The adventure began early on Monday morning. I was up at 6 a.m. because I was eager to get started and had much to do before pulling out of Lexington.

I was tired before I even started. Monday marked the end of a frantic week of trying to get everything at work ready for my absence and trying to get everything on the boat ready for the trip. Vacations are always hard. I have often said that going on a vacation is hardly worth it because I have to work so hard before I leave and after I get back. But this trip was doubly hard because of my lengthy to-do list at work and because the work on the boat was physically demanding.

My boat is a 1982 Hunter 22 that I bought on Ebay last September from a man in Georgia. The price was good, but it was a rough boat. It seems I am always getting “rough” boats.

I wasn’t really looking for a new boat, but my brother-in-law Ralph discovered this one on Ebay and told me about it. I was interested because it was a Hunter. My friend, Doug, had a Hunter 26 at sailing camp last year, and I was especially impressed with its sailing qualities. It seemed to be a fast boat in light airs and well-built. So I was kindly disposed to Hunters.

Ralph went with me to Lake Lanier, near Atlanta, to pick up the boat over Labor Day weekend. Since the new boat did not have a trailer, I unloaded my Cal21 at Cave Run Lake and took that trailer. Since the Cal was 21 feet and the Hunter 22 feet, it seemed to be no problem.

When Ralph and I got to Lake Lanier, we were surprised that the water in the lake was so low. Georgia was in the middle of a terrible drought. However, I was mostly interested in the boat. It seemed to be as advertised, so I was ready to complete the deal.

However, it turned out that the owner did not have all his paperwork in order. He wasted hours of our time driving back to Atlanta to get the boat properly registered.

Then, when we finally got the boat loaded on my trailer, the boat was so heavy that the tires were squished almost flat. I checked the air pressure, and it was correct. The boat was just too heavy for the trailer. The combined two tires were rated for 2400 pounds, and the boat weighted 3200!

I decided to get better tires as soon as possible, but it was Friday night and tire places were closed already. Ralph and I eased our way to the nearest Wal-Mart an hour away and the next morning purchased the only available tires, rated for 2850 pounds. We were still overloaded, but less so.

I expected the tires to blow out every moment on the way home. After a long nervous drive, we arrived safely back in Kentucky surprised that the tires held up.

Over the next nine months, I spent every available day off working on the boat. It turned out that the boat had gel-coat blisters - thousands of them. Because of the age of the boat and several dents in the side, water had penetrated the hull, migrated behind the gel-coat, and formed blisters about ½ inch in diameter. All of them had to be ground out and filled before painting. It was a long, nasty, disgusting job, but finally they were all filled.

I decided to paint the boat navy blue with a white stripe and a red bottom. I had admired boats with that paint scheme for some time. After all the paint was applied, the boat was beautiful.

I also had to purchase a new trailer with dual axles for this boat. The best I could find was an old Ranger bass boat trailer which was good for the weight. But new, higher bunks on the trailer had to be built to accommodate the centerboard and to fit the curve of the sailboat. Fitting the bunks was another task that kept me awake at night. I managed to get the two center bunks built, put the boat on them, and then molded the side bunks to fit the curvature of the sailboat. The hardest part was building a cradle system so that I could lift the boat completely, roll out the old trailer, and put the new one underneath. It wasn’t easy, but I finally got the trailer to fit.

My dad gave me an old trolling motor a couple of weeks before the Chesapeake trip. I was visiting family in Arkansas when my dad mentioned that he had bought a new trolling motor. The old one still worked, but a cable was broken. After I looked at it, I realized it could be adapted to work on my sailboat. With my dad’s and my brother’s help, we modified the bracket to fit the sailboat. It turned out that the trolling motor was my primary means of auxiliary power.

All of the boat projects came to a head in the weeks and days leading up to the Chesapeake trip. The painting was finished. A new centerboard arrived and was successfully installed. The new jib sail arrived. The new bunks on the trailer fit the sailboat. I found a welder who added 15 inches to the height of the trailer winch. A friend helped me repack the bearings on the trailer. I got the boat and trailer properly registered, and I was finally ready to go.

