This is the story of our sailing adventures aboard Epicurus, a 62-foot Deerfoot sailing vessel. We are the Brown family--Peter, Sherri, Katya and Matthew. (You can click on the photos to enlarge them. Most posts are by Sherri, not Peter.)


Friday, August 22, 2008

From the Seas to Suburbia

July 23, 2008 (Wed.) - With fond farewells to John Morrison-Low, we pulled up anchor on Leeds Creek and started out for Annapolis in the early afternoon. However, typical afternoon thunderstorms threatened, so we navigated a short distance up Tilghman Creek to drop anchor for the night, only hitting one sand bar near the marks. It was a lovely and quiet evening.

July 24-26, 2008 (Thurs.) - At 1000 Thursday morning, we left the Eastern Bay to cross the Chesapeake to Annapolis, making good time and arriving at 1530, where we anchored off the wall in front of the US Naval Academy.

While Peter was extremely busy interviewing yacht brokers and investigating boatyards and contractors, the kids and I spent time walking around in Annapolis, visiting the bookstore and the comic book store and a couple of the small boutiques. The kids were not too excited about doing it, but we took a tour of the William Paca house and gardens. He was one of the four signers of the Declaration of Independence from Maryland.

Ice cream from the Annapolis Ice Cream shop was a daily treat. Most days we bought lunch at a deli near the City Dock called The Big Cheese. The proprietors were friendly and remembered us (and our previous orders!) after the first day.

July 27, 2008 (Sunday) - After lunch, we took up the anchor and motor-sailed the short distance to Chesapeake Harbour, an up-scale marina not far from downtown Annapolis, as the Coast Guard was issuing warnings to mariners to find a safe harbor as storms approached. (We later learned that one of the boats from the Capital Yacht Club sunk that day under the Bay Bridge.)

July 28, 2008 (Monday) - Once again, Peter spent all his time looking into brokers and boat repairs. The kids and I worked on the last bits and pieces of school work for the 2007-08 academic year. In the evening, we walked down the road a mile or so to an small but much-awarded restaurant called, quite simply, the Mexican Cafe. With its colorful, cluttered tropical decor and friendly staff, it was a pleasant place to enjoy a delicious meal.

July 29-30, 2008 (Tues.-Wed.) - At the advise of one of the brokers, we went up the Severn a short distance to pick up one of the Naval Academy's mooring balls (which they only use in extreme weather) in Weems Creek. Peter found it bucolic; I found it boring. We were able to walk to a good supermarket, something that can't be done from the City Dock by the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Also, it was a flat anchorage, unlike the usually rolly conditions off the Naval Academy, but it was, nonetheless, oppressive. A short paddle up the creek in the kayak was the only highlight of our short stay there.

July 31, 2008 (Thurs.) - In the early afternoon, we dropped the mooring ball and spent less than an hour returning to civilization. As we were preparing to anchor off the Naval Academy, we heard shouts of "Epicurus! Epicurus!" Who recognized us, we wondered. To our surprise, it was an Australian family on a large cat whom we spent a bit of time with in Spanish Waters in Curacao. They had met a family from Los Angeles who were spending their summer on the east coast on the Irwin, and the girls from the two boats were out playing around on a Hobie cat. See, I told Peter we were wasting our time up a creek with no one around.

Our kids joined them on the Hobie cat and then the three girls came to visit us on our boat. Peter and I zipped over to Malawi in our dinghy for afternoon drinks with the other two sets of parents, and everyone was happy!

Once again, in the evening, we had to make the short trip into town for ice cream. A light breeze played around in the warm evening air, and the carmine bricks of the buildings and sidewalks glowed in the sunset.

August 1, 2008 (Fri.) - Peter continued running around and talking on the phone with brokers and riggers and surveyors and boatyards as we prepared to leave Epicurus, perhaps, with great sadness, for good, and put her on the market. The kids were increasingly excited about getting home, often mentioning, with variation, "The first thing I'm going to do...." I was the one least enthusiastic about giving up our second home on the water and the luxury of the cruising life. I had grown to like the simplicity and the low stress (most of the time). Particularly as he was having to make arrangements for work and listings, Peter was tiring of all the work involved in keeping our dream afloat.

