I realize we’re a little behind (we had terrible luck getting wifi in port), but we kept up with writing our blog posts as we went so we’re just going to keep publishing as though this were real-time!
Friday 7 September
This morning was calm and quiet in Baltimore harbor. In a newsworthy turn of events, I woke up first! I read my book on deck for half an hour and watched the sun rise until everyone else got up.
The forecast called for absolutely no wind, so we decided to just get back to the main waterway and then decide on a course for the day. Townes took us out of the harbor and back into the Chesapeake. We snapped a few photos of him at the helm and laughed when we realized that they look totally staged:
Nope. He is actually monitoring the wind speed and GPS and steering the 35-foot catamaran along the correct compass heading all by himself. This kid is legit.
Unexpectedly, the wind picked up really nicely for the best part of the day and we got some great sailing with all three sails at different points. At one point, Paul went below decks to unintentionally flood the kitchen (oops) and came back to find that Susannah was sailing at 7.2 knots!
It got a little too fast and furious for Townes at one point so I read Harry Potter out loud to him (he’s just starting The Sorceror’s Stone). It is an amazing thing to see a little kid who’s never read any of the Harry Potter books just beginning them – I’m so jealous!
We crossed the Chesapeake Bay, sailed up the Chesterton River, and are currently anchored at our final destination for the night in Reed Creek. It’s lovely and rather isolated, and reminds me a little bit of our beloved Ball’s Creek anchorage from last year. We spent the afternoon and evening fishing and swimming off the back of the Bay Cat. Townes perfected the art of Tarzan yelling while jumping into the water.
Floating heads. Eventually we dried off and sat down for, as usual, a delicious dinner courtesy of Susannah (Thai quinoa with tofu, broccoli, cabbage, and ginger). She continually gets excited about preparing meals that would terrify most people preparing to live on a boat for a week!
Our night wound down eating Oreos and watching YouTube videos. Townes’ current obsession is “Rub Some Bacon On It,” and he’s really taken the message to heart. In true Manning dad fashion, Paul has smashed the top of his head numerous times, and every time Townes has been quick with the panacea: rub some bacon on it.
We’re about to read from our book of Outer Banks pirate stories before turning in!
TR Quote of the Day:
An excerpt from his daily journal for second grade:
“Last night we went to an Orioles game. It was fun. Then the next day we went sailing. I took the boat out. It was fun!!! Dad sneezed so loud that I almost jumped overboard. It was funny!! But we had a great time anyways!!”
