Trawler Fest Baltimore

It's a beautiful, clear and sunny day here in Baltimore, although it's more than a little crisp at just 44 degrees. We opted to stay here after the Trawler Fest show, thinking it would be a good base for a couple of business trips Paul needed to make and an enjoyable place to hang out for a while as well. After three weeks here, as an old friend would say, "we are not disappointed"! 

Elk River Anchorage at Sunrise

Getting here from Newport was less than fun, despite the company of our great nephew as we transited the East River through New York City. He's a sophomore at NYU and seems to know every tall building that we pass, and even without his local knowledge, it's always a special treat to have him on board. His visit was the highlight of an otherwise rough and exhausting trip down the Jersey shore, with 4-7 ft seas kicked up by Hurricane Nadine, who simply refused to move on. 

After regrouping in Cape May for an afternoon and evening, we crossed Delaware Bay and entered the C & D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal, breathing a sigh of relief to be in sheltered waters again. I always particularly enjoy the rural areas that we pass through before entering Chesapeake Bay__ even at sunrise hauling a muddy chain and anchor! And then a short day down the bay to Baltimore and again the now familiar rhythm of getting the boat ready for show. 

Trawlers on Display

The show ran from Thursday through Sunday, although the Trawler Fest seminars and events ended on Saturday. As our presence was not required on the dock until Sunday, Paul and I took the opportunity to begin our exploration of Baltimore and find the best marina option for our month long stay. We finally settled on the BMC Inner Harbor, for its location near the free Circulator buses, the water taxi, in slip pump out (always a practical consideration when you're living on board!) and the great October pricing special that made the our stay very reasonable, especially since we won't need a car most of the time.

Underwater Basket Weaving

Paul kept himself busy working on real estate business, as well as the presentation which he'll make at the end of the month in Florida (I'm staying here with Bubba and a friend from home to keep me company). For my part, I kept myself entertained by attending a few seminars, including an "underwater basket weaving" class__ underwater because all of the reeds must be soaked in order to be bent into shape. In less than an hour and a half, our unskilled class each turned out a reasonable looking basket. It was a fun group and the time went quickly, although I don't see any more basket weaving in my future! 

The show was busy, and attracted an audience who should be most interested in a boat such as Carry On. There were lots of boats on two docks and a surprising number of very large and expensive boats. We felt the show went well for us, but we're still waiting for that phone call with an offer.

Soon enough the show was over and we anchored out in Baltimore Harbor to enjoy the sunset. We were well settled in when we had a visit by the Harbor Police who told us we needed to move, as the area we were in was illegal, despite charts to the contrary. So we moved as directed just as it began to rain and with limited swinging room, reset our anchor a couple of times before it held. I had just put our dinner on the table and we were all set to toast the end of the boat shows, when the State Police boat signaled us and told us we needed to move yet again. ARGHH. He kindly agreed that we could eat dinner first, and as it was now pouring rain, we were thankful for that. Then after dinner, we moved again and finally settled in for the night. Not exactly relaxing!

Sunrise and Moonset, Baltimore Harbor

The next morning we were treated to the view shown on the right and then saw Carry On laying at anchor in a shot of the harbor on the local CBS station. We haven't quite figured out where the web cam is, but we see shots of our current marina and the alternate harbor view every morning before Charlie Rose, our current morning show favorite.

We're enjoying our stay here and have even had guests from Marblehead on board for a few days. Despite rainy and chilly days, we had a great time exploring museums and some of the neighborhoods, walking the beautifully laid out waterfront and enjoying some of the local restaurants. But more on all that later!