Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and has more 18th-century buildings than any American city, including the homes of the four Maryland residents who signed the Declaration of Independence. It also is home to the US Naval Academy, a four-thousand strong four-year officer training program. The campus, open for tours, is a National Historic Landmark and contains many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. The Academy also is home of the Navy team in the annual Army vs. Navy college football match.

The city is an excellent boating destination, having convenient anchorage and dinghy access and plenty of restaurants and points of interest within easy walking distance. We were lucky to be there during their annual Lights Parade of boats, voted top in the country.

Trip highlights from December 9th through 11th, 2016 on our last night in Baltimore and two days spent in Annapolis, Maryland follow. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps

12/09/2016

Navy vs Army Position: -76 36.51, 39 16.94 Navy Yard Patrol Craft 708 arriving into Baltimore inner harbor as part of the festivities for the big Navy vs Army college football game that will take place tomorrow at M&T Bank Stadium where we watched the Ravens game. This was one of at least four Navy ships that arrived today.

USAV Matamoris Position: -76 36.73, 39 17.06 The Army also had a couple of vessels in port for the big game, including the USAV Matamoris, a 174-ft landing craft.

12/10/2016

30.6F Position: -76 36.51, 39 16.94 It’s a clear, but cold day in Baltimore with the temperature below freezing at 30.6°F (-0.8°C).

Leaving Baltimore Position: -76 36.05, 39 16.67 Our last view of Baltimore’s striking inner harbor as we head south into Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore worked out super-well for a longer-term stop—we very much enjoyed our time there.

Domino Sugars Position: -76 36.05, 39 16.67 “It spells Domino Sugars, but it says Baltimore.” (Baltimore Sun) The iconic Domino Sugars sign is the second largest neon sign on the East Coast at 120x70ft, and has been casting a red glow across the Patapsco River since 1951.

Fort McHenry Position: -76 34.39, 39 15.49 The view from sea to Fort McHenry with the Star-Spangled Banner flying.

Baltimore Lighthouse Position: -76 23.55, 39 3.28 Baltimore Lighthouse was first lit in 1908 and still is active today. In 1964 it became the world’s first, and America’s only, nuclear powered lighthouse when a sixty-watt isotopic power generator was installed to test the feasibility of such equipment in remote locations. A conventional electric generator replaced the nuclear generator a year later.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Position: -76 23.18, 38 59.44 Passing the twin spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge en route to Annapolis. The original span opened in 1952 and a second was added in 1973. “Because of its height, the narrowness of the spans (there are no hard shoulders), the low guardrails, and the frequency of high winds, it is known as one of the scariest bridges in the USA and the world.” (Wikipedia).

240V Inverter Position: -76 28.45, 38 58.54 The pilot house control panel for the 240V inverter was not connecting to the inverter in the lazarette. We tried installing a spare control panel with the same result. Plugging the a spare control panel directly into the inverter in the lazarette did work, so it look like we have problem with the cable running from the pilot house to the lazarette. That will be a joy to fix.

Dinghy dock Position: -76 29.23, 38 58.64 We anchored off Annapolis and ran the tender ashore. Here we are tied off at the dinghy dock right downtown.

Speedo Run Position: -76 29.28, 38 58.65 We’d arrived in town during the Annapolis Santa Speedo Run. It sure was cold, but the participants seemed to be having a good time.

Fox’s Den Position: -76 29.41, 38 58.67 We had an excellent wood-fired pizza lunch at the Fox’s Den gastropub.

State House Position: -76 29.41, 38 58.76 After lunch we walked though town and past the Maryland Statehouse. Dating to 1772, it’s the oldest continually-used state capitol.

Naval Academy Position: -76 28.97, 38 58.68 The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) offers a four-year officer training program in a 338-acre campus on the Annapolis waterfront. Established in 1845, USNA is the second oldest of the United States’ five service academies after the United States Military Academy at West Point. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and contains many historic sites, buildings, and monuments.

