SAILING

Friday I woke up excited. Only one stop before I could get up to Annapolis and see Calliope in the water. When I got there J was putting, shall we say finishing touches?, on the boat. There wasn't much I could help with so I ran things to and from the truck until we were ready to go to the Boat Club. J took off in the boat and I drove to the grocery store on my way to meet him and James for dinner.

We had steak. And when I say we had steak I mean, we had the largest steak I have ever had. It was delicious and the salad and pasta salad were pretty damn good too. It was so nice to sit there and watch the sunset on the water. It's been quite some time.

An hour late for our full moon sail, we got out onto the water. Sailing at night easily ranks in my top five favorite things. Skimming over the dark water with the enormous yellow moon lighting the way, not much can beat it. Being around the open salty water felt like home.

To get into Swan Creek we had to be careful not to get into shallow water. For this I sat on the bow with a Maglight and look for the reflective material on the buoys. Going into port you have to keep the green buoys on the port side (left), and the red ones on the starboard side.

J told me that in Europe it is the opposite. In Baltimore they switched the buoy colors so that when they were attacked the ships would run ashore. Simple and brilliant eh?

It took us a little while to get in and we finally dropped anchor at one in the morning.

When we woke up the sun was shining and it was already warm. The perfect time for a swim! We swam over to the boats that we were supposed to meet up with the night before for coffee. After a little chat we went back to the boat for breakfast. Bagels and cream cheese with lox... MY FAVORITE!

Once we cleaned up the whole group took off for Baltimore. We were flying! Passing everyone up! We switched to the engine before passing under the Key Bridge. As soon as we did the motor started to putz out on us. Every once in a while it would putter down to nothin'. During out little struggle to the marina we passed the buoy marking where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner while watching the bombing of Balitmore as POW on a British ship during the war of 1812. Before too long we were at Inner Harbor in Baltimore.Once in Baltimore J did a few more repairs on the boat. Turns out we had water in the fuel and that was why we were fighting out way into the marina. The big success for the day was when J installed the chocks! Yey!

At six we all headed out for the Orioles game. J and I had Parrish's ticket so we were going to meet her and James at the gate when they got there. We got all the way up to our seats, after the fabulous discovery of black and tans at one of the beer stands, when Parrish called. Back we went. We picked them up at the gate and went for food and more beer. The O's played Detroit and it was a hell of a game! The O's won in the 10th inning, 10-9. Back at the boat it was time for some Dark and Stormies. I must say, that for not liking rum, I sure do enjoy a good Dark and Stormy! James was supposed to head back that night but I don't think that was ever a realistic plan. Brie with minced sun dried tomatoes, yummy. We all crashed out on the deck. After the third time J's foot slipped and knocked me in the head I went down below.

The next morning we were all a little slow to get going, except for James who had to be on his way out at five a.m.. We got dressed and walked the few blocks to breakfast. We sat down with the group from the game to eat. I must say that I really enjoy the sailing community. Everyone I have met is very welcoming, nice and laid back. There always seems to be good conversation.

After breakfast we headed back to the boat for showers and a few last minute tune ups before leaving for Annapolis. We got back and met up with Parrish's friends Marci and her boyfriend Roger. Both were super nice. Considering the air was completely still when we woke up in the morning, we were very happily surprised to find it blowing right along once we were out of the shelter of the marina. The engine was acting up again so J went to work switching out the filter. It took some sweat and coercion to get the filter to cooperate but J got it done.

We sailed on, into the wind, for some time. It felt so nice, but unfortunately Parrish was on a little bit of a time crunch, so we opted to motor our way back. The water was choppy and it was really fun!

I had a fantastic weekend and can't wait to get on the water again, that is, if J will have me. I'm pretty useless on a sailboat. I can follow directions, but only those that I can understand. I will study up on the sailing vocab before I try again.