Those Crazy Watermen

We stayed on in Solomons to be able to see the Waterman's Festival. The Festival has been going on for 7 years....about 5 other water towns in the Bay have this Festival. About 20 waterman/boats participated this year. They have 4 classes...rookie, charter, medium and large boats. They have contests that scare the bejesus out of you...The most exciting event is the one where the boats must basically go full throttle out of a slip(going forward not backing out) and then have to make a very sharp, fast port turn and back into a slip (about 3 slips away) at full throttle and place a line on each of four pilings. It is a timed event. The event gets so competitive that at one point a waterman, as he threw a line on a piling,he proceeded to do full summersault into the water just so he could get the line completely over the piling.The crowd went wild! The waterman who participate are anywhere from 20 to 68 years old. They can manuver their boats (one screw)so amazingly fast and accurate. The event is free to the public but a boot is passed throughtout the crowd to gather all the contest winnings to be passed out amongst the winners...John had a unique opportunity to get a ride on one of the boats because as they say the squeaky wheel get the grease...The announcer appreciated his enthusiam....He said it was great! It was over before it started...Then Jason (another squeaky wheel) played announcer for a bit of the festival....

10 reasons to Start Moving South

Life in the Chesapeake Bay is amazing...gorgeous starry filled nites, chilly mornings and Fall leaves on the trees....FALL LEAVES ON THE TREEEs...OMG...(omigod)..
Top 10 Signs that we should start to move South
10)Pumpkins being sold in the farm stands
9)Leaves are changing colors
8)Acorns are falling off the trees (dockmaster at Solomons said that is his first sign)
7)Lots of woolly caterpillars are being seen
6)Halloween decorations in the store windows(of course some are seen in August)
5)Fog in the morning
4)Cold temps overnite below 70 degrees
3)You start to rummage about your boat trying to find a pair of jeans and a fleece top
2)John dropped dinghy lock overboard in the murky Chesapeake water (need to go to clear blue waters further South)
1)We are weenies and we need lots of sunshine and warm days
See pic of the Chesapeake in the morning ....Great Summer!

Off the Hook with Johnny Depp

We finally left the dock at Solomons and had an amazing sunset dinner with Jason and Laura....Then off to Harris Creek, Tilghmann Island and St Michaels on the Eastern Shore. These incredible creeks meander back and forth with gorgeous tall grass waterfronts. These towns are are steeped in history and charm...Now onto Johnny Depp. We borrowed a car from friends ( a huge perk of cruising, great friends in wonderful places)and drove into St Michaels...a charming (that word has a comeback)16th century town...complete with incredibly restored houses, shops, a microbrewery and Johnny Depp's boat. The town had sighting of him throughout the day but no one could actually confirm his whereabouts. The boat is a 156 motorsailer...it's pretty much gorgeous. Due to a Vanity Fair artcicle that we read a few months back, we could confirm it was his yacht. He also purchased an island in the Bahamas so further research is needed. It was all lots of fun...the town was abuzz. The next day, the St Michaels newpaper ran a pic of his boat on the front page. The elusive Johnny was never found and the yacht had sailed off to a new port. Great fun!

Water, Water everywhere--including here

Wow! Time flies when you are having fun and working on a watermaker....This is definitely the royal "we". John has completed successfully building our new watermaker. Working towards self-sufficiency is a wonderful thing! It works really well! It will make 20 gallons per hour...our many thanks to Jason for his guidance and patience. On the pirate fashion front, John now has a pirced ear. Our multi-talented Jason transformed himself into a pierced earring piercer?(not sure what to call it)...either it was too much rum or a lifeling desire, John will be wearing pirate booty soon...Pics attached...