We made it to the Annapolis boat show

Sept 26 to 27 - Cape May NJ

Brian and Terry decided to dig into the issue with the intermittent starter issue.  They found that the previous owner had wired the starter battery in parallel with the house batteries.  They properly separated them so that they were isolated and added a charge controller to charge the house batteries from the alternator.  We took a day off of sailing and stayed an extra day to rest and read.

Sept 28 - Cape May NJ to Delaware River

We called and sang happy birthday to Brian's mom.  Left the anchorage at 10am and picked up fuel, water, and pumped out the guest's head.

We hit a bad current and heavy chop as we left Cape May.  The dinghy bounced quite a bit on the way out.

Sailed up Delaware but we were chasing the current and never got the speed advantage we hoped for.

We ended up anchoring 1NM off the shipping channel in 17 feet of water.  Peaceful night except for lightning and loud thunder followed by rain.  The boat needed a good rinse anyways.

Sept 29 - Deleware River to Chesapeake City (Delaware and Maryland)

Up at 5am and weighed anchor at 7am to take advantage of the current.  We entered the C and D Canal at 10am and arrived at our anchorage at 11:45am.  That evening we joined our friends from Sea Dragoness and Paprika for dinner.

Sept 30 - Chesapeake City to Sassafras River MD

Up at 8am and waited for the rain to stop before leaving.  As we were leaving the anchorage the Catamaran "IMPossible Dream" pulled in.  This is the catamaran that is set up for wheelchair access. Check out their website at https://www.theimpossibledream.org.

We motored against the current for an hour until the wind turned around into our favour and pulled out the sails.

As we entered the Sassafras River we needed to dodge crab pots.  Brian, Terry, and Andrea (Paprika) went into Betterton for showers and to their surprise, there was no hot water.

That evening we had the crew of Sea Dragoness and Paprika over for drinks and snacks.

Oct 1 - Sassafras River MD to Fairview MD

Up at 7am and off the anchor by 7:30am.  I was on the bow watch looking for crab pots.  As we were leaving a 246 ft pleasure yacht (Bella Vita) passed us.  Once again, we dodged some more crab pots on the way and tried to keep to the shipping channel when possible.  We used the Genoa only and were able to do 7.1 knots.  The winds were about 15 knots.  What a great sail!  Anchored and took a dinghy into town to pick up supplies.

Oct 2 - Fairview MD to Annapolis MD

This was a short trip only about 11 NM.  We anchored in the Central Boat Basin right outside the boat show.  We watched a sailing school in the afternoon and had a great sleep.

Oct 3 - Annapolis MD

We all woke up later than usual.  The harbour master dinghy came by to get our info to register our stay.  We had a problem with nature's head.  Salt water came into the vent and shorted the fan.  Brian ordered 4 new ones through Amazon.

We walked the town and picked up tokens at the harbour office for showers.  Warm showers felt good and no more stinky crew.  It was overcast all day so ran the generator to charge the batteries.

Oct 4 to 7 - Annapolis MD

Still in Annapolis and the powerboat show is on.  We chilled on the boat and visited the marine stores as well as caught up on some boat chores.

Oct 8 - Annapolis MD to Baltimore MD

Brian and I rented a car from Enterprise and travelled to Baltimore to get a cruising permit.  After being redirected to another location, we had success at the Cruise Terminal.  We picked up some additional items at the marine stores as well as more meat and bread.

Oct 9 - Annapolis MD

We headed into town for a shower, coffee, and ice cream.  They continued to deliver new boats for the show.

Oct 10 - Annapolis MD

That evening we joined friends to the boat show block party.  We ate, drank, and danced our feet off.

Oct 11 - Annapolis MD

Brian and I took a tour of the United States Naval Academy and learned a lot of their accademy history.  Our friends from Sarnia Gail, Chuck, and Corine arrived that evening and we all got together for dinner.

The real flag!

Tecumseh

Oct 12 - 13 Annapolis MD

Brian and I went to the boat show and got a few sailing safety items.  The boat show was flooded due to the full moon, wind direction and storm offshore.  That evening our friends Marc, Maryse, Carleen, and Gill arrived and had them over on Timmies-run for dinner/drinks.  We also said goodbye to Terry.

Oct 14 - Annapolis MD

We took Marc and Maryse to Bacon sails and Fawcetts for some more shopping.  Later that morning it was time to say goodbye.

Oct 15 to 17 - Annapolis MD

Brian started installing the water maker.  We also took a mooring ball on the 16th and 17th as strong winds (32 to 36 knots) were in effect.

Oct 18 - Annapolis MD

Took Timmies-run to the city dock to fuel up, pumped out our guest head, and filled the boat with water.  We then anchored back into the Central Boat Basin.  Immediately after setting anchor, S/V Prism motored right by us and anchored close by.  They are a Youtube couple who shared their sailing experiences.  Brian and I started watching them back in 2016 and they were our first Youtube sailing couple we followed.  Later that day we went over to see them and thank them for their inspiration.

S/V Prism

The next stage of our journey starts shortly. The nights are getting colder and we need to start moving South. Our insurance will allow us to move through North Carolina starting November 3rd. Because of the bridge heights and low water depths in the ICW we will be doing some of the legs starting off shore.