August 2, 2008 (Saturday) - It was another lovely day. We had been fortunate in having a minimum number of hot and humid days this summer. All the kids got together. We visited our new friends on the Irwin, which the owners obviously sink a lot of money into; she is perfectly maintained and spotless.

August 3, 2008 (Sunday) - We got up early and went right into town to have breakfast at the Hardbean Bookstore and Cafe and shop at the farmer's market on the City Dock. Our friends took pictures of us as we raised the sails and prepared for our short trip down to Solomons, where the boat would be left for repairs and refurbishing.

Unfortunately and sadly, the predicted wind of 10-12 knots did not come up, and we were forced to motor with only 4-5 knots of breeze. We docked at Zahniser's Yacht Center mid-afternoon, finding it to be a well-maintained, nicely landscaped marina.

August 4-7, 2008 (Mon-Thurs.) - These four days went by quickly as I thoroughly cleaned down below, every drawer and lockers and cabinet and surface, and packed up clothes, books, toys and all the paraphernalia we needed to take with us to California. The challenge was getting it all in eight bags for checked luggage, each under 50 pounds. It was actually not that difficult to keep under the weight limit, and I determined that having more than 100 pounds of clothes, books and personal belongings--not just for traveling, but at all--is probably excessive. One thing we have learned from living on the boat is how little is needed to have a safe, comfortable and happy life.

When not doing the very last bits of math and spelling for school, the kids had plenty of time to relax but were actually quite helpful in scrubbing the decks and getting all the canvas down. This was the third time that we had to prepare the boat to be unoccupied and on the hard, and it seemed much less daunting than before.

August 8, 2008 (Friday) - All the luggage was taken off the boat before 8 a.m. and Epicurus was hauled out of the water. Peter and I had last-minute meetings with riggers and supervisors and canvas fabricators while the kids read and played with their Nintendo DS's. At noon, we had lunch on the patio, then jumped in the pool to cool off and relax before taking showers and getting dressed for our trip back to Sacramento.

The taxi, scheduled for 2 p.m., arrived 25 minutes late. Nevertheless, we arrived in time. Luckily, we had a couple hour lay-over in Charlotte, so we had time to relax and enjoy dinner before the long flight across the continent on USAir, which now offers transportation but little else in the way of service.

August 9, 2008 (Saturday) - It was shortly after midnight when we arrived home, relieved to find (after last year) no damage or disasters. We didn't really begin to unpack, but the kids started pulling out neglected toys while Peter and I managed to keep busy turning water and electrical appliances back on. Of course, we were all a bit hungry. Luckily, there was some food in the freezer, so we were able to snack.

August 10, 2008 and beyond! - We quickly settled back in. All the stuff we brought back from Epicurus had left this house, so I was amazed that it didn't all seem to fit back in! Somehow, I managed, though, and order from the chaos of opened suitcases was restored after a couple days. The kids got involved in soccer again. Shopping for clothes and school supplies was accomplished with relative ease. We were welcomed back by many friends at the Racket Club as well as our neighbors. We contacted our real estate agent and have begun the process of finding a new (for us) house in Gold River, where I have wanted to live for years.

Best of all, the kids were accepted at Gold River Discovery Center, Matthew's old school, and they entered the 7th and 8th grades on Monday. They were excited about being with friends and giving up homeschooling, although they haven't been particularly thrilled with the homework or the reduced amount of free time. So far, it has gone extremely well. I am reveling in my free time--7 hours a day! After dropping the kids off, I spend every morning at the club working out or playing tennis. At a leisurely pace, I can run errands and get things done at home before Peter, who does the afternoon run, brings Matthew and Katya home at 3:30.

So, the adventures on Epicurus may be over, but everyone who knows us well is sure that somewhere in the back of our minds, ideas for new adventures are beginning to mature and capture our imaginations.