What a Difference a Day Makes and Holiday Cheer

This weekend we took what will probably be our last overnight trip of the season and went to Annapolis for the night. The trip down was treacherous. The weather was gorgeous so the waves took us by surprise. There were 4-5 foot rollers in the bay. I actually considered putting on a life jacket. I can't tell you the last time I saw waves like that on the bay. Like I said, it was a really nice day so the sun was shining bright. With the rollers and the sun it was difficult to see the crab pots. Honestly, I think we got lucky.

Once we got to Annapolis we had a great time. It was a little chilly but nice and sunny. It was a busy day in town. There was a Navy home game and there was a tug of war across the harbor. I'm glad we arrived early because they closed Ego Alley and half of the harbor for the tug of war at 11am. The rope stretched across the harbor. We would not have been able to access the city until 1 or 2pm if we had waited. But it sure looked like fun. Don't worry, they didn't let the tug of war pull people into the frigid water.

Annapolis is ready for the holidays:
As usual, we spent some time at Pusser's for college football. I've never noticed these signs before, but how can Montego Bay and Key West be in two different directions from Annapolis? :)Many thanks to our fantastic bartender Jerry. He braved the chilly temperatures at the outside bar with us.

We had one couple meeting us in Annapolis for the night. We had other friends that had spent the night in Annapolis the night before. We met up with them for lunch and convinced them to stay with us too. Apparently, the boat can fit 6 people for the night (our previous record was 5 people). We have ceramic space heaters so it was warm even outside of the cabin for the two people that had to sleep "upstairs."

When we left the next morning, the bay was like glass. I have never seen the water under the bay bridge as calm as it was that morning. Like I said, what a difference a day makes.

New Reef

The Chesapeake Bay has come a long way, even in the short time that I've been boating here. The water in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore is getting clearer. Crab and fish populations are improving. And now I hear about this new project: New Reef Created in Chesapeake Bay. The article isn't long, but here is a real quick synopsis:

A dam was demolished. Rather than toss all that concrete into a landfill, it was tested for contaminants and broken into small chunks. That concrete is now sitting on the bottom at the mouth of the Chester River as a reef. They plan to seed the area with baby oysters. Let's hope it works!

For my fellow boaters: "Designers worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard to build a reef that would not impede vessels." Not bad - trying to save the environment AND considering the desires of humans. I wonder if I should get an upgrade for my boat GPS? While the reef won't "impede" vessels, is it somewhere that pleasure boaters could go in the past? I'm not complaining, I just don't want to be cruising along thinking that the water in front of me is deep enough and CRUNCH! My guess is that signs will be posted for a while until everyone is used to it.

We have a long way to go, but I'm so happy to see steps being taken to fix what we messed up. I hope the baby oysters like their new home.