We did it! We broke the bonds of Rock Hall.
The conditions weren't ideal, but boy, were we ready to go, all three of us. When we took the port breastline off, it was almost completely chafed through.
On our way out, Rock Hall had one last gambit for us. The marina is in an L shape that is tighter than Beyonce's jeans. To get out, we had to back out into an area just longer than the boat, turn to port and make an immediate 90-degree right turn -- in gusting wind. We started by having a minor squabble about how to untie and shove off, surely brought on by fatigue, stress and nervousness, but once we threw the lines, Chip did an admirable job. We didn't hit anything, always goal number one.
After we cleared the marina, and headed toward that bridge I'd been watching longingly for TWO WEEKS, Good Company performed flawlessly, clearly showing off for us.
We left Rock Hall under a gray, hazy sky, blowing and cold. We had taken to calling it Alcatraz after another "rock" that's notoriously hard to escape.
And four hours later? We pulled into Club Med. We slid into downtown Annapolis under bright clear skies, temperature in the low 70s, the water still as a sleeping baby. We tied up to the bulkhead in front of Starbucks, walked to Pusser's for lunch and two extra large Painkillers.
Heaven, if not a little disorienting.
That evening as we were lolling in the cockpit pinching ourselves:
thinking all first-day-of-the-rest-of-our-lives, I looked over and saw a young couple posing for photos. They were angling to look like they were onboard our boat, so I offered to let them come aboard.
As it turns out, they were taking their engagement photo. A sweet and perfect ending to our first day cruising. New beginnings for everyone, brought to you by Good Company.
(The photographer Gil Seo, has an exhibition in New York at SBD Gallery starting May 29.)
Annapolis 38°58.630N | 76°29.168W
1 comment:
How flippin cool! You just made some awesome memories for ya'll and for the young couple! That's neat. ;)
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