Chesapeake Baycation, Day One
What sailing editor forgets her foul weather gear bottoms for an eight-day cruise with a few days of rain in the forecast? This one.
We woke up to a nice downpour this morning in Annapolis, where we’d spent the night at anchor. When I say NICE downpour, I mean nice if you get to stay home in bed and drink tea, not take an eight-hour motor down the Chesapeake.
But here we are, and you know, it’s been a delightful day. I’m wearing a ridiculously large pair of old yellow bibs (“old Yeller” we call them), which are plenty dry and warm, and a SpinSheet fleece. We have the full bimini cover up over the cockpit.
Today, I’ve made a yummy breakfast (scrambled eggs, fruit, French-pressed coffee) and lunch (lettuce-wrapped turkey, ham, and muenster sandwiches), finished my book, corresponded by text with friends we’re meeting at anchor this evening in Solomons, and now am writing to you from the saloon from which I can see my straw hat and bathing I brought with a summery week in mind.
The skipper has recalibrated the auto-helm, fixed the hot water problem, scrubbed the decks, and now he’s scrambling around on deck fixing something… you get the gist of it. The division of labor here is pretty clear and traditional and probably not going to change anytime soon, which is okay by me because I love to cook and it’s his boat, so he can fix away!
It did rain for most of the morning. Now it’s bright enough that you sort of need sunglasses but not quite. It’s gorgeous out here on the Bay in light rain, the water smooth as glass. We saw a pod of dolphins just south of Chesapeake Beach heading north, which made me stupidly happy.
Not much else going on out here. Other than a slew of fishermen off Herrington Harbour, we’ve seen few boats. Only one big ship came up the Bay this morning. Very much looking forward to having a cozy little party with friends at anchor tonight. I’ll write more as our Baycation continues. Happy Monday, all!
