Wedding in Cancun

While not aboard this week, nevertheless, we've had a fun week in the Yucatan at the Club Med. We flew down to Cancun the last week of June for the wedding of Paul McDonnell and his fiancee, Muriel Cornelis. (Ron was the best man, as Paul had been for Ron when we were married 22 years ago!) A fun group of family and friends attended, literally from around the world, from Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Maryland.

Ron and I dove the first five days we were there, from north of Cancun proper, then over by ferry to Cozumel's Columbia Deep with Paul, after which, we said a brief hello to Don Julio for old times sake. (See photo at right --->) From there it was to the cenote Chikin Ha, then to Puerto Morelos for immense nurse sharks and the wreck of the C-56. All in all, a satisfying time underwater, amongst the preparations and partying for the wedding celebration!

We all got to know each other during the week-long vacation, and kept very busy. Some enjoyed the sights from Chitzen Itza to Tulum, others the Club Med activities, from tennis to sailing to waterskiing to lounging on the beach with a drink in hand.

The wedding was truly elegant; held seaside on the lawn of Club Med on Friday evening, followed with a beachside reception, dinner and dance party until late in the night. Dancing in the sand barefoot to the steel drum band was fabulous! We all enjoyed it and were delighted to share the memories together!

Jimmy Buffett: The "Year of Still Here" Tour

Yes, we couldn't resist, and did it again....! While it meant a weekend away from the boat, it was worth it, as we had 2nd row center seats at Philadelphia's Citizen Bank Stadium, with Dan and Trish Carney, Allison and her dear friend, Claire Messano. Ally had just finished her week at tennis camp in Florida that morning; Claire and I picked her up at the PHL and then rejoined the others for an entertaining afternoon of tailgating, people watching and music at our own little "Tiki Bar" amongst the hundreds of other parrotheads. The weather was brutally hot and humid, and of course, it wouldn't be Buffett if it didn't rain....and rain it did!! Right after G Love opened the show, a huge thunderstorm cell aimed right at the stadium, drenching us all in the outfield. After a bit of a lightning delay, we commenced to rocking out with Jimmy and the Coral Reefers for the next two hours, uninterrupted and undeterred by the continuing rain and drizzle. As usual, Jimmy seems to truly enjoy his summer job! It was a GREAT concert, with all the old favorites and gold standard songs; while it didn't have the synergy of a new album/CD like last year's "Take The Weather With You" Tour, it was, for us, still fabulous after all these years! After his encores, Jimmy threw his wrists bands to the audience, with one aimed DIRECTLY at Allison...who was most bereft when she dropped it!! As the kind souls in front of her bent to retrieve it for her, another woman to the left snatched it up and kept it herself. Luck of the draw, I guess...but it was intended for Ally!!

It was a great time, a family event that made memories to cherish and enjoy. Here we are!

Steve's Yacht Yard, Annapolis

This first full week of June after Ally finished school and was off to Evert Tennis Academy for a week, Ron and I took the boat down to Annapolis for a week of scheduled boat work. Ron will commute from Eastport while we address the final few nagging punch list items that remain to be rectified. While the boatyard and the docks aren't much to brag about (new docks are due in July -- much needed!), the view of Annapolis and the Naval Academy to the west are glorious indeed!! We arrived in the midst of a heat wave, and with the temps hovering around 100, we've missed having the BMC pool nearby, but dinghy rides have helped to cool us down each evening after Ron has returned from work in Baltimore. Trek is doing much better on his course of prednisone, and is able to get up and about without too much discomfort. Of course, I'm walking him 7 times a day, with his need to pee from the steroid use. Poor guy!

Memorial Day weekend in St. Michael's!

We hosted Paul McDonnell, his fiancee Muriel Cornelis and her two daughters, Emilie and Alexia, aboard Equinox for the long weekend of Memorial Day. Thankfully, the weather gods smiled on us and we are finally rid of the rainy and cold May weather. (Maryland suffered through the wettest May on record this year, which was dismal at best, and cold and stormy often.) Ally was most delighted to have the girls aboard again, and the three of them were inseparable the entire time.

