Baltimore, MD

We got up Thursday morning and decided to do some docking practice in the anchorage that we were in before leaving for Baltimore.  There was a marina there with a T dock and no boats nearby so we could practice without interfering with, or endangering, anyone.

Stephanie at the helm!

While I’ve stood watch overnight on outside passages and done a bit of driving inside on the ICW, I had yet to try to dock the boat.  We decided that today was the day and after Martin had done his practice, Jim and I took to the forward starboard control station. Poor Martin had to retreat to the salon and close the blinds. There’s a reason I won’t be learning from Martin ;)  All in all I think I did pretty well. I pulled up closely and never smacked the dock.   I only had one freak out moment when I begged Jim to take control of the boat (he did not and I did not sacrifice any gel coat) so it was a success! I have much more practicing to do before I try this on my own but I have fantasies of pulling into a marina and docking her with no help. It will happen one day and poor Mart will go a little bit more gray on that day…

After all that excitement we headed out to Harbor East Marina in Baltimore for one night.  It’s in a great location and Jim walked us in to Fell’s Point. I loved this neighborhood!  If I were to live here, I think that’s where I’d want to live. 

Beer Art Car

Martin and I explored the town a little bit that afternoon and evening.  We managed to find a Kilwin’s (ice cream and fudge store – yup, it’s that good) and a Whole Foods.  So it balanced out in the end…  Then we sat on the flybridge for a while and listened to Hall & Oats, who were playing at the Pier 6 Concert Pavillion, but frankly, it wasn’t that loud or fabulous so we went to bed early.

This morning we headed across the bay to the HarborView Marina where we’ll be staying for a little over a week. We’ve been here before, staying aboard Vector while attending Trawler Fest last year. It’s very exciting to attend this year on our own boat! We’re docked out on the end, conveniently located right behind the floating Tiki Bar.

View aft: Tiki Bar and Harbor

View forward: Baltimore Museum of Industry

View to port: Domino Sugar Factory and Sailing School

This afternoon we said goodbye to Jim.  It’s hard to believe that 3 weeks has gone by so quickly. We’ve learned so much and are so grateful!  We’re incredibly happy that PAE is having Jim help us get back down to Florida in mid-October. It also made our goodbyes today a more simple: “we’ll see you in a few weeks!” rather than goodbye.

We’ll be here for about a week and a half and have so much planned, it’s going to fly by.  Sean & Louise will come in tomorrow to a marina nearby. We’re planning on going to DC for a day which will be awesome. (I lived there in my 20s and haven’t been back for almost 20 years.) A Northern Lights tech is coming on Monday to perform the 100 hour service on the gens. And Jeff will arrive on Tuesday night and he’ll be staying with us through Trawler Fest.

To end today's post, here's a gratuitous cat picture...

Picture from Rock Hall when Girl George came for a visit and I got some cat cuddles (I should clarify that Girl George’s real name is George but because I had a George too, I’ve grown used to referring to them as “Girl George” and “Boy George” and it’s habit now…)