Day 50 – N 38° 58.546’ W 76° 29.002’ Annapolis, MD

Right down "Ego Alley"

Annapolis calls itself “America’s Sailing Capital”.  Our day spent on shore certainly confirmed the image.  People with an interest in sailing can find plenty of things to enjoy.  We started the day with Lyn rowing us in our inflatable dinghy right down “Ego Alley”, which is THE place to be seen and display your boat.  Of course Lyn did it on a Monday morning, with no crowds around, and it was the only way to go to the City’s dinghy dock.  The dinghy dock is right in the heart of the town and within an easy walk of the US Naval Academy and most of the shops.

View from the Academy: Kite, alone in the mooring field.

We headed for the Naval Academy and walked around the campus and went inside their museum.  The upper floor of the museum has the world’s largest display of model ships, many of them dating from the 17^th and 18^th century. These are replicas of actual sailing ships of the period. The models are large, with incredible, intricate detail. One placard said it took 3500 hours to complete that particular model.

Model ship. Figures in background are life size.

At lunch time we headed to a creperie we had passed earlier and enjoyed some delicious French crepes made on the spot when we ordered. Then we walked about and looked at the shops.  The most interesting one to us was called Nautical North.  It featured wooden charts and maps with 3-D relief for the water depth.  We particularly liked one of the whole Chesapeake Bay, but such intricate work was quite expensive and we didn’t buy anything.  Of course we have the option to order online if we ever decide to get one.

Much of the historic district is well preserved with brick-paved streets and narrow, two-story houses standing shoulder to shoulder,  or sometimes having a narrow alley passageway between them. It wasn’t hard to imagine what it looked like in the peak days of sailing vessels. We learned that the top sail schooner “Pride of Baltimore” may sail into here tomorrow, and we may go ashore again to see it since the weather forecast is indicating that we will want to stay right here on the city mooring through at least tomorrow.

Men in rigging of Top Sail Schooner Sultana