Cruising the Chesapeake October 2012 II Sunday, October 07, 2012 Wayward Wind at a dock on Back Creek, Annapolis, Maryland Water temperature 68 F

When we pulled the dinghy out of the water last week the entire bottom was covered with a thick scum and had small barnacles growing on it. It had been in the water for a little less than a month and we were really surprised at the amount of growth it had accumulated. We scrubbed for over an hour getting the bottom of the dinghy clean before we folded it up and stowed it on deck. I had not planed on an hour delay and wanted to get going but if we had let the scum dry out it would have taken dynamite to get it off.

With our dinghy bottom clean, we had a nice motor boat ride to Annapolis. We stopped for fuel on the way and topped off both tanks so they would be full over the winter. A full tank does not breathe and collect water the way a partly empty tank does. Bugs grow in the water in a diesel tank and that's what plugs up the filters. So, no water equals no bugs and no plugged up fuel filters.

After fueling, we proceeded back Back Creek. Back Creek is narrow and twisty and every inch of the shore line is lined with marinas. Plus, boats are anchored in the middle of the creek. There are a couple of places where it is not obvious how to get through the maze to continue up the creek. We took it slow and with some zigging and zagging got through the maze. We found our slip in the Blue Heron Marina and backed Wayward Wind into the slip.

On Wednesday we rode Amtrak from Friendship Airport (BWI) to Wells, ME to retrieve our van and trailer. Son Glenn was waiting for us at the station and went with us to the Fryeburg Fair the next day. We had been to the Fryeburg Fair some years before and were looking forward to a repeat visit. It was a drizzly day when we went to the fair but that held the crowds down and we were able to drive right up and park a five minute walk from the entrance instead of the stop and go traffic jam followed by a twenty minute walk we would have had on a sunny day.

We had a good time at the fair and I didn't buy a Kubota tractor but was tempted. And then there was a portable saw mill I could have pulled back into the woods with the Kubota and the very nice camper trailer we could have slept in while turning the woods into lumber. But I kept my wallet in my pocket and the woods survived.

We are now back in Annapolis with our van and trailer and are in the process of moving all of our stuff off of the boat and packing it in the trailer. Once we get the boat emptied out, we will start cleaning all the nooks and crannies we haven't seen for five years. We are sure to have some surprises as we find things we had forgotten that were on-board.