SO...sunshine and warmth were welcomed! We anchored out on the MIles river, enjoyed Ron's homemade crabcakes and grilled tenderloins for a superb surf and turf dinner, and walked about town window-shopping. On Saturday Ron, Paul and I used the water taxi to get our road bikes ashore, and the trio of us aboard our Trek Madones did a 28-mile loop around to Easton, Oxford, and then across on the Oxford-Bellevue ferry back to St. Michael's. A fabulous picnic lunch packed by the girls and Muriel awaited us on our return, which we all ate on the beack at Leeds Creek before spending the afternoon waterskiing and tubing. A glorious day!! You might even say we all had the "Time of my Life!!", which was the theme song for the evening dinghy cruise for we five women, -- we sang our hearts out to music while cruising on the still waters at sunset. Sunday evening we all enjoyed a lovely dinner at 208 Talbot, and quiet time on the boat. Monday we returned reluctantly, stopping at Kent Narrows for a fabulous lunch of steamed crabs before continuing on home to Baltimore.

Annapolis for the weekend

This past weekend we cruised down to Annapolis, as we needed to leave Eclipse, our dinghy, at Maritime Solutions for repairs. (Time to get rid of the duct tape holding together the aluminum radar arch, after the welds failed while in the Bahamas!) We hosted a couple of Ally's schoolmates, Mary Seaman and Olivia Segalman for the weekend as well. They're all sophomores at Oldfields School, and it's always fun to have Ally's friends along, since they make the journey so lively. Ally enjoys sharing her love of cruising (particularly when running the dinghy, which she considers "her" boat) and Annapolis is always a great destination with its pretty architecture, rich history, water views, and (most important to the girls) good shopping all within easy walking distance!

Before arriving in Annapolis, though, in the midst of the usual Saturday morning sailboat races, we offloaded the dinghy since we wouldn't be able to do so once in our marina slip. Ally and the girls brought the tender in, following in our wake, as we headed for Yacht Basin where we had a reservation. As we approached our slip, there was a bit of excitement as the dinghy started stalling out in the middle of Spa Creek. After a few frantic moments of confusion on the girls' part, we tossed them a line and simply pulled them to the pier as we slid into our slip. Well, we were there to bring the dinghy in for repairs, after all...just one more thing to add to the list.

Ron and I stopped at Fawcett's for a few items (and were pleased to see that they are well-stocked again) before hitting the Middleton Tavern for their oyster shooters and steamed shrimp. The girls, of course, went shopping. Ron and I returned to the boat and began to diagnose the dinghy, mystified as to why it would start so nicely, but then stall when put into gear. When the engine refused to lift out of the water, Ron used our glass-bottom bucket to see what was going on....and found the dinghy bow line wrapped around the propeller. Aha!! Ally was demoted from dinghy pilot back to swabbie for that one!!

We easily cut the line loose, and after picking up the girls downtown with all their purchases, we took a leisurely ride up Spa Creek, listening to the radio and singing in the sunshine. After that, we enjoyed a late dinner at The Chart House (with a wait despite our reservations due to the crowds) but the delicious food and great views made up for any delay. We enjoyed the evening together, again taking a cruise up Ego Alley to drop the girls off for some Ben & Jerry's ice cream for dessert. We headed back in the boat and let the girls walk back. They arrived back just in time to beat the thunderstorms that prevailed the remainder of the night.

Back in Baltimore

It feels so good to be home! The journey is over, and being back aboard with Allison again is lovely. We really missed her! Then, throughout the week, being welcomed back by the marina staff and our pier neighbors has been delightful.

We've already enjoyed 2 fabulous Italian "pier dinners" aboard Medici with Charlie and Trish, our slip neighbors, with various and sundry folks stopping by for drinks and conversation. It's always convival and cheery, everyone happy to be back aboard after the winter lay-up, everyone catching up with one another about their family happenings and future cruising plans. Good to be home! Charlie and Trish keep teasing us about the lovely shade our boat provides theirs, as the solid profile of Equinox definitely towers over their SeaRay, and blocks out the afternoon sun. No need for an shade awning when we're in the slip next door, that's for sure!!

Best of all, we are now back aboard full-time. It's an easier commute to work for Ron, although a bit farther to get Ally to school, but at least its an easy drive with all the traffice coming IN to Baltimore, and we've the reverse commute. Trek, too is happily aboard, and I'm enjoying my early morning walks with him, with my views of Ft. McHenry across the quiet harbor. At that hour in the morning just after daybreak, the solitude and peace of being on the water are very much in evidence despite the ever-increasing sounds of a city awakening in the background.

On the ditch again!

Off to a fresh start on the ICW today....breezy conditions still prevail, but are due to subside by Friday, when we hope to make St. Augustine. From there, IF the winds and waves allow, we will run offshore. With all our shenanigans yesterday, it was a lovely, quiet run in the ditch, with Ron or Kerry alternating at the helm, and Karen ably keeping track of our progress on the charts and alerting us to any bridge restrictions. Not surprisingly, I didn't take the helm all day.