really no help....it still doesn't work. I could send it off to the guy in Florida and have him fix things but it is such a simple system that I should be able to do it myself.

It started to rain about mid morning with temps in the mid 60's..which is cold to those of us with thinner blood.

For the first time we made use of our side curtains. It was nice to be able to be outside in the rain. Kathy did some more sewing and I spent lots of time on the computer again.

I did find an advertisement for a used dinghy for sale in Annapolis. It is exactly the kind we plan on purchasing, but older than we'd like. I made an appointment with the guy to look at in on Monday. We'll see.

We have some strange looking white geese that come around each day and seem to be screaming. They are looking for food from boaters. I believe they are Chinese White geese, and they are very loud.



September, 26th... Annapolis, MD

I spent the first part of the morning putting the windbugger back together. Later, I decided to attempt to increase our freezer space. It has been in the idea stages for about a year and a half. In fact before we left Michigan I purchased two digital thermostats and found an old computer fan at school. Our friend Ken supplied a piece of starboard to be used as the dividing panel. It has just been one of those things on the back burner until today.

After measuring I cut out the divider panel....making a huge mess of plastic sawdust in the cockpit, and then began the process of fastening it in place. I didn't wire up the fan and thermostats yet because we found directions in the Adler Barbour manual (refrigerator) that shows a divider panel with strategic holes in them for circulation. We'll try it this way for a few days and then make the decision of weather we need to add the fan between the two compartments.

The guy who had the dinghy for sale... emailed directions for our meeting on Monday and then emailed back to say that he had offered a bid of $100 more than the asking price sight unseen. It's probably for the best but we were disappointed.

Kathy worked on cutting out another cover for the last jerry can and worked on some other sewing projects.

It was cloudy with a little rain on and off. For about the third day in a row, we have not been ashore. We did take a dinghy ride into Ego Alley to haul a bag of garbage and to fetch about 25 gallons of water. It's been two weeks since we've taken on water and are probably close to empty.



September 27th... Annapolis, MD

It rained all night on and off, with a couple of thunderstorms in the distance. Morning brought no change. There was no wind but steady, straight down, showers all day.

We worked on puzzles, read and listened to the Spartans (on and off), but did little that could be construed as constructive.

I am not sure about the refrigerator / freezer system yet. The freezer section is a cold as it ever has been but the fridge is a little warmer... too warm, maybe.

At about 5pm there were a few breaks in the clouds and the sun shone on and off for an hour or so. We lowered the dinghy and went up Spa Creek to check things out.

I made some barbequed pulled pork for dinner that was acceptable but nothing to serve guests.

All in all, it was the rainiest day we've had in 15 months on the boat.


September 28th... Annapolis, MD

At about 9am we donned our rain gear and headed for the Farmers Market which is held on the waterfront in downtown Annapolis. I love the white bread from one of the bakers and we picked up some tomatoes, romaine and portabellas as well.

It was raining steadily but not hard so we hiked up the street to a CVS Drugstore that has a few grocery items. There is not a true grocery in walking distance. By the time we returned about lunchtime, we were damp but not drenched. We read the New York Times from front to back and did their crossword puzzle while watching the rain from the cockpit. The new side panels are perfect for this type of weather. When we finished the paper I bagged it up and ran it over to Doug and Helen.

The rain continued on and off all afternoon but finally cleared about dusk. My task was sorting clothes. I made five piles: good, work, junk, goodwill, and a box for home. At some point Kathy got involved and together we made a good dent our wardrobe.

Kathy made cole slaw while I baked some portobellos with garlic, tomato, and cheese for dinner. It was simple and needed spinach, but hit the spot.

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Mike
09/23/2008, Annapolis, MD

September 22... Annapolis

I spent the morning working on our engine log... basically making sure that all our maintenance for the year was entered properly. It took some cross referencing between our Blog and the Ship's Log but after an hour or so was confident that the Engine log was current. Then we headed to the Harbormaster's office to check in and fill out the paperwork. We will be here about 3 weeks and moorings can be rented by the day, week or month. Last year we made the mistake of renting weekly and wasted some money. It saves us about $75 to rent for a month.

On our way to town we found "Morning Glory" in the mooring field and stopped to say Hi to Doug and Helen. We had a nice chat and ended up with a dinner invitation.

Besides our stop at the Harbormaster's office we also needed to find an ATM, stop at the AB Store (Dinghy), visit Dan at Sailrite, get some batteries for the camera, stop at Fawcetts and... find a place for lunch. We decided on The Acme Bar and had their special of Rockfish, slaw and fries which was great.

Back at the boat we wasted what remained of the afternoon and whipped up some pesto pizza to take to dinner.

On our way to dinner we stopped at "Nauti Nauti" and said hi...we had ended up anchoring near them quite a few times in the Bahamas.

Doug and Helen were originally from Michigan. Helen went to State and Doug to Michigan Tech. After a few years of boating they want to live ashore and do some other things. Helen wants to go back to being a school counselor... Doug's a little iffy about the work thing. But... they think they have a buyer and hope to find out soon.

We had a very nice evening with them and ate way too much and motored back to Sapphire in a rising wind.




September 21st... Rhode River, MD

Our plan for the day was to head up to Annapolis. It is only about a 2 hour sail east to the light house, north a little and then back into the City. We had a nice brunch on board and waited until about noon, hoping for the wind to pick up enough to sail. It didn't happen.

There was very little wind in the Bay but enough boat traffic to make for a moderate chop. It was Sunday and a gorgeous day so everyone was on the water: sailing, fishing, sunning.

We arrived almost in time for the 2 pm bridge opening on Spa Creek and had to spend 30 minutes motoring around the Navy Yard, Ego Alley, and the mooring field before making the next bridge and heading up Spa Creek. We knew the area that we wanted to stay in and luckily there was an empty mooring. We got settled in and took a dinghy ride up Spa Creek and around the area before heading back for some supper.


September 20th... Rhode River, MD


The alarm was set so to that we could make it to breakfast (doughnuts and coffee) at 7:30. Camp Letts, where the Gam was held, has a boat house and dock.
Registration and breakfast were held in the second story of the boathouse overlooking the River. We ran into Jim and Nancy of "Solitaire", had a couple of doughnuts and wandered around the camp prior to the first speaker. We also took this opportunity to motor back to the boat to fetch our yard sale items and returned in time to set up. All of the items that were to sell that day were gone in the first fifteen minutes. In fact everything sold except our printer, a zinc that won't fit our propshaft and a hunk of closed cell foam that we thought someone might want.

The speakers were excellent, and the company was even better. There was a seminar entitled "Advanced Diesel Engines" that was really good and another by a lady by the name of Pam Wall who gave a presentation on "Outfitting for Blue Water." I attended a demonstration on electricity while Kathy to one called "Provisioning and Cooking." We spent the better part of the day with Jim, Nancy, of "Solitaire", Jay and Diana of "Far Niente" and Kate who was a kindred spirit and friend of Jay and Diana.

We ran into folks whom we've met during the last year and met a few that we hope to run into again in the future.

At about four there was a cocktail hour followed by dinner. We had not signed up for dinner so said our good byes and headed back to "Sapphire"

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