| Subject:
Lee
Hughes moves on towards head of Chesapeake Bay after
"social whirl" in Annapolis ----- Original Message ----- From: Adrienne Faherty To: Sue Hughes ; ... Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2003 4:09 PM Subject: HN25 Hughes Nughes 25 Hi folks, Boy, my
social calendar has exploded lately! I got to
Annapolis after a fastish sail of 90 miles or so
from Salisbury to Hooper Island and then Tilghman
Island on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Then I got the
news about my book advance and now I'm still here
because I've met so many nice people and now I can
afford to slow down a little and enjoy the land as
well as the Bay.  First up, as I tied up at the town dock (called Ego Alley because of all the power boaters who cruise in and out like teenagers cruising the strip) and I bumped into some folks I met when going through the Great Bridge lock coming up to Norfolk, VA, a few of weeks ago. We had a natter and they explained where all the good stuff for yachties was located (chandlers, showers, etc). Then I
met Chuck Rutkowski who anchored next to me in Spa
Creek on his Bristol 24 yacht. He's living
aboard, too, and like me, writes to his gal on
email. She's in Scotland and sails -Wayfarers! I've
had coffee on his boat the last three mornings, and
yesterday he lent me one of his mini-bikes to get
around on. Wasn't that nice? I'm on it again today.
It folds up and I can even fit it in my inflatable
dinghy, which I've blown up for the first time since
St. Augustine. With it I can ride around Annapolis
and see the lovely old Georgian houses and buildings
of the old town. I love Georgian architecture - much
nicer than Victorian. Anyway, I've made full use of
the town - they have free public docks everywhere on
the streets that end on the two creeks where
everybody anchors for free (if they're like me and
don't use the big marinas at the entrance to the
Bay). The town is so well set up for boaties (good
chandler on the water, $1 showers and free book
exchange at the Dock Master's office, free internet
cafe across the road from the big town dinghy dock
at the bottom of Main Street, etc.) that I've
decided to squander an opportunity to head across to
the top of the eastern shore and go up the C&D
Canal to the head of the Delaware River. I'm going
to stay here till Monday when the southerly wind
returns and then I'll leave.   Wednesday was a busy day for meeting people, too. I met a retired Baltimore policeman while doing laundry. We yakked away for 2 hours, and Gus invited me back to his 45-foot yacht for a beer and dinner. I went there at 5 pm and had two beers before motoring back to Spa Creek to anchor. I'd love to have stayed longer but I had another appointment. You see, earlier in the day when Wanderer was at the town dock, I saw that every time I returned to the boat to drop off groceries and laundry and so on, she had attracted a wee crowd. I got talking to some of them and that included a lady who walked up at lunchtime and stared at the boat and said: "I've got a Wayfarer, too." That was Anastasia who lives here in Annapolis and who has recently bought a Wayfarer (sail # 2639). She's refitting it and another small boat (a Bullseye) as well, which she rescued from dereliction. But she's a bit of a beginner like me, and so she had tons of questions about the modifications to Wanderer. In the end, after work and after I had beer with Gus, she came down to the dinghy dock at Truxton Park near where I am anchored in Spa Creek. She brought a six pack of Foster's and a camera and I showed her all the bits and pieces that make my boat better than yours and she took photos of them so she could see if they'd work on her boat, too. She finished up by inviting me to have dinner and a look at her boat the next day. I liked that idea because to date, I've never seen another Wayfarer other than Wanderer. True - never seen even one of them before I bought this one over the internet from Frank Dye. Well, I did that, and she and her boatie friend, Bruce, showed me all the things they were doing to get her boat ready to sail the bay again this summer. Then she dropped me back to the dock by Wanderer and I invited her to come sailing the next day if the weather permitted. Friday, she was able to come out on Wanderer from noonish to 5.00 pm and she had a go at doing all the sailing things I knew how to do. It was a pleasant southerly of 5-10 knots and quite hot and humid, too. I docked Wanderer and Anastasia's fiend, Dave (a retired Brit) also looked her over. Then we loaded up and cast off. We motored half a mile up to the little bascule bridge on Spa Creek which opens in the middle for yachts (the bridge not the creek, I mean) and the first thing she did was lower the mast to go under it. Her boat isn't yet set up for that, so I wanted to show that trick off. Then she sailed it with the jib, up towards a channel