Astronauts Position: -76 29.03, 38 58.66 More astronauts have graduated from the Naval Academy than any other undergraduate institution in the United States. Jim Lovell and and Alan Shepard are among the more than 50 US Naval Academy astronauts.

Lejeune Hall Position: -76 28.98, 38 58.73 We took a guided walking tour of the Naval Academy grounds. This is Lejeune Hall, a swimming and wrestling facility named for 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1888. The walls are covered with photos of Academy’s star athletes, including Hall-of-Famers Johnny Unitas (NFL) and David Robinson (NBA).

Game Balls Position: -76 28.98, 38 58.73 Winning game balls from the Army vs Navy matches over the years. The game was on today in Baltimore, so the campus was practically deserted during our tour. Sadly, there will be no game ball on display in Annapolis from today’s game.

Chapel Position: -76 29.16, 38 58.90 The majestic Naval Academy Chapel was completed in 1908.

John Paul Jones Crypt Position: -76 29.16, 38 58.90 Underneath the Naval Academy Chapel is the crypt of John Paul Jones, who is considered the Father of the US Navy following his successful campaigns during the American Revolutionary War.

Bancroft Hall Position: -76 29.04, 38 58.93 The roughly 4,000 Naval Academy students all live in Bancroft Hall, a 1,700-room facility with 4.8 miles of corridors and 33 acres of floor space that make it the largest single dormitory in the world. The initial building was constructed between 1901 and 1906 following the French Beaux-Arts architecture, and had been expanded several times since.

Bone Model Position: -76 29.25, 38 58.96 The US Naval Academy Museum has an impressive collection of model ships, including many built by French prisoner-of-war from the bones of their beef rations. This is a model of Horatio Nelson’s flagship Victory that is said to have taken fifteen prisoners two years to build out of bone scraps.

Helmet Position: -76 29.28, 38 58.90 Each year Army vs Navy teams wear elaborate uniforms specific to the match. This is one of the hand-painted helmets from last year’s match that featured seven of the historic ships that make up the U.S. Naval Fleet.

Galway Irish Pub Position: -76 29.38, 38 58.80 After a chilly walk through the Naval Academy, we warmed up with dinner at Galway Bay Irish Restaurant and Pub.

In the Parade Position: -76 29.18, 38 58.63 As we returned to the tender, we could see crowds of people four and five deep ringing the waterfront, and the space where we’d left our our tender was empty. Not good. We found it moved to the corner, apparently making space for the touring Annapolis Lights Parade boats that ran through the small channel. As we left, we became part of the show. We got lots of cheers, and a few jeers that our navigation lights, although the Christmas colors of green and red, didn’t qualify as a light display. We were just happy to have found the tender.

Light Parade Position: -76 28.45, 38 58.54 Our anchorage was right alongside the path of the 34th annual Annapolis Lights Parade, voted the number one Holiday Parade in the country. The TowBoatUS display was particularly appropriate, where they’re actually towing a lit boat with a lit tow line. The video at https://youtu.be/0hfWcfaVIMw>https://youtu.be/0hfWcfaVIMw’>https://youtu.be/0hfWcfaVIMw shows a couple of our favourite entries.

12/11/2016

Cable Issue Position: -76 28.50, 38 58.56 James traced the 240V inverter cable problem to a bad ethernet connection under the lazarette floor. Hard to find but easy to fix.

Buses Position: -76 28.47, 38 58.54 A fleet of buses arrived into Annapolis this morning, likely bringing midshipmen back from yesterday’s annual Army vs Navy game.

YP 704 Position: -76 28.50, 38 58.56 Not long after the buses arrived, the Navy ships we’d seen in downtown Baltimore two days ago all returned to Annapolis.

Metal Shark Position: -76 28.50, 38 58.56 Having toured the Metal Shark facility, we love seeing their product in use. Note the wide, unimpeded sight-lines offered by the Metal Shark design. Here the US Coast Guard is keeping an eye on things just off of our anchorage.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps.