Annapolis is pure enabler

by Wendy Mitman Clarke, SAIL magazine
It’s fall, and in my neck of the woods (the East Coast and, specifically, the Chesapeake Bay), that brings several rites of seasonal passage.

After a long, hot summer, the sailing is perfect with cool, breezy days, crystal clear nights, and quieter anchorages. Overhead, Canada geese are flying in to take the place of the ospreys, most already gone. And as they migrate, so do the snowbirds, a steady stream of sailors southbound for the approaching winter, many of whom come to rest, recharge, and reunite in one place: the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis.

I think I was about 11 years old the first time I came to the sailors’ mecca that is the boat show in Annapolis in October. At that time, my dad was still trying to convince my mom that sailboats were vastly superior to houseboats (thank you, Dad).

When she toured the brand new Morgan Out Island 41, which had a washer/dryer (!!??), he nearly had her hooked. I’m not sure why my mom thought she needed a washer/dryer on a boat that likely wouldn’t be sailed much more than weekends, but I guess it was just the novelty, or maybe something about the comforts of home. – Full report