Going to Annapolis

Friday, October 2

When we wake up, we notice that our neighbor looks like Quidam, friends from Lake Champlain. It would have been nice to see them!

Residents come to greet us in kayaks. They are very kind and even toss us a few words in French!

We go grocery shopping at Safeway. It's a large grocery store where I find everything I need. While I'm inside, Jonathan waits outside with Miela and sees people fighting quite violently. Fortunately, everything seems to be settled without issue.

We return to Éolo, put everything away and leave at noon.

We haul up trash with the anchor. It's disgusting! Yet, in most of the small canals, they have solar-powered machines that collect floating debris from the water.

At 2:20 PM, we set the sails. It's going well, but it's slow, about 3 kn. We end up restarting the engine around 4 PM, because we need to arrive before dark.

We anchor in the Severn River, just before the mooring buoys, at the entrance to the City Dock.

We go looking for a place to leave the dinghy. People signal to us: they are the occupants of Pegase, whom we also met at Sandy Hook and Cape May!

We leave the dinghy at Annapolis Marina, very close to where we had parked the car during our visit last year.

We go for a walk, but it starts to rain, and not just a little! We have a gelato at Red Bean to wait out the rain. We wait. We eventually set off again, sheltering under shop awnings, and manage to sit outside at the Annapolis Market House. We go inside to have a beer. They even allow Miela inside!

We return to the dinghy, from which we have to remove a ton of water. Luckily there's a bucket on the dock!

We're back on the boat. There's a bit of wind during the night, but we're comfortable!

Saturday, October 3

It's raining, but the sailing lessons still take place! You have to be passionate!

We receive a visit from the Harbor Master. You have to register if you stay more than three days, which I do. The questionnaire is long, but efficient.

The pump-out is available directly at the boat! (It is required every two weeks.)

We walk to West Marine and Fawcett. We have a few purchases to make and want to see if they have the part we need for the windlass. Unfortunately, we're not sure what we need. It would be better to disassemble the windlass to check.

Right next door is the Annapolis Smokehouse and Tavern. We stop there for a beer and chicken wings. Everything is excellent!

We resume our walk toward the City Dock area. We stop at the Armada Dockside Cantina, where I make a poor cocktail choice. I find it undrinkable! On the other hand, the shrimp cocktail is the opposite: it's excellent!

We then go to eat at the Preserve. We had gone there last year and I thought we had been satisfied. In the end, the meal leaves a bitter taste. We won't go back this time!

We return to Éolo. It starts to get cold, but we're still very comfortable!