Replacing Anchor Chain Markers and Exploring Fell’s Point, Baltimore, Maryland

Monday, August 18 — Today there was no rain in forecast, but it was ominous outside. It was 73-degrees Fahrenheit, a strong, cool wind and very grey skies. Eric decided it was a good day to redo the chain markers. Over the years, we’ve tried an assortment of ways to try to mark the chain at every 50-feet so that we knew exactly how much chain was out. We started with paint, which flaked off quickly. We tried plastic inserts next, but they popped out pretty fast. We then tried colored zip ties and colored tapes, but they tended to break and fall off after a while.

A while ago, Eric had found some plastic inserts that screwed in, and he was hopeful that the screw would mean they would stay in place and not pop out. We hadn’t put them in yet because we needed the right kind of dock – one with a pole at the end that could handle the weight and one long enough to stretch the chain all the way out. This was the spot. We carefully lowered the anchor and placed it on the dock. Then we let out all the chain, winding it up and down the length of the finger.

Continue reading

Keith’s Perspective on Our First Week in Baltimore/Le point de vue de Keith sur notre première semaine à Baltimore

This week has been fun. On Saturday, we went to the coffee place and got drinks, then I did tutoring. After tutoring we left for Baltimore. The passage was a little bit rough at the start, but it calmed down. On Sunday, we arrived in Baltimore. We ate at a restaurant called Pussers, then rested for the rest of the day. 

The complex that the marina was in

Cette semaine était amusante. Samedi nous sommes allés à un café pour prendre des boissons, puis j’ai fait le tutoring. Après ça nous sommes partis pour Baltimore. Le passage était un peu agité au départ mais l’océan s’est calmé. Dinanche nous sommes arrivés à Baltimore. Nous avons mangé à un restaurant qui s’appelle Pussers, puis nous nous sommes reposés le reste du jour. 

Continue reading

A Little Exploring in Canton and Lunch at G&M

The sunrise on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 was glorious.

Even the west side of the sky lit up with color

Tuesday was a mellow day. It was hotter and more humid than Monday was, and the sky was ominously grey. We did chores around the boat in the morning and early afternoon. In the later afternoon, a family that we’d met at the Latino Festival came by for a visit.

Continue reading

Welcome to Baltimore, Maryland

continued… By midnight, the wind had picked up and there was a small bit of wind chop, but other than that, all was the same as last reported for the rest of the night. This was the sunrise on Sunday, August 10, 2025, as were approaching the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

And here was the view as we went under the bridge.

We approached the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was on the outskirts of Baltimore, at around 0930. We were shocked to see that it hadn’t been rebuilt yet after it was destroyed a year and a half ago when it was struck by a cargo ship that was leaving Baltimore. This 2-minute video explains what caused the power failure that led to the crash — it was such a tiny thing! It was a stark reminder to us about how fragile boat systems can be.

Continue reading

Adios Norfolk!

Saturday, August 9 — Directly northeast of us, just across the bridge, was a place called Cova Brewing Co & Coffee House that we’ve been meaning to go to since we arrived. We were told they sold only coffee and beer, though sometimes they’d let a food truck onto the property so people could buy food while they hung out.

Seating was outdoors, with a large grassy area, lots of tables, and even a fire pit. In the evenings, it was packed with families.

Continue reading