Hot August Nights

     

We headed back to Annapolis in August, accompanied by Ryan and Morgan.  They immediately made themselves at home, with Ryan residing in the Starboard forward cabin, and Morgan in the Port.  Both thought the boat was pretty cool.  We put Ryan to work right away, cleaning bilges & helping Bill with general maintenance →

 

← Morgan also got in on the "swab" action

That pretty much set the tone for the whole week, as this was a working vacation, so not so much fun for the kids! The weather was what we were now used to in Annapolis: hot, humid and scattered thunder showers.

We did have a lighthearted moment, though, when we held our renaming ceremony.   Superstition runs high amongst sailors, so we were required to follow some rather elaborate steps to ensure that we did not offend Poseidon, or any other Sea Gods that may be out there!  We did some research online, and decided upon a course of action: Rum, Cigars, Champagne, and an official speech from Bill, along with a toast seemed appropriate.

Morgan hated the rum, but quite enjoyed blowing smoke rings with the cigar...go figure!

Mañana was scheduled for a spa day down in Reedsville at the end of the week, so we woke the kids up at 5:45 am on the day of departure, not so much because we needed help leaving port, but because Bill wanted a family bonding moment at sunrise....as you might imagine, a most popular move.  Not!  I have say though, that the sunrise was worth it :)  The kids both went back to bed at 7 am, and we didn't see them again until close to noon!

 

Our trip down the Chesapeake was lovely, with beautiful sunny weather & light winds.  Alas, the wind was on our bow, and we had a schedule we had to meet, so again, the sailing had to wait.  The good news?  Otto (our auto helm) kept us on course nicely.   I took some beautiful pictures along the way:

 

  

We arrived in Reedsville around 4pm, and successfully anchored for the first time.  *Patting selves on back* We then had to take all the head sails down and stow them, as the boatyard in Deltaville (our next stop) required that they be off while Mañana was out of the water having her bottom repainted.  That my friends, was something we should have had the video camera running for!  The wind kicked up & was blowing straight over the beam, so when we lowered the Jib (a BIG sail) the wind wanted to push it over the side, at the same time we were trying to fold it up.  At one point, it looked as if the sail was going to kite right of the boat, taking me along with it...Bill told Morgan, in a rather urgent voice, to jump into the middle of it.  Morgan, being female, 19, and in a mood, put her hands on her hips, looked at Bill, and said "you didn't say please!".  Bill was not amused, let his daughter know that, and she promptly sat on the sail, allowing her mother to remain on the boat. Whew.  We eventually managed to get the sails down & stowed, and headed off into Reedsville for a much deserved dinner & a beer.  Ryan manned the dinghy helm, and had a great time getting all (except himself) soaked by the waves that were rolling in, powered by the wind behind them.  We arrived at the Crazy Crab a rather bedraggled bunch, so elected to sit outside.  We all agreed that we were most happy to be anchored on the other side of the bay, as the fish processing plant was in full swing, and the stench was appalling! How, we wondered, do people live, let alone try to EAT, nearby??  Nauseating is the word that immediately comes to mind.  And just in case you need a little help imagining what the stench was like, I'll help; think of the worst can of spoiled cat food you ever opened, multiply by 100 and you MIGHT get close.  Not to mention, the food was bad, too!  Our dinghy ride back to the boat, sans flashlight (oops!) was interesting, but we arrived safely & tucked in for the night.

Out trip down to Deltaville in the morning was quick & Mañana was soon docked and ready for her beauty treatment.  We packed up & headed for Norfolk, where we spent a nice day in, with Bill & Ryan heading off the Naval Museum and Laurie & Morgan off to do some shopping.  A quick side trip to Virginia Beach and we were done! Another step closer to our departure....