On the Saturday before departure, I worked 6 hours on my Nissan 5 hp outboard motor, but I did not get it running reliably. I have so much trouble with motors! That’s why I prefer to just depend on the sails. If there is wind, they work! I did everything I knew to do, but I just couldn’t get the Nissan running right.

My brother-in-law, Ralph, kindly offered to let me borrow his Sears 7 hp outboard and even brought it over to my house on Sunday before I left.

Sunday was a typical, tiring, exhausting day with endless church responsibilities. Preaching a sermon doesn’t seem to be a lot of work, but I find it emotionally draining. Then I had a book study to lead at 5 p.m. I had been so busy that I had packed nothing for the trip.

Monday morning found me throwing clothes, food, pots and dishes into bags. The truck was loaded with boom, outboard, trolling motor, tubs of tools, sleeping bag, foul weather gear, etc. One of the problems with a sailing vacation is that you have to take EVERYTHING with you.

After the truck was loaded, I picked up the boat at the mini-storage. I still had to put the registration letters on the side of the boat and replace the tie-down straps. The letters I purchased from Lowes lacked enough Y’s to complete the job, so I only have letters on one side. I intended to stop at Lowe’s to get more letters, but never did.

About 9 a.m., I finally pulled away with the boat and trailer in tow. I was immediately happy with the way the new trailer pulled. It was a heavy load, but it rode well.

After 1 ½ hours, I stopped at Cave Run lake to get a few items from my Cal21. It had about 8 inches of water inside. A storm had blown the companionway hatch open, and the rains fell into the boat all winter. After bailing the water, I got the fenders, oars and a good life jacket. Then I continued on my way to the Chesapeake Bay.

It was a slow trip. About 60 mph was the most comfortable speed, unless I was going down a hill. Most of the way involved the mountains of West Virginia. I got so tired of ever-so-slowly going up mountains in the slow lane! By 8 p.m. I was only in Hagerstown, Maryland. I was exhausted from all the pre-trip work and a long day of driving, so I stopped for the night.

The bed of the truck was full of gear, and I didn‘t have a safe place to put it all. I worried about someone stealing something, but had no option but to leave it. I covered the bed with a tarp and went to sleep. I woke with a start in the middle of the night. I had a vivid dream that I went out to the truck the next day to find the tarp blowing in the wind. All of the gear was gone from the bed of the truck, and the boat was gone too! After I shook myself awake, I realized it was only a dream. When I checked outside, everything was still there.

I got a late start for the day, leaving about 8 a.m. On vacations, I like to start early, but I was still tired. After driving for about 2 ½ hours, I stopped in Annapolis to buy groceries. I wanted to have enough food that I could survive on the boat, but it turned out that I frequently found restaurants ashore.

Finally, I crossed the Bay to Kent Island where I planned to launch. I stopped at Boaters World to purchase the launch pass and buy a few items for the boat. Then, I drove to Little Creek launch ramp, eager to see if the ramp would be a good place for me to launch. Fortunately, the ramp had a dock running alongside it, which made it easier for me to launch.

With my mind settled about that, I drove to Harris Crab House for my last good meal before depending on boat rations. I ordered a soft crab Po-boy sandwich, the special of the day. It was filling, but it was hard to get over all those crab legs sticking out from the bread and that the explosion of the innards when I took the first bite through the body. Maybe I will pass on the soft shell crab sandwiches from now on.

Back at the boat ramp, I began the tedious process of getting everything ready for launch. All the gear had to be transferred into the boat via a step ladder. Then I had to stow everything in the cramped space in the boat. I even made a list of which items were in which bags and where they were stowed in the boat. I have had some bad experiences trying to find a needed tool in a boat like that. The list proved very helpful.

