Crabs Fear Me, Fish Do Not

September 03, 2004
By Tom

Friday - August 27, 2004

Today we stayed in Galesville. During the morning we both tried to adjust to the sudden change in pace our lives seem to have taken. I set out 4 crab lines off the back of the boat and proceeded to catch enough crabs in 3 hours to feed us. Amy read a book down below while the battle raged outside.

Later, we assembled the dinghy to go to shore and promptly found that our carburetor wasn't working. After careful disassembly and reassembly it now works, sort of. We'll have to keep our eye on it.

Happy hour at the new Steamboat Landing and then back to the mother ship for crab quesadilla's and an early bed time.

Saturday - August 28, 2004

We got up this morning and sailed up to Annapolis, where Amy's brother, Mark, and his girlfriend Christy are scheduled to meet us this evening. We ended up taking a mooring ball at the cost of $25 a night because there are no good places to anchor here. What a crock this is. The city is sure going to be surprised when I send them a bill for using my boat in the thousands of scenic pictures that the mass of tourists were taking.

Sunday - August 29, 2004

We woke up this morning and took Mark and Christy for a sail. We put our main sail up while we were still attached to the mooring ball and then cast off and set sail immediately. Our neighbors were definitely impressed. I was slightly amazed we didn't hit anyone.

After two hours sailing back and forth, we returned to the harbour and picked up the same mooring ball that we had been on before. We then piled into the dinghy and went into town for lunch.

Before they left, Mark and Christy gave us a ride out to the Mega West Marine so I could pick up two ammeters to install with our alternative energy systems so that we can see how much each is putting out. So far, we have been breaking even on electric energy, but just barely. If we get a windless or sunless day, we might be in trouble.

Monday - August 30, 2004

We finally left Annapolis and we're both glad. It's just too expensive, too snobby, and too rough here to really enjoy it. Our destination today was Harness Creek down on the South River, a whopping 15 miles away.

The rain started about 15 minutes before we got to the anchorage and continued off and on most of the day. We stayed inside and worked on minor projects before an early dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread.

Tuesday - August 31, 2004

Our initial intention today was to sail over to the eastern shore to either Oxford or Cambridge, but the wind was perfect for a run down the bay. Consequently, we are now in Solomons Island, Md, where we will meet Amy's friend Kris from New York on Thursday.

Amy and I would rather sail than motor and the wind today was to good to pass up. We covered the 45 miles from Harness Creek down to Solomon's Island in less than 6 hours, the last hour of which was spent motoring into the harbour. We are currently anchored in a small basin behind Zahnhisers Marine and in front of the Calvert Maritime Museum.

It looks like we'll have a couple of days to spend here before Kris arrives. Tomorrow I am going to pull the carburetor off the dinghy engine again and see if I can get it to work a little better.

Wednesday - September 1, 2004

Crabs fear me, fish do not. That's the latest summary statement from the seafood procurement department.

I deployed a full spread (4) of crab entanglement devices (CED's) this morning off the back of the mother ship while I set about working on the dinghy engine. After two hours Maggie and I had successfully landed 14 keeper sized crustaceans whom joined us for a lite afternoon snack on the aft deck. Maggie likes a good crab every now and then.

The carburetor continues to thwart me and I may resort to poking it with spoons. We met our first other cruisers this evening on Wind Dancer, an Island Piglet 39 from Roswell, Georgia. George and Mary are working their way towards the Bahamas as well, so maybe we'll cross paths with them again.

Two homemade pizza's of the cheese variety for dinner and fresh chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Thursday - September 2, 2004

I spent most of the day in the seemingless endless struggle to show the dinghy engine my power. Clearly I am losing this battle.

I walked two miles out and back to get a set of plugs for the engine, and while they seemed to help, I am still having trouble with the engine. All tests lead me to believe the primary jets are clogged, but I'll be damned if I can see how. One more day of this and I am going to admit defeat and call on a professional.

While I got beat down by the outboard, Amy spent the afternoon in a mixture of reading and cleaning. We went into town for $1 draft happy hour at a bar oddly enough called Catamaran's, and then came back to the mother ship for Taco night. I love Taco night.

More to follow, end of line.