We awoke to another beautiful sunrise on the hook. It was quiet and still as the sun’s first rays stretched across the water. After a few minutes of sky appreciation, we fired up, hoisted the hook, and started our 79.6 mile trek to our next stop.

Since it was Memorial Day weekend, the water got progressively busier as the day went on, but there was plenty of water to make for a relaxing trip north.

Along the way, we pulled into Annapolis harbor to do a little tourism from the water. Many, many moons ago, I wanted to attend the Naval Academy and it holds a special place in my heart. I’ve visited campus several times and stood in the crypt of John Paul Jones, the father of the American Navy.

The Harbor was incredibly busy. We rounded the inner harbor, looked down Ego Alley and back out. At one point, a small boat crossed right in front of us, looked me in the eye, waved, and kept going as I slammed into reverse to keep from hitting him. Some people don’t respect the physics of the environment. We rounded the Naval Academy and then exited the harbor to continue north.

Shortly after reentering the Chesapeake, the radio lit up with an emergency. A small boat had come in fast near Sandy Point with what turned out to be a medical emergency on board. The Coast Guard responded and several nearby boaters were offering information and support. It sounded like they got the person on shore and into the hands of emergency personnel. Hopefully it turned out okay. It was good to hear the professionalism and responsiveness of the Coast Guard. This trip has really made us appreciate the work that they do.

The rest of the trip was smooth. We passed some large ships waiting for the port in Baltimore and got a glimpse of downtown Baltimore as we turned to port into the Maryland Yacht Club. After a bit of fuel, we found our slip and settled in with help from the friendly staff. That’s just where the fun started!

As we were tying up, Gold Loopers Greg and Barb greeted us at the dock and offered to buy us a drink. After we washed down the boat and cleaned up, we met them at their boat and walked up to the yacht club. We got a round of drinks and sat in the Adirondack chairs on the lawn overlooking the bay to chat. Barb brought out a wonderful dip and chips as we swapped stories. They completed their loop in over a decade ago, but also had a lifetime of boating throughout the US and Canada to share. They were absolutely wonderful hosts and made us feel so welcome. We concluded the day with the firing of the cannon as the yacht club commodore played retreat and lowered the flag.

We tried to get to bed early because we had a 0400 ride to catch an 0600 flight in the morning to fly to Wisconsin… but that’s a story for another day.