Sailing Through Annapolis

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Annapolis
A Naval Experience

We spent a Sunday with my Army War College friend Deb and her husband Mike in Maryland's capital, sailing the Potomac, exploring the Naval Academy, and tasting the old town and harbor areas

Mike's an old tar ... only old as in "experienced" mind you ... and our first adventure had to be sailing, of course. We boarded the Woodwind II schooner and sailed off into the bay.
In recent years I've come to understand there is a tight bond between sailing and drinking. I even think the sailor's lexicon results from drunken men trying to pronounce words like "hello" with a mouthful of ale and it coming out "ahoy", or "hold fast" coming out "avast" while hiccupping ... you get my drift, one can't sail without libation. And so it was, we swallowed down wine and beer along with the sea air, and it made for a lively time, with words and drinks spilling out all over the place.

The gals stuck with red wine. Forget about lady-like sipping when the boat starts heeling and heaving in the brisk off-shore winds. Deb found that keeping a glass upright when the ship was tipping astarboard (I just made up that word—apparently adding an "a" in front of any word automatically makes it nautical) was a happy challenge.

Cherie, meanwhile, was still getting her sea legs and Mike had to grab ahold (another sailing word) of her before she went over the side. On the plus side, if she had taken a dip in the bay it might have rinsed out the stain she got from spilling wine all over her pants. (Hint for sea-going novices: drink white wine when wearing white clothing)

"Dead men tell no tales" is an old pirate saying. But I learned that there are things called "tell tales", below right, that indicate the wind flow across the surface of the sail. Guess that's important to people who actually have to work them. And modern sail fabrics allow round peepholes in the sail so those sailors can see the wind flow on the other side of the sail, too. Is this a science or what? Pass the beer, please.

Sun and wind combine to turn a lazy spring Sunday into waves of nirvana

With the brisk breeze, it was a racy kind of day. A fleet of small sailboats were speeding around a course, and even Mike seemed to feel a little racy himself. This is one of those "don't ask, don't tell" photos, above.

This is one of my favorite photos of Cherie from our vacation.

Mike, Deb, Cherie and I took in the sights of Annapolis, one of the older towns in New England
The harbor at Annapolis hosts a number of boat docks, restaurants, and brick store-front buildings. Pusser's Landing (nice name, huh?) is where we boarded the sailboat. Run your mouse over the photo at left for another view of the harbor from the deck of the Woodwind II.

US Naval Academy
My first trip to the USNA was with my Naval Lt. Commander classmate at the Army War College. Earlier in his career, Al was in charge of the kitchen and dining room of perhaps the nation's largest dining facility. The entire student body gathers here at once for meals. The massive eating area is matched only by the attached kitchen complex.

The entrance to the eating hall, Dahlgren Hall, left, with a cut-out of Mike and Deb standing by one of the Naval ship munition shells by the door

The Chapel at the Naval Academy is a massive and ornate church, with a starry domed ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows on the walls.

The Naval Museum
The Academy has a great museum on the grounds that has artifacts from naval battles and other memorabilia ... but don't miss the ship models in the basement. I think Mike could have spent a whole day in the basement alone, poring over intricately constructed models of ships he and Deb have been reading about in historical adventure novels.

This ivory colored ship is one found in a darkened room full of similarly colored ships. They have an interesting history, one which you can discover by running your mouse over the photo at left.

"Ahoy, matey."
And all those other "a" words: avast, asea, ashore, astern, abeam, aboard, adrift, alee, aweigh, abaft.
When it comes to sailing I'm a complete "a" hole, empty as can be. But I know one "a" word that the Navy cadets don't like: Army!

The scoop on restaurants in Annapolis is that there are dozens of them, most serving seafood ... and all good. But one of the locals told us while we were on the Woodwind II that the best is O'Briens Oyster Bar and Restaurant on Main Street. So that's where we went for dinner, and that's where I took this shot of the happy couple, Deb and Mike.

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Mike, Deb, Cherie and I took in the sights of Annapolis, one of the older towns in New England
	The harbor at Annapolis hosts a number of boat docks, restaurants, and brick store-front buildings. Pusser's Landing (nice name, huh?) is where we boarded the sailboat. Run your mouse over the photo at left for another view of the harbor from the deck of the Woodwind II.

The Naval Museum The Academy has a great museum on the grounds that has artifacts from naval battles and other memorabilia ... but don't miss the ship models in the basement. I think Mike could have spent a whole day in the basement alone, poring over intricately constructed models of ships he and Deb have been reading about in historical adventure novels.
	This ivory colored ship is one found in a darkened room full of similarly colored ships. They have an interesting history, one which you can discover by running your mouse over the photo at left.

	The scoop on restaurants in Annapolis is that there are dozens of them, most serving seafood ... and all good. But one of the locals told us while we were on the Woodwind II that the best is O'Briens Oyster Bar and Restaurant on Main Street. So that's where we went for dinner, and that's where I took this shot of the happy couple, Deb and Mike.