Raising the mast took a long time. First, I had to get everything untied and laid out properly. Then I prepared the mast holder I had made -- a 10 foot 2 x 2 with a cradle on top to receive the mast.

A local fisherman at the ramp who was launching his boat agreed to help me. He held the mast holder as I inched the mast back into position. Then he moved to the trailer winch. I had it attached to the forestay of the mast. The winch took the heavy-lifting out of this job.

On the first try, the mast broke free from its base and crashed to the ground. Fortunately, there was no damage. I had to get a couple of screws in at the base of the mast before trying again. This time it went right up.

When I put the new jib sail on the roller furler, I discovered that the roller furler was not working properly. After several attempts, I finally gave up on it. The jib sail could still be used, but it went into the water every time I lowered it on the trip.

When I put Ralph’s 7 hp outboard on the motor mount, I was concerned because the mount seemed too flimsy for the motor. It was a short-foot motor instead of a long-foot which is better for sailboats. When I lowered it into position, I discovered that the prop would be barely underwater. The motor mount would have to be lowered to make it work.

I started the process of removing the motor mount, but it was quickly turning into too much work. It required that I crawl into the claustrophobic bowels of the boat to loosen the bolts. When I get into the tight places in the boat like that, I start breathing hard and feel trapped.

The day was getting late, so I finally gave up on the motor mount and decided to take only the trolling motor. I was a bit nervous about that decision, but I have a deep-seated mistrust of motors in general. I have had mostly bad experiences with outboards. And I am a sailor. Sailors plied the seas for thousands of years sans motors, so I thought I should too.

At long last, I was ready to launch about 7:30 p.m.. The boat slipped right off the trailer nicely and was easy to manage thanks to the dock by the ramp. The trolling motor fired right up, of course, and I was finally on my grand venture.

I ran the trolling motor about 10 minutes, then pulled up the sails and slowly made my way to the next creek where I anchored for the night just off Crab Alley Bay.

As soon as the sun touched the horizon, the mosquitoes appeared. Purchasing mosquito netting was one of those things on my preparation list that I never got around to. I closed all the hatches and stuffed towels in the largest cracks. I slept unmolested.

The next day dawned with cloudless skies again -- a perfect day for sailing. I took a cold shower from a bucket of seawater, then ate a granola bar before pulling up the anchor. I used the trolling motor again for 5 minutes to pass a narrow channel, then raised the sails.

It was slow and safe sailing which suited me fine. After a run down Crab Alley Bay, I turned to round Kent Island into the Bay itself. The long passage to the Bay involved a lot of tacking against light winds.

Once out in the Bay itself, I ran downwind wing-on-wing toward Annapolis. There were lots of boats of all types on the Bay -- sailboats, crab boats, sport fishermen, and big ships passing in the channel. The cloudless sky and moderate winds were just right.

On looking at the charts in Kentucky, the passage across the Bay looks short. But it always takes most of the day to sail it.

I struggled a bit with navigation, and almost passed Annapolis without realizing it. Annapolis has many church spires and the unique Capitol dome. When I saw those, I knew I was close to my target -- Whitehall Bay. The wind had picked up significantly. I was running quickly downwind by the red buoy. Then I turned through the dogleg channel, and I was in the quiet waters of Mill Creek.

I made my way about a mile up the creek, found a likely spot, and threw out the anchor about 6 p.m. It had been a great day of sailing, and I only used the trolling motor the first few minutes of the day.

My new Coleman cooker worked great for heating soup. It may be my best new purchase. The new cooker is so simple and quickly makes a safe, hot fire.

As I listened to the marine forecast before going to sleep, I was concerned about the approaching the low front. I decided that I would hunker down there in Mill Creek for the next two days and wait for better weather.

Since I had not planned to sail, I slept late. I finally woke about 8 a.m. After snacking on granola bars and Cheerios, I looked out the companionway and re-evaluated the weather. It was another beautiful day with light winds. The weather didn’t look nearly as bad as the forecast, so I decided to make a run for Baltimore.

I had both the jib and mainsail up heading out of Mill Creek, but the winds were squirrelly.  I was blown around a lot and tipped over some.  When I made the turn toward the Bay at the red buoy, it was obvious that I had too much sail up.  I returned to Whitehall Bay, let down the jib, and then ran comfortably toward Baltimore.

The winds were 15-20 mph with gusts up to 30, but going downwind I had no trouble handling the strong winds.  As the day wore on, the waves built up to 3 or 4 feet, but I kept the boat under control.  Downwind is easy. I was racing to Baltimore at 6 to 7 mph according to my GPS.

There were virtually no boats on the Bay because of the small craft advisory.  When I turned up the Baltimore channel, I was no longer going downwind.  Since I was now on a broad reach, I reefed the mainsail and plowed on.  This was the first time I had a mainsail which would reef, and I was very pleased with the way it handled the strong winds.

I sailed right up the channel into the Inner Harbor.  Along the way I saw lots of working ship docks and exclusive waterfront apartments. The winds steadily died down, so I shook out the reef and eventually put up the jib.  I sailed to within 100 yards of the Inner Harbor Marina, jerked down the sails and used the trolling motor to pull over to the gas docks.

In the marina office, a very young man took my $27.50 for the night and gave me the key to the bathrooms.  I pulled over to the City docks, which was right in the heart of the harbor. This was the perfect place to weather the coming storm. I would have plenty of good restaurants and places to see while I waited out the weather.

But a shower was first. What a nice hot shower. Then I picked M & S Grill for my first Baltimore meal. It was expensive but delicious.  After supper, I walked around the Inner Harbor area and bought an éclair and a pretzel. I couldn’t seem to get enough to eat.

Friday, May 9^th

The main part of the low front came through during the night.  The worst of the storm arrived about 1 a.m.  I was so tired I slept through most of it. There were tornado warnings out, but I never felt particularly strong winds.

I walked downtown about 9 a.m. the next morning to the Royal Café and had a good cheap breakfast prepared by a Chinese family who could hardly communicate with their patrons. They were doing a brisk business anyway.

I was very tired all day, and concluded that I had a touch of my chronic fatigue syndrome.  I slept for four hours during the day and felt much better.

In mid-afternoon, I decided to work on a pesky leak.  I have never yet had a boat that did not leak, and this one is no exception so far.  I concluded that the water was coming from the cockpit drain that exits in the bottom of the boat near the water. The large waves were forcing water up the through-hull with enough force to cause a leak.  Since the through-hull is above the waterline, I decided the simplest approach was to close off the through-hull. I cut 4 inches off the leg of an old rain suit and clamped that over the pipe from the bottom. Then I took out all the piping from the cockpit drain and used parts of the rain suit as a stopper in the cockpit. I decided it was better to bail the cockpit than bail from inside the boat.

An Ericson 39 sailboat was docked behind me, and I eventually met the owners, Alan and Marcia. While I was working on the boat, Alan stopped by and invited me to come by his boat later for a glass of wine. They are a live-aboard couple so I was eager to see their boat. I accepted the invitation, but declined to wine.

Alan and Marcia have lived aboard their boat for 10 years. They crossed the Atlantic, spent three years in Europe, and returned back across the Atlantic. He said crossing the Atlantic took 28 days and was so uneventful as to be boring.

I was very impressed with his boat and especially his keep-it-simple philosophy. They do not even have a shower. Everything is simple so that equipment breakdowns do not delay their cruising.

Alan and Marcia were very hospitable, but I needed to call home so I didn’t stay long.

A Mexican tall ship bedecked with flags and lights was parked at the Inner Harbor. They had arrived the day before I did and would depart on Tuesday. The sailors invited passersby to see the ship, so I went aboard. It was a beautiful ship. I especially enjoyed looking closely at all the massive sailing gear.

In late afternoon, I paid $24 to see the science museum display Body Worlds. It was highly hyped, but I found it to be a bit gross. It was a bit too much medical school cadaver for me.

I walked back downtown for supper to avoid the high prices in the more touristy restaurants in the harbor. After stopping a couple of people on the streets for recommendations, I settled on Hometown Diner and Cafe and had delicious roast pork tenderloin and mashed potatoes.

I was still hungry for dessert so I stopped at the Cheesecake Factory and had Godiva Ultimate Brownie Sundae with a cup of decaf coffee. The dessert was more than I could eat, but it was so good!

I had to wait for the marina to open at 9 a.m. before leaving so that I could return the bathroom key and get my $25 deposit back. It was 9:30 before I pulled away on an overcast day.

The rain drizzled on me most of the time. But the winds were from the Northeast which was perfect for another downwind run to Chester River. I didn’t even have to use the trolling motor to get away from the dock. I put up the mainsail at the dock, pushed out the bow, spun the boat around and sailed away.

The winds were very light all the way down the Baltimore channel. Sometimes there was no wind for a few minutes, but it always came back. The boat seemed to be very fast in light airs.  Hunters have a reputation for that. I was amazed at how quickly I could go with so little wind.

When I got into the Bay itself, the winds picked up and built steadily throughout the day. By late afternoon, I had too much wind and the jib still up. I didn’t want to stop in such strong winds to go on the foredeck to take down the jib, so I charged on, often making 8 mph.

About 5 p.m., I finally turned behind an island which blocked the worst of the waves.  As I bounced around taking down the jib sail, I managed to put my knee through the hatch cover. I first repaired it with blue, painter’s tape, but that did not make it waterproof. I later put on black, electrical tape and that helped.

About 5:30, the waves were still very high. I had difficulty finding the next green buoy. Before I found my location, I was in 3 feet of water according to the chart. It must have been high tide because I did not touch bottom.

In the Chester River, I was reminded that you have to navigate by the buoys and not according to the land. The land features are just too confusing. I learned to ignore the land and look for the next buoy.

When I tried to go upwind, even with reefed mainsail, I could hardly make any progress. So I found the nearest protected anchorage on the chart which was near Queenstown. It was a perfectly protected bay.  When I threw out the anchor, the water was flat, and the winds calm.

I had managed to sail the whole day without using the trolling motor once. As I prepared a bowl of hot soup, the mosquitoes came out again. So I battened down the hatch for the night.

I had heard on the marine radio that another storm was coming, so I was eager to get up the Chester River to a safe marina. I pulled away at 7 a.m., using the trolling motor about 10 minutes to get out of the anchorage.

Then I put up both sails for another downwind run up Chester River. I made the whole run with only one tack, arriving at Chestertown about noon.

When I spotted the marina, the wind was blowing about 10 mph across the river toward the dock. I sailed until I was even with the dock, turned out into the wind, lowered both sails, dropped the trolling motor, and turned back toward the dock. I didn’t really need the trolling motor because the wind was blowing me right toward the dock. I spun the boat perfectly at the last minute and eased up to the dock.

Shortly, a man walked up the dock, got my attention and said, “I just wanted you to know that I watched you sail that boat up and approach the dock. And I am very impressed. Nice job.” And he left. He had obviously come on to the dock for the express purpose of telling me how well I had done. I later saw him working on his own sailboat, and I realized he was a sailor too.  He understood well the skill required to do what I did.

I paid the dockmaster for two nights $66 or $1.50 per foot. When marinas charge by the foot, it is good to have a small boat.

After moving to a slip near the end of the pier, I tidied things up a bit and went to explore Chestertown. It is a quaint Eastern Shore town with a thriving artisan community.

I got a sandwich at the Old Wharf Inn by the marina and settled down to wait out the approaching storm. The wind steadily rose through the day and evening. By 9 p.m., the waves were becoming a bit uncomfortable. I had supposed that all these slips in the marina would be well protected, but that proved not to be the case.

The wind came unblocked about a mile down the river right to my exposed slip at the end of the dock. There was no breakwater to stop the waves. I had hoped the wind would blow from any direction but that one, but there it was and growing.

By 11 p.m., the wind was howling, and the waves were very uncomfortable. The boat was bucking like a wild horse. I began to really be concerned about the safety of the boat. I was tied to a sturdy pier, but the boat was in a very exposed position.

In the rain and wind, I did all I could to strengthen my position. I lassoed a pier on the other side of the boat and tied off to it. I put double dock lines on the most vulnerable pier. After studying the way the boat was bucking and pitching, I decided to tie a spring line. I had read about them, but never understood until then exactly how they functioned in a storm. The spring line took the backward pressure off the boat leaving all the other lines to merely keep the boat in the center of the slip.

The wind increased. The boat leaked. Rain water was dripping in at several locations getting everything wet. The boat reared with a vengeance and plunged into the waves, straining the dock lines.

I was afraid to stay aboard. I felt there was some serious risk to the survival of the boat. It was time to abandon ship.

I called a couple of numbers of local hotels to see if I could get a room for the night. I had difficulty getting a cell phone signal. When I did manage to get a signal, I got no answer at the hotels.

I had to get off the boat. So I finally decided to go to the only room that was on land and dry -- the marina restroom.  I spent the rest of the night pacing, sitting, and even trying to sleep on the floor of the marina restroom.

About 2:30 a.m., I went out to check on the boat and to get the marine radio and some food. The wind was unbelievable! I could hardly stand against it.  The rain felt like bullets. Jumping onto and off that boat was about the scariest thing I’ve ever done.

Man, the wind howled! My marine radio reported a revised forecast. I was currently in a full gale with wind gusts up to 60 mph. Three times during the night, I heard the local sirens go off. I assumed they were tornado warnings.

What a long night with virtually no sleep, and the wind howling.

Monday, May 12

Morning finally came, and the boat was still afloat. It was good that I had tied double dock lines everywhere because one of them was frayed almost completely through.

I re-tied and checked everything, bailed about 10 inches of water from the cockpit and walked in the rain three blocks to the Imperial Hotel. I put my gear in the room and immediately headed downstairs for their continental breakfast.  Then I slept until mid-afternoon.  When I checked on the boat, it was riding safely and smoothly.  It had remarkably little water inside. Most things were wet from the drips, but nothing was damaged.

The wind had dramatically lessened. The boat was behaving again like a normal boat instead of a possessed being.

When I spoke with the girl at the marina, she said that she had been worried about me all night long. She was astonished that I had slept in the bathroom. She also said that several boats had broken free during the night.

Dinner was at local bar called Andy’s.  They served a wonderful meatloaf which was followed by an amazing brownie and ice cream.

I could hardly believe it the next morning when the day dawned sunny with moderate winds. On Monday it had seemed that it would storm forever.

After drying cushions and the sleeping bag on the dock, I pushed away at 10:45 without using the trolling motor.  It was a downwind sail back down the Chester River. Winds decreased all day. I started with the mainsail only, finally had to put up the jib sail, and then the winds died completely.  I had to use the trolling motor the last 45 minutes to get into the dock. With the calm seas, jet skis appeared and raced around me.

Kent Narrows is famous for its tidal currents. The tide pushes thousands of gallons of Chesapeake water through the narrow channel between every tide. The strong current flows upstream for high tide and downstream for low tide. When I arrived, the current was flowing downstream approaching low tide. The trolling motor barely provided enough power to get out of the main flow to the marina dock.  I tied up at the fuel dock at Mears Point Marina.

Next door at Harris Crab House, I decided to try the all-you-can eat crab again. I have had that before, and it is a messy meal.  A lot of work and remains are involved in getting very little crab meat. Next time, I am ordering fish.

All-night long the tide and current rocked the boat. I had to leave the docklines loose because the tide would raise and lower the water putting too much pressure on the dock lines. The loose lines meant the boat was constantly changing its location at the dock. The current pushed one way and the boat fell back a couple of feet and then it pushed the other way. The fenders I had out to protect the boat from the dockside pillars were usually in the wrong position. I got up about five or six times in the night to move the fenders.  But in the morning, I discovered that one of the dock pilings had chipped the paint on the side of the boat.

I had worried about the drawbridge at Kent Narrows since first planning the trip. It’s a narrow gap that you have to hit and with the tricky currents and only a trolling motor, there was some danger involved.  I studied the tide charts and found a low tide at 6:39 a.m.. So I figured the 7 a.m. opening of the bridge would be a good time with little current.  During the night, a south wind came up, which would be against me when navigating the bridge. I fretted over that all night.

I got up about 6:30 a.m. and prepared for the bridge. When I pushed out into the channel, it seemed there was still some current. The wind was light, but against me. When I kicked in the trolling motor, it took a long time before I moved enough to steer.

I had called the bridge-master on the marine radio about 6:45 and told him my only source of power was a trolling motor and asked him to work with me. I can only imagine what he thought of that.  As I approached the bridge, he called back and said he was ready to raise the bridge. It all worked out perfectly. Slowly I made my way through.

I ran the trolling motor for 45 minutes or so to get through the narrow channel to a place where I could sail.

The wind was generally against me all day -- a first for this trip.  Most of the trip was an easy course downwind.

Before I got to St. Michaels, the wind died completely. I wound up running the trolling motor an hour or so. Since I had not recharged the battery during the trip, the motor was running slower and slower. By the time I approached the marina at St. Michaels, the motor was barely pushing the boat. It took forever to make the last little bit.  I tied up at St. Michael’s about 1 p.m.

After settling in, I walked downtown and found a place for lunch and gawked at the tourists.

I worked on the boat in the afternoon replacing the cockpit drain system which was leaking earlier in the week. I used silicone on all the joints, and I hoped it wouldn’t leak.

After a shower, I went back to the same restaurant for dinner.

I found a courtesy cart at the marina and hauled my battery and battery charger to the men’s bathroom, where I recharged the battery all night.

The last two marinas had minimum fees. Usually marinas charge per foot. The charge at Baltimore's Inner Harbor was the cheapest at $1.25 per foot or $27.50. The Chester River Marina charged $1.50 per foot or $33. Mears Point Marina had a $50 minimum.  The St. Michael’s Marina charged $1.50 per foot, but had a 35 foot minimum or $52.50.

Four Hunter 36s pulled in beside me at the marina. They were all from the Annapolis Sailing School. Each boat had four kids and one adult for a four-day sale. I was surprised that the kids made no noise during the night.

The Hunter 36s were nice-looking boats, but one of the men from the Annapolis Sailing School said that he preferred the old O’Day 39s to the Hunters. He said the O’Days were more sturdy boats and were better made.

During the night there was a light rain, but the hatch did not leak.

I got up early and retrieved my battery and battery charger from the bathroom. Then I walked downtown to get some coffee at a coffee shop. I pushed away from the dock about 8 a.m. The winds were very light, and I left without using the trolling motor. I took some beautiful pictures as I was leaving St. Michael’s with the early sun shining just right.

I had very light winds until about 12 p.m. when the winds died completely. There was no wind from 12 to 3 p.m. I used the trolling motor for a couple of hours, but had it set on level 3 instead of 5. The motor says that it will run for 3 hours on level 5 and 7 hours on level 3. But level 3 only pushed me at 1 ½ miles per hour. That’s slow.

Finally, a very light wind came up about 3:30 p.m., and I eased to the dock at 5:30 p.m.

It took me a couple of hours to get everything unpacked and ready to travel.  Brian and Wendy were loading their kayaks about the time I needed to get the mast down. They were gracious enough to help me with the mast.

I drove to the Hagerstown, Maryland, before checking into a motel for the night.

I was on the road by 8 a.m. It was a long but uneventful drive back to Lexington. I arrived home about 7 p.m.