Annapolis, Maryland 2013
Annapolis, Maryland is really beautiful and was so much fun to visit. We spent 4 days aboard Zufriedan, a 37-foot sloop rig with our captain Dave. We were going for our ASA 104 bareboat chartering certification, which we accomplished with flying colors. This trip was a little bit different than our last one to the Florida Keys because it was more about the inner-workings of the sailboat. Yes, we did a lot of sailing, but it was equally important to learn about how to work all of the systems aboard the boat, and maintain them.
Its important to remember that when you sail, your boat is your island. You need to understand how everything works, and more importantly, how to fix everything, should there be a problem. You have to be your own safety-net at sea. So, our course this time focused more on boat maintenance, cooking, engine repair, navigation systems, charting, plotting a course, navigating through channels (almost like heavy traffic in the ocean) and so much more.
This trip was definitely an adventurous one. Every day we had strong winds, and one day we had such strong winds we had to drop the sails and motor to our location. It was a lot of hard work sailing in heavy weather and we also learned a lot more about what kind of boat we like to sail.
Both Jake and I worked our butts off trimming the sails and manning (or wo-manning) the wheel. We were both exhausted after each day and really sore. There were storms every day which added to the adventurous conditions and made it a little scary but also a very good experience. Definitely a challenge.
After the trip, we stayed in Annapolis for another few days. It was really very nice. We learned a ton about the historic city, went on a ghost tour, checked out the Naval Academy (and a bunch of Marine stuff for Jake) and ate a rediculous amount of food. The crab in Annapolis is DY-NO-MITE! Jake had crab almost every day, while I had fish (which was also some of the best I’ve ever had). Here are some photo-highlights of the city:
