Coctails on the beach!

Tuesday afternoon and we've already relaxed enough to simply read on the beach all day. Could we have possibly run out of things to talk about? No way - we're just resting our vocal cords.

Blueberry lemondrop

Dinner at Mahoney's in Orleans, Cape Cod with Jane, Rosemary, and Kathy.

Coming into Annapolis

Most traffic we've had all week.

Friday on the Chesapeake

Jane has just announced that she got all of her shopping needs satisfied yesterday in St. Michael's. We'll see how long she holds on to that resolution when we get to Annapolis harbour.  I think losing her new Droid last night and then Jana finding it today after many anxious hours might have something to do with her calm status.

The relatively low winds reflects the calm chi we're all experiencing today. We can see the CB bridge off our starboard bow as we head toward Annapolis.

Dinner was delicious last night at the Big Pickle. Kudos to the restaurant chef and staff.

Happy Birthday Neil!

Enjoying a full day at St. Michael's...and it's Neil's birthday!

Got here yesterday after a full day of sailing under power. No wind and brutally hot. Arriving at the dock we readied for our first solo docking procedure only to have our motor give out on us again. But Neil and the trusty wrench saved the day.

Jana and David were waiting for us when we arrived.  We swam in the pool and drank margaritas while a storm blew in.
We had dinner at the Crab claw restaurant. Sauteedsoft crabs were the best!  

The winds were fierce during the night. Neil and I kept jumping up and going on the deck to make sure we weren't sinking. It was loud and it turned cold, which is a good thing.

We decided to keep the boat another night so were staying tonight in St. Michael's and on to Annapolis tomorrow.

If any of you go to St Michael's, be sure to try out a new cafe called the Big Pickle. The food was great and service outstanding. We liked it so much we're going back for dinner. We haven't gone back to the same restaurant so soon after a visit since we were in Taormina with the same crew.

Plans for Wednesday

Today we are sailing toward St. Michael's to meet Jana & David. We have a slip at the harbor for the night and dinner reservations at the Crab Claw. We're hoping for favorable wind speed and direction.

Jesse has been wonderful at the helm following Neil's directions through tight channels. Thank goodness for Jane's iPad and the fact that she downloaded a great navigation app in advance! It has been invaluable!!! Neil's time spent charting our routes has been well worth the effort. Everything has been going smoothly so far. Good planning makes a huge difference!

Jane & I over planned the quantity of food we would need. Big surprise! But I guess there is no harm done in that...good Girl Scouts that we are! I mean, really, who could possibly be better prepared than this crew! Would you really want to be on a cruise with Gilligan and the Skipper? I think not!

TTFN...

Wednesday on the Chesapeake-July 13

Yesterday we had fair winds. We motored under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge then hoisted the sails again and sailed past Annapolis and hooked a mooring ball in Galesville on the West River.

We heaved-to at the Thomas Point light house and enjoyed lunch. We practiced our jibing skills in the morning and our tacking technique in the afternoon. We have successfully anchored one night and got a mooring ball the second night.

Once on the mooring ball in Galesville, Jane looked up current news only to find that a body had been found on a sailboat on Monday in the anchorage immediately next to us, an apparent suicide by hanging. Neil said, "at least it wasn't a shooting!"

Jesse & Neil took the dingy to the Hartge Yacht Club to check out the facilities. Jane and I took a dip in the river. Ahhhhh...very refreshing.

Jane talked to Nancy on the phone and mentioned how bad the biting flies had been during the day. Nancy said she knew of a home remedy. Drink 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Before she could relay the rest of the cure, Ria dove for the cupboard, opened a new bottle of vinegar and chug a lugged, passing the bottle to the rest of the crew. After belching up that little bit of battery acid, Nancy told Jane it was supposed to be diluted in water and it was to repel mosquitoes, not flies. Oh, great! Jesse & Ria had some queezy stomach issues after that but all is good now.

Then we all went by dingy to the club to shower in the luxury of clean and air conditioned :) showers! Then we walked about a mile - so much for cooling off in the showers - to Thursday's Steak and Seafood restaurant. Good eats in the A/C. We were the only people in the dining room. When walked back the temp had cooled significantly and we all had a good, cool night's sleep. Jane & Ria have perfected the sleeping arrangements on deck.

Bald eagle nesting on chanel marker as we exit Bodkin

Tuesday morning in Bodkin Creek

We spent a quiet night anchored in Bodkin Creek last night. Well after the lightening, rain, and wind subsided that is.  Jane and I slept on deck in the cockpit. We thought it would be cooler and would let Neil and Jesse have a snore free sleep. When we woke up we saw Neil had to close his port hole to block the stereo snoring song.

Under way now. Hoping to get to Annapolis tonight if the winds cooperate.

Ahoy maties!

The fearless 4 are back on a sailboat. This time on the Chesapeake Bay. Only a few false starts. Jane and I left 16 g of bottled H2O, dinner meats, charcoal, etc in trunk of Prius :(

Then while sailing we tried to turn on motor.  Nothing. Capt. Dave told Neil everything he could think of to do. Finally he said just to hit the engine with a wrench. And it worked! Go figure.

Rum and more rum...

After our tour of Bacardi and our 2 free drinks, we went back to Old San Juan. We walked around the city wall and had mojitos and tapas at El Convento. Walking back through the town, we stumbled on the Rums of Puerto Rico festival. Live music, dancing, all the food and rum drinks you could want as well as eye poppingly beautiful Latin lovelies.

Cheers!

Enjoying our 2 free drinks at Bacardi.

Celebrate!

Whew! We are smiling because we all survived 6 nights and 7 days of an immersion sailing class. None of us thought it would be this intense. There was very little down time. But at least we were outside all day and there was no shortage of laughs. Jane said this was the the best ab workout ever. We all had major test anxiety. There was SO much to learn. Jesse got the highest grade (95) and Neil and I got the same grade (94).  I still find that a little hard to believe (so does Neil). 

Today we are in San Juan. Turns out there is an Iron Man triathlon today and is stopping up traffic. We are on our way to the Baccardi distillery for a tour followed by a rum festival in Old San Juan. Then napping by the pool.

Yea, we all passed!

Before the test.

Killing Pain

After a day of strategic sailing, including MOB skills and heave to, followed by power snorkeling and snorkeling just inside caves, we are drinking Pain Killers at Pirates Bight (Norman Island) while waiting for dinner. The sun is setting over St John. You can see a field of sailboats on mooring balls. Priceless!

Recipe: Pain Killers

Orange juice, pineapple juice, Coco Lopez, rum, ice. Stirred and served with a cherry, orange slice, and freshly grated nutmeg.

Soper's Hole BVI

We're checking in @ customs after motoring over from Maho Bay, St John.  Colorful buildings here @ port. Making lunch to eat while sailing to Norman Island and world class snorkeling this afternoon. Grilled chicken on charcoal grill on board last night. Curried couscous and stir fried veggies. And a little vino. Well maybe a lot of vino! Nothing like this in regular summer camp.

We're taking turns being captain for the day. Neil is captain today. He's in charge of assigning duties to the crew. Captain Gary is a patient and tolerant teacher. He even has gotten in a zinger or 2 on Jesse.  He's getting the hang of being around us while we're learning to sail. Fair trade, right?

First day of actual sailing

After a seemingly endless morning of instruction we cast off for points unknown and panic imediately set in that we needed more instruction. Oops! Each of us then practiced mooring on the hook before we really started sailing and each of us had a couple of chances at being at the helm. You know tacking is a lot different on a 44ft boat vs a 16 ft catamaran! Not to worry each of us did the required drills

This is great. We snorlkeled at maho bay where we were with Mary, Gil and kids 3 yrs ago. Way awesome.

Will try to meet up with John & Jane during the week.

All of this is prep for sharing the experience with all of you at some time or another. Paradise!

Sunrise over Red Hook

Camp counselor Gary gave us our first lessons last night. He already has us pegged as the camp rowdies. Go figure. Only problem is that there aren't enough serious campers to balance us out.

Summer Camp for Adults

Fitz asked us last night if we were excited about our trip. "Excited and anxious" we answered. Sage person that he is, Fitz said, "Just think about it as summer camp. You know, away from home, not sure what to expect, some planned activities and meals, and some free time for fun. You'll have a great time." Fitz was a wise old man from the day he was born. One look at him and I just knew.

So...Summer Camp...I like that analogy. Instead of horseback riding, arts and crafts, and singing Kumbaiya around the campfire with samores, we'll be snorkeling with tropical fish, learning to tie knots, and listening to Jesse's music on the iPod while drinking rum punch after a day of sun and sailing lessons. What's not to like?

Tempest brewing in VI

Jesse, Jane, Neil, and Ria are getting ready for their next adventure: bareboat sailing in the Virgin Islands beginning March 12. Follow their adventures!