Annapolis

learning how to sail on Whisper in the Chesapeake Bay, circa 2005

As we returned to the Annapolis area on Positive Waves I couldn’t help think about how far we’ve grown as sailors and boaters since we first started out in 2004. Back in college in the late ‘90s, Hans and I dreamed of sailing around the world on a sailboat, living a nomadic lifestyle, and exploring new places from the comfort of our own floating home. Every decision was made with that goal in mind. Jobs, apartments, school (or not attending school), weekly budgets, furniture—every choice was based on getting out on the water as soon as possible. We worked hard, saved a lot of money, and made conscious decisions that eventually let us sail and not work for almost three years.  We were living and working in DC and Maryland at the time and started learning about boats and boating in the Annapolis area.

Our first boat was Rocinante, a home-built 34’ Bruce Roberts pilothouse tank. We started a refit in earnest, thinking we’d do some cosmetic repairs and change the paint color, but as all boat projects go (and we didn’t know this at the time), one seemingly innocuous repair opened up Pandora’s box. We spent an entire winter recoring the soggy balsa deck only to discover when we launched the boat in the spring that the engine wasn’t firing on all cylinders and would need a rebuild. We decided to cut our losses, chalk up all the boat work to education, and we sold the boat on eBay.

I read a book by Don Casey that guided my boat search and ideas of what cruising could look like, Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach. We went back to the drawing board, kept saving money, and bought a book by John Vigor titled Twenty Small Sailboats to take you Anywhere and decided we’d buy one of the boats in that book. I loved the classic, graceful lines of the Swedish Folkboat but when Hans looked at one he quickly discovered there was no headroom in the main cabin and because of the very low freeboard, we’d likely be wet all the time. Many boats later, we found Whisper, an Albin Vega from 1977. The new engine only had thirteen hours on it and all the interior and exterior upholstery was new. It was an old boat so we knew we’d have to replace the rigging and the sails and likely the electrical. But we had at least a year before we could leave and used that time to do the refit (and learned a lot in the process).

All that time spent working on Rocinante, then Whisper, climbing in and out of boats in boatyards, sailing on Sunday afternoons, and hunting down rare boat parts was done in the Annapolis area. So it was quite a contrast to return on Positive Waves, a much bigger, faster boat than our previous two sailboats, and also to return with thousands and thousands of more sea miles under the keel. When we sailed on the Chesapeake in the early 2000s, we were teaching ourselves how to sail. We knew how to do it in theory (lots of weekday reading when we couldn’t be on the boat), but in practice the slightest gust of wind had us scrambling. The phrase Small Craft Advisory sent little waves of terror up and down my spine but now we prefer a Small Craft Advisory because those kinds of winds actually move the boat. We recognized all the lighthouses, the creeks, the shipping lanes, and the locations of some of the shoals, but it felt totally different. “Hey, we actually know what we’re doing!”

Sailing on Whisper, circa 2005 with Suzanne. Small craft advisory and I'm not sure if I was smiling or grimacing.

Anchoring in Spa Creek, strolling around the cobblestone streets of Annapolis, eating lunch at Davis’s Pub—it was all familiar. This time around, we were in Annapolis specifically for the boat show. Well, not the boat show, but for all the events that surround the boat show. I gave a short talk on passage-making—the learning curve, tips, and encouragement—at a two-day seminar for women, hosted by friends Behan Gifford and Nica Waters; and we did a lot of socializing. Happy hours, breakfast, tea and cookies, and dinners on Positive Waves. So many people to see and so many people wanted to see our boat. It was so much fun, and both energizing and tiring at the same time. We made a short two day trip to Washington, DC to visit a few museums, the monuments, and the Capitol Building; Hans also took advantage of being in a town with all the chandleries and speciality shops and got a couple big boat projects completed. After ten busy days in Annapolis, and with the temperature getting colder and colder, we knew it was time to head south.

Annapolis is so picturesque. This was the street we walked every day to get to and from the dinghy.

Getting ready for Halloween.

Freja practicing her dinghy driving skills.

Waiting for a dinghy pick-up by Hans.

Fraction work for Matilda.

Hanging out on Nica and Jeremy's boat, their beautifully maintained Bristol Channel Cutter.

How many of your favorite people can you fit on a 44' sailboat?

An impromptu meet-up with our friend Michelle who we sailed alongside in the BVI and Puerto Rico this past spring.

Kids4Sail meetup. So many boat kids!

port side window in the galley...

And the starboard window. All foggy and opaque. We've ordered a replacement window from Boreal, but  actually swapping it out will prove to be rather challenging I'm sure.

One of Han's projects: moving the holding tank that was in Matilda's locker and giving her actual useable clothes storage space.

With Behan and Nica after my presentation. The kids came to hear me and to help with the slides. And of course they chimed in with their own opinions because, if you've met them for more than 5 minutes you know that our kids are anything but shy.

Charlotte and I first met online back in 2010 when we were both pregnant for the first time and living on boats. I was in Philly, she was in San Diego. We've maintained our online friendship since then and were thrilled to actually meet in person!

Washington, DC.

After picking up Hans at Bodkin Creek, we left the next day to sail to Annapolis. We sailed under the Bay Bridge for the first time in what felt like a gazillion years. The Bay Bridge is a big sailing landmark for us—when we left the Chesapeake on Whisper, sailing under the Bay Bridge was a pin: we’re actually doing this! We’re leaving! We’re going cruising!

Sailing under the Bay Bridge in October 2006, southbound for the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

And 16 years later, sailing under the Bay Bridge as a family. (Matilda was upset about something but we made her be in the picture regardless.)