Heaving To in Annapolis, #25-39
- sondrawinter
- Sep 28
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 4
Friday, September 19 – Thursday, September 25
25 nautical miles (NM) / 29 statute miles
This week we leave St. Michaels Marina, cross to the other side of Chesapeake Bay, pass through Spa Creek Bridge, grab a mooring ball and soak in Annapolis before the boat show madness begins.
St. Michaels, MD to Annapolis, MD
Friday, September 19
25 NM
Lesson Learned: double back the working lines before releasing the lazy lines, even in light winds.
With just a hint of wind pushing Utopia to the finger pier, it looked like our exit from the slip would be easy-peasy. It still sort of was, but it was not the graceful exit I had imagined. We were stern into the slip and only needed to pull straight out while avoiding the very large trawler that has docked on the other side of the fairway since our arrival. Since the winds were so light and we did not notice any current, we removed our lazy bow & stern lines. All was A-OK at this point. Then we decided to double back the spring line that was tied amidships and led to a pile near the bow. I am sure some can already see our folly. This was a working line, so we attempted to keep some pressure on the line to keep Utopia from hitting the back of the slip. However, pulling on the line forward when attached amidships, caused the bow to rotate away from the finger pier, and the back of the boat to rotate into the pier. Now we were sitting cockeyed in our slip. Denise stepped off Quest II and helped release our last stern line and to push the Utopia away from the finger pier.
We laughed our way out of the slip without getting dangerously close to the giant trawler and headed out to Miles River. Although we rinsed the windows earlier in the morning, they had properly fogged back up. Jimmy stayed up on deck, and using our headsets, called out the objects and vessels that I tended to steer towards.
Very light winds accompanied us across the Bay. As we got closer to Annapolis, it was apparent that we would not catch the noon bridge opening on Spa Creek, so we slowed Utopia down to a crawl and did a lap around the “Front Forty” mooring field.
At 12:30 p.m., Utopia passed through the bridge opening with Quest II on her tail. As we cruised up Spa Creek, we were very happy to see at least two mooring balls available in the mooring field that we had hoped to get. By the time evening rolled around, all of the balls were taken and the nearby area filled with anchored boats. When Monday morning rolled around, the Harbormaster chased off many of the anchored boats since they were too close to the mooring fields. Seeing all of this made us very happy for getting to Annapolis as early as we have.
Heaving To
“Heaving to, heave to, hove to” method used to stop the forward momentum of a vessel while at sea…
We had heard from a few sources that the mooring fields fill up early in advance of the boat show. However, we were never sure if that was in advance of the powerboat show the first weekend of October or the sailboat show the second weekend. So, to play it safe, we wanted to arrive at least two weeks before the powerboat show. We also needed a place to leave our boats for a few days the last weekend of September, so grabbing mooring balls early was beneficial for that too.
Although we are here nearly three weeks in advance of the sailboat show, our time here is going to be very busy, and our first few days here have corroborated this assumption.
Some highlights:
Picking up packages from multiple locations, including the post office where the employees went out of their way to find a package that went to a different location due to a detail we forgot to include on the label. We also tagged along with Quest II to pick something up at Weems & Plath; I thought it was a treat to see inside of their business that no longer has a retail storefront. And while there, I observed great customer service, even if things may have gone a little wrong on their end.
Dropping our bimini off at Chesapeake Sailmakers. All of the stitching exposed to sunlight was disintegrating quickly! With it in the shop, we really notice how valuable it is to have a bimini since it rained a few times.
Arrival of Sailing Vessel Alboe! Friends we met in the Bahamas and have not seen since April. Although we have kept in touch while watching each other’s journey on No Foreign Land.
Hanging out with the crew of Quest II & Alboe, either on our boats or out and about in town.
Studying for an Offshore & Wilderness course scheduled between the boat shows. Denise and I are doing pre-course work and have to complete an exam by October 5.
Lots of neighborhood walking.
Observing the town preparing for the boat shows. One local who was working on getting an area prepped for the boat show near the dinghy dock stopped us to ask if we were excited about the boat show. He was grinning from ear to ear and happy for the boat show season.
Talking to other locals:
Realtor who talked to us about the neighborhood, including some history,
Hair-stylist who lives across the Bay,
Naval Academy student whom we shared a Lyft with when our bus did not show up to take us back to town, and
People at a dinner and social on SV Ingenuity, Heidie & Franny’s boat. We met them at a cookout when we were here in July. They have two Maine Coon cats and invited several local people over for dinner.
And speaking of Maine Coon cats, Baxter loves being at this mooring field. We had great weather the first few days here and he spends a lot of time up on deck or in the cockpit watching the birds and boats. He even sits under the dodger during the rain while our bimini is getting repaired.
Coming up:
Over the next couple of weeks, we will share our experience at the Seven Seas Cruising Association’s Chesapeake GAM, the Powerboat Show, Cruisers University, and the Sailboat show.
Our newest video:
Post No. 25-39
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