Annapolis holds the honor for the hardest place to get a reservation on the Chesapeake (followed closely by St Michaels). For most of the summer we were on not one, but three different marina’s wait lists. It boiled down to several issues - 1) many of the marinas in Annapolis are just not set-up to handle catamarans, and one dock master went so far as to make it clear that he didn’t want to deal with catamarans, 2) at 60 ft, we were long enough that we needed to be on their long T-Heads or face docks, but they had enough demand from the larger yachts (100+ feet) that they wanted to save the space for these guys, and 3) we wanted to be at a marina vs mooring or at anchor. While I knew the boat shows the end of October would make things impossible, I had no idea it would be like this all summer long. We finally found a spot (Chesapeake Harbor Marina) that was somewhat removed from the Annapolis proper marinas (and that spot had it’s own challenges once we arrived). And at the last minute one of our wait-listed marinas opened up, but we were committed to the other location by then.

As we approached the marina we called for our arrival instructions, and were given our “slip” assignment. Because of our beam, we typically can’t fit into a slip, unless it is wider than “normal”, so I “reminded them” that our beam was 20ft and length was 60ft to make sure they had us in the right place. Sure they said, the slip was 21ft wide, so no problem! Hmm I said, our fenders are bigger than 6” in diameter, so that doesn’t leave us any room to fit into your 21ft slip (if indeed it is actually a full 21ft wide I didn’t say out loud). They replied, no problem, we can put you on our wall. Just come all the way down the main fairway and turn to your right. You can then turn around and go onto the wall with your starboard side to. We will be there to take your lines. Sounds good I said. As we came into the marina through their breakwater I searched for the fairway to port that I would be turning on to. Not seeing anything I asked Cindy (who was on the bow getting the dock lines and fenders ready) to help me identify where the fairway was. Her reply back confirmed my original observation - there was no fairway on our port side that I can see! As we continued cautiously ahead, we passed the original slip they had assigned to us and confirmed that it was not at all appropriate. Then I saw a small opening to port, and indeed it was the fairway, but it also had two large boats on the opposing T-Heads, that would be to port and starboard as we turned on to the fairway, leaving a bare minimum of space for us to pass through. And, as we completed our turn there were 4 more T-Heads some with even wider catamarans that we would have to get past. It was at this time that I was glad that a) we didn’t have much wind to deal with, and b) we didn’t have any current to deal with. We proceeded very cautiously with Cindy running from side to side with a fender to drop down - just in case. We arrived to where we were to turn and realized that we had maybe 70ft to turn our 60ft boat around in. After getting to the dock, I was greeted by the dockhands telling me how well I did coming in, and that there would be boats leaving the next day, so it would be easier going out!

Cindy had a cousin that had arranged to meet us there, and we were looking forward to visiting the town and US Naval Academy. We had been in Annapolis before during one of the boat shows many years ago, so we had a bit of an understanding about the town. Unfortunately, while the weather was great for the trip down the Bay, the next couple of days were a bit rainy.

The good news was that the marina ran a shuttle to and from town, making it easy for us. The bad news was that Cindy left her drivers license back at the boat and guess what you must have to gain access into the Naval Academy. Not to be out-done, I left my phone back at the boat, so when Cindy was finished with church, she had no way to contact me. Some how our random motion brought us close enough that she could see Ruby and I, and we were able to have a pleasant lunch at the Chophouse.

Walking around downtown Annapolis is always fun and you never know what you will come across. From Midshipmen that are fun to talk with, to the Alex Haley “Roots” sculptures, to the young kids tacking their Opti dinghies up “Ego Alley”, there is always something fun to do. Ruby made numerous friends, including having her picture taken for the “Dogs of Annapolis” website! Add a stop at the ice cream shop, and in spite of the rain and miscues, we all had a great day.