After a two month break at home Bev and I returned to Dagny last Saturday to prepare her for this year's Bahamian excursion. Although we had left her in good shape there are always a few things that need doing before launching. I spent Sunday doing my imitation of the Karate Kid, wax on, wax off and after 5 hours Dagny looked like new again. Once we launched on Monday we spent the rest of the day putting on the sails and then while I busied myself reinstalling various pieces of equipment Bev got the interior organized. Tuesday was maintenance day, first order of business was an engine oil and filter change followed by a general check of the engine bay to be sure everything was in order. We discovered our water tanks had some pretty nasty looking things floating around, this was a first for us. Fortunately my new shop vac made quick work of emptying them and after a couple of rinses with water and diluted javex they were good to go. Although we won't be drinking from them until they've been refilled a couple of times. The last and least favorite job of the day was to change the big hose that goes from the toilet to the holding tank. Over time the inside slowly gets clogged with build up from using salt water to flush. Needless to say we weren't looking forward to this nasty job but it's one of those things that had to be done and as long as I remembered not to breathe through my nose it wasn't too bad. By day's end we were tired but happy to be able to cross everything off our to do list.

Although Herrington Harbour is a fantastic Marina complex the only draw back is the lack of a nearby grocery store. Without a car you're out of luck if you need to provision for any length of time. Fortunately for us a close friend from Annapolis had offered us her car for a couple of days to run errands. So under bright sunny skies we cast off Wednesday morning for the leisurely 20 mile trip north to Annapolis, unfortunately as is often our luck on the Chesapeake light winds forced us to motor sail most of the way. We decided to grab a mooring ball near The City Dock, this central location gave us easy access to the dinghy dock, showers and laundry as well as nearby restaurants.

Annapolis truly is the Center of sailing on the east coast and there always seems to be at least one regatta being hosted by one of the area clubs. This time it was the J22 World Championships and there happened to be a boat from our home club, HYC, competing. Bev and I treated ourselves to dinner ashore and met up with the crew of Ruckus for a few refreshments while trading sailing stories.

Just like old Mrs. Hubbard's cupboards, Dagny fridge and freezer were bare. Before leaving home Bev had made a couple of trips to Costco and the car was packed with all sorts of dry goods, from coffee to cereal, peanut butter, crackers etc. It's a good thing I had rented a midsize car as we barely had room for our luggage in the back seat. However we needed to load up on meats, vegetables, fruit and dairy products before heading out. So after enjoying a leisurely coffee in the cockpit we set off for a day of shopping which also included mandatory stops at various boat stores. Luckily when we returned to the harbour it was nice and calm as we slowly motored our heavily loaded dinghy back to Dagny. Once everything was stored our last trip of the day was to pick up our new sail and drop off the old one for winter storage. And just like that a good plan gone bad, the sail wasn't ready which meant we would have to stay in this beautiful town one more day. Certainly not the end of the world but we do want to get moving while the weather is still on our side.

Today's picture of Annapolis is one that never gets old.