June Adventure!

We took a little trip to Annapolis. The beginning of the journey was close to ideal - wind heading the right direction, sunshine, and dolphins. The trip home was a different story involving a race against a storm.

Getting docked back in our slip was cause for celebration, and the sky signaled agreement by putting on an incredible display.

One of the best reasons to live on or near the water is the sunsets. It is magical to watch the light and color play on the water.

We left for Annapolis a day later than planned. But, that was OK for two reasons: we got in an extra practice sail and docking before our trip and we met sailing celebrities! We had just docked and were tying up our boat when a woman and her two little boys came over to pet Sofie. As we were chatting, Dave said, "Anyone ever tell you that you sound like the lady from "Sailing La Vagabonde." And, she replied, "Yep, that's us. I am Elayna, and Riley is over on the boat". What! Oh, of course - now I notice the big catamaran, the drone filming overhead, and all the other signs that these were not typical mariners. Theirs was one of the first YouTube channels we watched when were were in the initial stages of "wouldn't it be cool to live on a boat."

The downside of leaving a day later was that we couldn't dawdle as much on our way to Annapolis. We decided to make the first leg the long one and go all the way to Solomons (about 8-10 hours for us). The winds were on the upper edge of our sailing comfort zone and fortunately heading our direction. We made good time and docked at Calvert Marina for the night. Dave did a great job at the helm, and the marina guys were excellent deck hands - we looked like pros! It was a good thing we had help because it was really gusty. Dog walks are just so much easier at marinas and there is also the advantage of an excuse to eat out. We had the best homemade potato chips ever, at Hidden Harbour Cafe.

We anchored near Annapolis the following day, in the Rhode River. What a lovely spot! The weather cooperated, the wind was just right, and we saw dolphins! Sofie got to ride on the swim platform for a bit. I took the helm! Yes, me. I had the helm a lot of the way, navigated through the crab pot maze, and even had the helm for anchoring. I'm getting better! Yay! It is not nearly as scary now. While anchoring out is the best price (free) and tranquil, there is the inconvenience of having to get the dog to shore to do her business. We are much more efficient at lowering the dinghy and getting the motor attached. Puttering around in the little boat is a nice way to check out the area and the dog likes dinghy rides. As we were returning to our boat, however, the motor quit. Good thing we have oars! The sunrise was lovely, rowing for the morning dog relief run in the rain was not nearly as nice.

We arrived in Annapolis on Friday afternoon. Friday afternoon in the summer in Annapolis is nuts. Dave had to dodge pods of baby sailboats practicing swarm maneuvers, powerboats, sailboats, ferry boats, kayakers and a pirate ship to get to the city dock where we had a slip reserved on "Ego Alley." Dave is a brave man. He backed the boat into a tight slip with a bothersome kayak cramping his ability to negotiate the tight space and a huge audience watching every move. He did great! Our spot was perfect. We were right across from Pusser's Caribbean Grill and had front row seats to all those boats who cruise up and down the fairway between the restaurants and the city dock. It is just like cruising in the good old days when cars full of teenagers would drive up and down Main. We didn't purposely plan for it, but we ended up being in Annapolis for their Juneteenth celebration: parade, festival, fireworks, car show, and LOTS of people. It was a blast! Nothing like having your living space right in the middle of all the excitement. This may be one of the best things about this boat life deal: in the morning we were virtually by ourselves in a tranquil cove watching the sunrise and in the afternoon we are sitting on the deck of our "home" watching cruisers and parade preparation. Dave rigged up the hammock and we had a very relaxing weekend with our private oasis in the middle of the action.

The highlight, and real purpose of the trip, was to take Charlie, Heather, Sienna and Rylee out for a sail. The day was beautiful and the winds were light. Charlie and Heather took turns at the helm and the girls caught some rays on the bow. Sofie managed to mooch cheese puffs.

The weather turned the next day when we started our return trip to Deltaville. We stopped for two nights in the most picturesque little town on the eastern shore: Oxford. It was raining so hard that, other than the first night's outing to get ice cream as our reward for excellent docking, we didn't venture out except on mandatory dog walks. Oxford definitely rates a return trip. The day we left was ideal for sailing and we headed back across the bay to Solomons Island. It was one of our best days sailing yet. We anchored perfectly! The next day, we did the long trip back to Deltaville as fast as we could because there was weather - lots of weather. Poor Sofie required a doggie downer to deal with the wave and wind action. We thought we would be able to get to the marina before to much excitement as it appeared the biggest storm was going to stay to the west.

That was not to be our luck. As we made the turn to go up the Rappahannock towards Broad Creek and our marina, the sky became darker and the wind picked up. Then, the rain started followed shortly by the ominous sound of thunder. We could see the storm on radar and decided our best option would be to go back to the Chesapeake to wait it out and hopefully miss the worst of it. Waves were breaking over the bow and the rain was coming down in sheets. It crossed my mind that maybe we didn't have enough experience to be in a boat in the middle of a storm. After what seemed like a really long time (but I'm sure wasn't) we saw a lighter area in the clouds and we headed that direction. There was a gap between thunder storms and we were able to make it to the marina. We were drenched, and, relieved. Dave was never worried. I, on the other hand, am pretty sure I don't want to do an ocean crossing. After the fact, it was a great experience that I'm glad we had. Our boat is really well built and Dave is zen.

We are going to be mostly marina-bound for a few weeks taking care of boat projects (Dave) and doing arty stuff (me). Our electric outboard for the dinghy arrived today.

PS... just some random pictures from my walks with Sofie: