Everything is everywhere...and mot of it is in motion.
That's the best description of Annapolis I can think of. We usually stick to small towns, quaint little burgs, hamlets, and villages. Well, Annapolis is the antithesis of all those. However, it is quite charming, picturesque, and surprisingly friendly for all the hustle and bustle and hopping about.
We had spent a week in Solomons, MD far back Mill Creek, the only ones anchored in this area...everyone else cram-packed themselves into the small areas up Back Creek except for a few who anchored close to the mouth of Mill Creek. Not us, we went 2+ miles back and found ourselves a nice cove.
We chose a perfect day in forecast to go the 50 miles from Solomons to Annapolis: West winds @ 10-15 (beam reach would scoot us along happily and flatten any waves) but they turned out to be North @ 5-10 (on the nose, our usual, it seems.) Still the angle was good enough to put up all 4 sails at one point or another and motorsail (a long day does not include strictly sailing, we don't delude ourselves.)
The approach to Annapolis and the Severn River was something else...I counted between 50 & 75 boats underway and the turn into the Severn River brought us face to face (bow to bow?) with a flotilla of 6 Navy Academy Training ships...I hailed them on the radio to let them know our intentions since we would share close quarters...no answer after 3 calls... "Nothing heard, Holding Pattern proceeding on course to pass you on your starboard side." 5 of 6 turned north into the Bay, one headed straight for us. I think the pilot needed that training session.
We saw our friends Diane & Robert on S/V Silver Girl who were leaving Annapolis for St. Michaels. We waved and chatted for a minute on the radio.
The Severn River was quite crowded and boats criss-crossing as well, quite a bit of sensory overload...and a good experience for us who stay away from just this sort of thing.
Our friend Greg on S/V Southern Cross was anchored in Back Creek so we decided to head there to hassle him for a while. All I can say is "Oh, wow." You can barely see the water for the boats...boats, boats everywhere. We found a cozy (read tight) place to drop the hook...and we discovered why many boats from Annapolis we see will anchor in the middle of wherever...it is the norm here.
Boaters in Annapolis (Back Creek, at least) are some of the most respectful, polite, and skilled we have seen yet. Their speeds are mimimal, they don't stare at you like you're a nusiance, and they do their best to keep their distance and control their boats well. Our spot is quite out of the way in comparison to 75% of the others here in Back Creek.
Free dinghy docks are the norm (not $3-10 a day like some places) and it is a short walk across Eastport to Annapolis proper. What a neat city! Lots of room to walk, shady streets, lots of things catering to boaters, tons of history. We ambled about for a couple of hours just taking in everything and noting things to go back and see. Free tours, lots of plaques to read, beautful, well-maintained houses.
We were both a bit skeptical about Annapolis from what we'd heard but the skeptics were wrong. It's definitely something to see, something for everyone. We're glad we came. | 