Winter Onboard in Annapolis

—Blogpost written by Bob 

I realize that it is not technically winter yet but we will be staying here in Annapolis during the upcoming winter, hence the new title.  We have been preparing for the cold weather.

Tuesday, November 3 (Election Day)

Tuesday was a beautiful morning—it was somewhat chilly outside (50 degrees) but nice and warm inside our cockpit enclosure, assisted by a small oil-filled radiator and the sun and protected from the light wind.  A dozen or more seagulls flew around the moored boats.  Our dock lines creaked slightly as result of a 15-knot wind gust—to me, creaking dock lines is such a reassuring sound.

Our view of downtown Annapolis while
eating breakfast inside our cockpit.

Since arriving in Annapolis our TV reception has been terrible--the picture has been pixelated and the audio has been intermittent.  After reading a couple troubleshooting tips, I've narrowed the problem down to the antenna.  I've removed and reattached the antenna connection at the TV--this was not the problem.  The only other connection that it can be is the one on top of the mast and I am NOT going up the mast anytime soon.  I have considered buying a second (amplified) antenna and mounting it somewhere a lot lower than the masthead as a temporary fix.  

Ideally, a temporary antenna would be one that I could easily raise on a flag halyard.  However, I found an indoor antenna that was highly recommended on Amazon--I purchased it and it will be delivered tomorrow!

The new indoor TV antenna we just
purchased from Amazon.

I'll be happy if we can just get the major TV channels--particularly for football games!

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We picked up some groceries and a few other things we needed in a short excursion around town this afternoon.  We came back to the boat just before 3 PM and settled in to listen to the election results on CNN.  We had some discussion about our preparation for the (good and bad) election results—both involved liquor.   We picked up ingredients to make Mint ChocoChata Martini’s—these will be our celebratory drinks (but we will probably start with these, hoping for a favorable outcome). 

 

A Mint ChocoChata Martini

We dug up an old bottle of Black Fig vodka that we will use somehow if the election does not go our way.  However, if it doesn’t go our way, then it’s most likely a close election and may take addition days or weeks to resolve—so, we have plenty of time to figure out a way to use the Black Fig Vodka.

Wednesday, November 4

Yesterday, two of those mint-chocolate martini’s wiped each of us out.  We really tried to stay up listening to the election returns but it was of no use anyway.  We went to bed a little discouraged.  Early in the morning, I was very encouraged by the updated election results, with Biden taking the lead in a number of swing states.

In Annapolis, there is a city-wide
face mask mandate.

After going out for breakfast at Naval Bagels, I picked up my package containing 205 feet of 5/8” diameter rope at the Harbor Master’s Office.  I listened to the election results as I cut the line into four 40-feet dock lines and one 45-feet line, the latter possibly being used as a spring line.  I whipped all the ends of the lines with waxed polyester thread--this took about 3 hours.

I ordered some scrap 1-inch diameter fire hose today (10 feet long) from Fire Hose Supply to use as chafe protection on our new dock lines.  Our spring lines have been particularly prone to chafe over the past two years because of the sharp bends made in these lines.  In this slip our bow lines also have an abrupt bend and would be subject to chafe.  (If the scrap fire hose works out well, I may have to order some more.)

Some of the new dock lines hanging
on the stern of s/v Rainy Days.
(The white car is the upper
left corner of this image
is our Prius.)

I used green thread to whip the longest
line so that I could tell it apart
from the others.

I received the temporary TV antenna today and hooked it up.  I placed the antenna just inside the starboard cabin window in the main salon.  I was only able to get 4 stations and these four were not great choices--so, I will have to experiment with positioning the antenna differently tomorrow.  However, the new temporary antenna did solve the problem of the pixelation of the video and the intermittent audio--so, if nothing else, I have successfully narrowed the problem down to the antenna.  (I still think the exact problem is a faulty connection at the antenna at the top of the mast--it just may need to be cleaned.)

Maggie entertained herself this afternoon with some retail therapy (shopping).  We really like having the convenience of our car close by (about 75 feet away) and knowing our way around town so well.

Thursday, November 5

The outside temperature was in the low-50's when we awoke and was expected to reach the upper 60's in the afternoon (for today and the next couple days).  It was sunny and warm in the cockpit.  We even opened the aft enclosure windows for ventilation, as we planned our day.  

Sliced bananas on bran flakes--one
of my favorite breakfasts!

For today, we decided to try a new-to-us restaurant, Mission BBQ (it was terrible!), here in Annapolis--it has outdoor seating and we have to return something (jeans that I ordered in the wrong size) to Amazon at the nearby UPS store.

We used four fenders on our starboard
side to prevent abrasion damage
from the finger pier.

We continued to listen (hopefully) to the election returns while Biden narrowed the gap but there were no significant change in the election results today, despite lots more counting of votes.

Friday, November 6

Another beautiful day awaited us as we started our day.  (The high temperature was expected to reach 68 degrees today.)  After breakfast (this time, cereal topped with fresh strawberries!), we gathered up our laundry to wash and dry.  We decided to go to a nearby laundromat instead of using the single washer and dryer here at Annapolis City Dock. 

Schooner Lynx has been docked
in Annapolis the entire time
we've been here.

Maintenance work being done
on Schooner Lynx.

We went out for lunch at Carrols Creek Cafe, one of our favorite restaurants.  As an appetizer, we shared (two) scallops prepared in a unique way.

Our shared scallop appetizer.

The election still hasn't been called because the votes are still being counted in several states.  With Biden leading in all the remaining states I felt a big sigh of relief knowing that the complete incompetence and unprecedented corruption of the Trump administration was soon coming to an end.

Today completes our first full week in Annapolis and so far it is going great...please stay safe!

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