marker, tacking back and forth and getting the hang of quick tacks and also a few intentional gybes. Then we practised heaving to with jib only and had lunch on the water and looked at the 200-yacht regatta that was racing in the bay far off by Kent Island. She had thoughtfully brought yummy ham and turkey sandwiches and bananas and some little pastry sweet things, but I was too keen to show off my neat little yachtyboat, so we just ate the sandwiches and then I got her sailing again. Anastasia sailed with the main alone for a bit and then I raised the jib as well, and I explained about the slot effect and other stuff. After a bit of whizzing back and forth, we tried heaving to with the main and a backed jib. Then I showed her how to start off or get out of irons using the sail and by putting the tiller over to the wrong side. We didn't practise sailing backwards because I've not tried that yet, either, but by then it was time to come in anyway. We sailed back up the creek to the bridge and though it opened for us and other boats, I wanted her to see how it was possible to sail right up to the bridge with the mainsail and then lower the mast with all standing and glide under it. So she did that, too, while I steered and then she raised the mast again with the mainsail and off we went back to the mooring. And to make it all perfect, we did this in the sight of tons of boats that were anchored or sailing around us. Soooooo cool. To
finish up, we went to a nice little neighbourhood
bar and had a beer and some french fries, but I
started to fade so she dropped me off back at the
dock by 8.00 pm. And then I couldn't get to sleep
after all that because the wind came up and my
rudder kept making little creaking noises as Wanderer
zigged and zagged in the wind and current. Finally
nodded off at 1.30 am and woke again at 6.00 am. All
in all, it was a lovely day and I had so much fun
showing off my boat. I'm starting to realise that Wanderer
really is a very pretty vessel (see photo below
taken in Cocoa, FL) and extraordinarily well
set up for cruising. Thanks of course to Frank.
 On Saturday, I visited the Annapolis Naval Academy museum and saw their fantastic collection of dockyard models of 17th and 18th century British warships. They're gorgeously carved in wood and ivory or bone and well worth the price of admission (free). Plus they have the academy museum above it in the same building. Anastasia also invited me and Chuck to dinner with her on Saturday night. Two home cooked meals in one week is good for me, because that means vegetables instead of my steady diet of bread, ham, cheese and candy - plus pickles so I don't get scurvy - but I'm keen for a change after four months of that! Well, the meal was fantastic - salad, Chateaubriand steak, baked potatoes with butter and vegetables, etc. and then apple pie. Plus a lovely Aussie red (Banrock Cab Sav - Shiraz) and a sweet Muscat Frascati with dessert. All under candlelight. With napkins and more than one fork each. Chuck and I looked at each other and thought: "What did two slobs like us do to deserve this?" This was a shocking change for one who is accustomed to dining with his fingers and the ever handy ocean to act as a napkin. And the conversation - I'm used to snappy dinner-table wit like "Scraaaawk" or "Splooosh" or at best, when I go ashore something like "Would you like fries with that?" But last night, we ranged far and wide in our conversation, with each person being able to add a story or an idea to whatever we were babbling about because you wouldn't believe the range of experiences that Chuck and Anastasia have had. I thought I was well travelled but so far I haven't lived in Timbuctu (yes, that's the desert city in Africa) like Anastasia, and I haven't literally run away to sea one day to join the crew of a 170-foot tall ship like Chuck. The whole evening was just so civilised. Great food, great conversation. Wonderful. Now if only I could have clicked my fingers and got Phil De Clue there as well. He'd have loved it. Then of course, our host chauffered us back to the dock and we rowed back to our boats and went to bed like royalty - all wined and dined and babbled. Both of us with a big wedge of apple pie in a baggie for breakfast, too. And
that's it for now. I'm staying put tonight but I
expect to sail tomorrow across to the eastern
shore again and then up to the C&D canal. I'll
have had a month on the Bay by then and that's
exactly how long I planned originally. It wasn't the
type of cruising I expected, but it's turned out to
be a wonderful time. I got scared by waves but I got
rescued by advice from Frank and Jeff and Al and
Roger. I got poor but I got rescued by Michael and
Random House. I got blue and lonely but got rescued
by John and Eve and Chuck and Anastasia and Gus. And
so now I'm fat and happy and ready to tackle the
water again. Next big stop - New York.
 Toodle o Lee |