Dude, we went to the Annapolis Boat Show with hundreds in cash ready to drop and run. Foul weather gear, life jackets, folding bikes, even anchors. We were armed and dangerous.
Here's what we bought:
RAGZ -- those clothes on the right, shown sitting on the couch without us
Okay, we also bought a Chesapeake Bay Cruising Guide, but seriously, that's it.
We amused the sales reps of all the major brands of foul weather gear by trying on the offshore jackets and testing all the adjustments. It's not too unlike putting on a straight jacket what with all the velcro and zippers and adjustments. One jacket required a team of two to get me deployed. I'm not sure how you accomplish that alone on a rolling boat. They really should have put me in a moonwalk with 20 jumping kids for the true test. All jackets considered, we preferred Gill but passed on the 'deal,' since the only foul weather in our immediate future can be viewed from where those RAGZ are sitting.
An anchor line reel tempted us. It was on deal for $225, which was about half price -- the reel deal. But that's such a luxury, not in the top 10 (20 or 30). pass again.
We almost rode away on a Dahon folding bike. I was smitten by the air pump hidden inside the seat shaft. The next morning we had a bad case of un-buyer's remorse and tried to call the rep. Denied.
We're still armed and apparently not dangerous. But one thing worries me. We've promised each other two things:
1. We'll never dress alike.
2. We'll never dress up like pirates.
Apparently we missed the Blackbeard costume booth.
TODAY:
--decided on our brand of foul weather gear
--chose Mustang life jackets but need to find a good deal
--narrowed down our boat search (more on that tomorrow)
--learned a lot from show reps
--found out there's no way we can afford web connection via satphone
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