Log of Sea Wings

 February 19, 2008

At anchor, Dinner Key

Coconut Grove , Florida

And They’re Off!!!!!!!

We love nothing better than a good boat show and Annapolis has one of the best for us sailors. We had been looking forward to the show for months and left Baltimore for Annapolis with a full two weeks to spare, thinking it was early enough to get a City owned mooring which are only a few yards from the show site. We were about two weeks too late.

All the moorings were long gone so we went up the Spa Creek looking for a mooring or place to anchor, too late for there as well. So we had to settle for anchoring off the Naval Academy. This put us only a few hundred feet away from the City moorings, so very close to the show, but just far enough away that we had a fetch all the way across the Chesapeake if the wind came in from the southeast. We thought this might be a little dicey as we would be there for nearly three weeks. But in the end it turned out to be a fantastic place as we only had two or three rough nights and only one or two really bad storms but they were short lived.

Where St. Michaels and Baltimore are steeped in nautical tradition, Annapolis goes one step further. While rich in its own heritage, Annapolis does not rest on its laurels and celebrate only the past, it is really into sailing, and not just yesterday, but today and the future. This is a sailing town and it is evident every day and every where you go.

We came in just after the evening race series but our anchor neighbors said that the evening ‘barrel’ races would have over 50 boats and the whole fleet would sail through the anchorage under spinnakers, headed for their slips. Every Saturday and Sunday there were races all over the bay, one designs of all sizes and the PHRF boats were a steady train coming out of the various marinas an clubs headed out to the race course. As just an example, we counted over 16 J30’s heading out. How many J30’s race in Jacksonville? How many ever raced in Jacksonville? And their numbers as small compared to the J22’s and J24’s……..how many J24’s still race in Jacksonville?

And then there are the kids. Monday through Friday at 4pm there is a parade of Lasers, Opti’s, and FJ’s coming out from three clubs, each with a chase boat with at least two coaches. For two hours each night these kids practice starts, windward roundings, downwind tactics and more. As the winds this time of year are often light, after they finish the formal practice they race back to the clubs pumping their sails to move forward. Don’t forget that this is October and these kids are in school. They don’t go to football practice, or track, or basketball or band or drama. They go practice sailing and race tactics. So now when you are hammering around the race course and are looking all day at a transom with a hailing port of “Annapolis, MD”, you will know why you are getting your ass kicked.

The boat show itself is a must see. It does not have the equipment and gadgets like a convention center full at Miami, but it has more in water sailboats that any show. And it is all done on temporary docks. The downtown waterfront is closed on Sunday night to all traffic and for three days floating docks are pulled in from staging areas, pile drivers set temporary pilings and the boats start to come in. This is highly orchestrated as the layout of docks closes many of the boats in. So it is build docks, move in boats, close docks behind them, move in more, close them in, etc. Everyone is in and all the vendors are in tents by the opening on Thursday. The show lasts through Monday and at 5pm the loudspeaker announces “Gentlemen, start your engines!” And within 2 hours, every boat is out, and the powerboats start moving in for the powerboat show on Thursday. One of the most enjoyable times we had was sitting on the bow of our boat with a cool drink cheering the boats as they raced out, most with their decks loaded with potted plants, tents, furniture and all the equipment needed to set up a booth/reception area, all trying to get out under the two hour goal.

We did not realize it at the time, but the Annapolis show is for many cruising the east coast the last event before the great migration south to the Bahamas and beyond. Many cruisers have insurance that requires they be north of Charleston between June and November 1. The Annapolis show is the first week in October so the cruising fleet starts south following this event. So we met a lot of cruisers in our time in Annapolis and it changed our perspective on the cruising life a great deal.

Best to all and fair winds,

Lew and Lyn

SV Sea Wings