On the hard in Annapolis

After 11 days hanging out in Beaufort, NC, punctuated only by a surprise visit to mom on Mother’s Day, on May 14th, we finally got the weather window we needed to head on our last legs ‘home’ to Annapolis, Md. We left the dock the morning before in order to get under the high tension wires at low tide and facilitate a late afternoon departure from the harbor.

We started 3 hour watches almost right away with ~250 miles to go. The first night out we both got to see different phases of a fabulous blood moon. 37 hours later, we arrived in Hampton around 7am on May 16th and anchored off Bluewater Marina, waiting for them to open.

We were greeted at the dock by our Salty Dawg boat buddy friends, Mike & Mary from Dream Weaver and enjoyed a reunion dinner that evening at Fuller’s Raw Bar in Hampton. We spent the next day resting and trying to get our Navionics charts updated, in preparation for a day trip up the Chesapeake to Mobjack Bay.

After an uneventful trip and quiet night in Mobjack Bay, we continued north to Fishing Bay the following day. It’s amazing how many beautiful anchorages can be found up and down the Chesapeake and this was no exception with the lovely homes on it’s wooded shores.

The problem with sailing on the Chesapeake this time of year is the flies and the inconsistent breeze. We spent two days motoring north and killing flies from Mill Creek (where the only fun we had was running into CYC friends Bill & Barbara on Shearwater) to Solomon’s Island (where we had a midnight fire drill to re-anchor in a 40-45 knot blow).

On May 22, we arrived at our friend Neil’s neighbors’ mooring in Aberdeen Creek, where we began provisioning for the Corinthian Yacht Club cruise. Our friend, Christine Faris joined us for the cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed the cocktail party at The Annapolis Yacht Club, hanging out with the crew of Akela, watching the races to Little Choptank and Solomon’s Island and rafting with the fleet.

Days after the cruise, we moved Billy Ruff’n to Bert Jabin’s Yacht Yard, where she was hauled and is currently getting work done on her mast and boom, among other things. We will be hanging out in Devon, visiting friends & relatives and supervising boat work for the next month or two, while Billy gets her facelift!