Annapolis Boat Show

White Pepper travelled by car to the famous US Sailboat Show at Annapolis MD on Sat Oct. 9, 2010. It was a picture perfect exquisite boat show experience. The weather was ideal--sunny, dry and cool in the am, warm in the afternoon. We parked at the Naval Academy stadium, took a shuttle bus to the dockside, and picked up will call tickets courtesty of Deltaville Boatyard (many thanks to Matt). We had a great breakfast at the Dockside Market and were some of the first patrons in the gates at 10 am.

For lunch we met old friends Joe and Jodie Frost of Solomons MD. on the upper deck of the Fleet Reserve Club. This was overlooking the show itself. As a fund raiser the club sells inch thick roast beef sandwiches and beer to the boat show crowd. We had a wonderful hour and half catching up on old times while basking in the cool noon day sun.

Jan and I were not interested in the boats on display. They were far too polished and overpriced. There was a Valiant 42 priced at $700,000. No matter how sleek it looked, on the water it could not do anything that White Pepper could not do just as well for 1/15th the price. I did allow myself to go on a C&C 115. It was nice enough, but I would not have one esp. for $225,000. However,I did lose my heart to a lean sleek day sailor--the e33. It just seemed to glide even while tied to the dock.

Jan and I were interested in the booths and displays. I stopped at the OCENS desk and purchased some weather software. We checked out hardware vendors--Edson, e-Marine, Navtec, and Wichard to name a few. Jan got a good tip from the Frigiboat vendor--use a thermometer. The Garmin people suggested some upgrades to the sounder system. I talked to the NOAA reps and got some good links to check--they have thousands. We skipped Boat US (too busy) but we stopped at the Attitudes and Latitudes booth. There was Bob Bitchin himself and Mrs. Bitchin, the publishers. He was quite gracious and Jan got a picture with him. Jan bought sun glasses and a Tilley hat. I got some nice sea boots. For more on the sea boots check my post of May 2010.

Outside of the show we bought some ultra pure lamp oil at our favorite Annapolis hardware store. Only ultra pure grade lamp oil is suitable for use inside the cabin, and it is hard to find. Then we had a couple of 'Dark and Stormies' for happy hour. The only issue was a dreadful drive back over the I-495. That is the section of road the locals call 'the bitch.'

All in all it was a near perfect day and well worth all of the planning and effort it took to get there.