Naval Academy regatta

If we’d had our choice we would have gotten to Annapolis a week earlier for the sailboat show.  Instead we arrived during the powerboat show.  Either way there was a lot of boat traffic.  We ducked into Back Creek to see if we could find a spot to anchor, but things looked really tight.  Instead we chose the south anchorage just off of Spa Creek and the Naval Academy.  We were serenaded every morning by reveille, got to listen to artillery practice, and watched midshipmen make all their first mistakes with really big naval boats.  We even got to sit front and center for a college regatta over the weekend (I was disappointed to see Wisconsin second to last pretty much every lap – there’s plenty of sailing in Madison!).

 

Getting ready to dive overboard

Unfortunately we’ve been having refrigerator problems (compressor is always running which sucks on the batteries) and battery problems (we thought we solved back in Maine but acting up again).  Lucky for us pretty much all the same exhibitors stay on from the sailboat show to the powerboat show so we bought tickets and hunted down those we needed to talk to.  Trip later dove on the bottom  (even though we were a little exposed to boat traffic this was a great place to dive with water moving so we didn’t have to worry about what Trip might be swallowing) and scraped the keel cooler for the fridge which did have some growth on it.  (The growth prevents the exchange of the cold water for cooling which forces the draw on the batteries).

 

Back Creek dinghy dock

We took a break from the problems and dinghied back into Back Creek to run errands where we ran into two sets of fellow cruisers who we had met in Marion, MA and Portland, ME.  We also found our way to Davis’ Pub for crab dip topped tater tots (OMG) and pulled pork nachos – a very satisfying way to finish the day.

 

Replacing the batteries

Cleaning the keel cooler (and adding refrigerant) definitely helped the fridge issue, but we were still stuck with batteries that were barely holding a charge despite solar panels (admittedly it had been overcast for a few days) and a wind generator.  One of the vendors Trip talked to at the boat show pointed out that batteries only have a lifespan of 6-8 years (we’re on year 7) and that they had a warehouse in downtown Annapolis with our exact replacement.  Rather than face the thought of paying double in the Caribbean when they die we decided to bite the bullet and replace them now.  Wow, am I glad we are still relatively young and healthy.  Pulling out four batteries, loading them into the dinghy, getting them to shore, getting them to a corner for the cab pickup – and all that again in reverse with the new ones was a bit exhausting.

 

Chicken quesadillas (Rubarama spice blend front and center on the shelf!)

We wrapped up the day with a heaping plateful of chicken quesadillas (perfectly seasoned with Rubarama – thanks to Deb & Rama) in front of a movie with our new batteries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast:  cereal

Lunch:  shrimp & grits, waffle burger (Iron Rooster)

Dinner:  chicken quesadillas