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.

White Pepper's New Look

White Pepper has been back in the water for several weeks now. It has been a slow process getting her back into cruising shape after two years on the hard at Deltaville Boatyard. She did not sit idly as a lot of effort and money has gone into maintenance and upgrades. In addition to an all new and improved muffler and exhaust system, she has an all new aluminum and larger fuel tank. On the deck there are all new hatches and the side windows were replaced with six opening ports from New Found Metals. What a delight to lay in a warm dry bunk listening to the rain patter down on the deck without a drip or drop coming in anywhere! Also Jan and I have worked steadily at getting all of the systems back on line and functioning after years of just sitting. The compass had to be sent back for refurbishing, the life raft serviced, some old batteries replaced. The faithful dingyHabanero needed to be patched and the Yamaha motor coaxed back to life.

However, the really new thing was putting a Solar Stik on the stern. A Solar Stik is a simple idea of solar power and wind power, but presented in a slick high tech package. The mounting is a fully gimbaled aluminum pole that only weighs 80 pounds all up. The panels are small but powerful. Rather than rely on size they use the fact that they can easily be oriented perpendicular to the sun in an exposed manner.
I thought that the idea was too good to pass up. After all, our last trip to the Bahamas nearly came to grief because of battery issues. I had done lots of research and seen many pictures and reviews. Imagine my surprise when the unit showed up with serial number of 100156. I doubt that the company has sold over a million of these expensive units. And since the technicians at DBY had never seen one before, I am left with the conclusion that this is installation #156. The staff here at Deltaville Boatyard struggled with the complexities of a one off, first of its kind but finally ended with with an excellent installation. As usual for a boat the install was more expensive than the equipment.

Finally we were ready for a shakedown cruise. Jan and I went just across the Piankatank River to Gywnn Island and Milford Haven. Gywnn Island is remembered in history as the last hold out of royal Virginia's Governor Dinsmore who moved here after the sack of Norfolk. This was the start of the Revolutionary War. Eventually, Dinsmore was shelled or starved out and left for England. Gywnn Island has had a storied history of boat building and water activities since. Today it looks a bit dilapidated. Milford Haven is an exposed anchorage which was just what we wanted to test out the Air Breeze generator. The solar panels are labelled BP but are made in China. As planned the two together in full sunlight with a brisk breeze will fully carry the 24 load of the freezer and lights. If there is calm or clouds, we have to turn on the motor or generator.

This past week end son-in-law Pat Robinson came for the week end and we all sailed up to Reedsville to revisit some of the old sites of our last cruise in 2008 there. We had a delightful time and brisk sail back.

The pictures are of Mike installing the wind generator on top of the Solar Stik, a striking sunrise on Milford Haven, the "new" White Pepper lying at anchor behind Gywnn Island, and Pat helping on the foredeck

Whilton Creek and Hurricane Earl

White Pepper is back in the water after nearly 2 years on the hard at Deltaville Boatyard in Deltaville, VA. Within a day or so of arriving on the boat warnings about Hurricane Earl began in earnest. The boatyard urged us to pull the boat back out, but we couldn't stand to be away from the boat after so much anticipation. A local told us of a perfect hurricane hole about 5 miles further up the Piankitank River--Whilton's Creek. A check of the cruising guide and a look at the chart confirmed its suitability. We took off Thursday morning not even bothering to bend on sails. We motored up slowly up the creek. It is about 200 feet wide with 20 to 30 foot banks topped with 100 foot tall pine trees. No wind was going to get in here! After a mile and half the depth (at low tide) dropped from 10 feet to 6 feet so we picked a nice wide spot and dropped the 45 pound claw in thick muck.

Hurricane Earl turned out to be another Weather Channel bust staying well offshore. On Friday morning winds topped out at 20 knots with light rain. It was all clear by noon and so still that Jan and I could bend on the roller furling 135% genoa and fully battened main with less difficulty than usual. We stayed until Saturday which was Labor Day Sat. As usual the day after the hurricane was sparkling with a brisk, dry, warm wind from the west. We sailed down the Piankitank and out into the Chesapeake Bay. The Fishing Bay Yacht Club was having their Labor Day Regatta with about 30 yachts reveling in the brisk breeze but flat water. The day was so lovely we just kept sailing north until the sun started to set. By 6 pm we were off the mouth of the Great Wicomico River, and we headed in. This was the first time in my life that I have sailed where the wind took me without any plans.

Alert readers will remember the Great Wicomico from 2008. White Pepper made stops there at Reedsville going north and then Mills Creek when headed south. This time we headed further up the river and dropped anchor at a wide spot in the river called Sandy Cove. On Sunday Jan finished patching Habanero with three large patches and I tightened up one of the valves. The repairs held and our dingy is seaworthy again. It was a great feeling and quite a confidence builder to know that we can repair the dingy ourselves on board.

Labor Day was yet another sparkler. The wind had come around to the usual SE and was quite puffy. It fact, the official weather forecast was for 5 knot winds gusting to 20. I had never heard that particular wind range before. This made Deltaville a long one sided beat, but the water was flat and the day so beautiful that the sail was a delight. We were thrilled with the performance of the boat. Despite all of the cruising gear and weight added, she can still beat to weather like a champion.

By evening we were tied back up at the dock. We are waiting for the boatyard to install a Solar Stik as a last modification prior to heading out. The Solar Stik will hold two solar panels in a gimbelled arrangement and also hold a small wind generator. Hopefully, this will solve the chronic power problems that plagued us so badly the last time out.

As a final irony after dodging Hurricane Earl in the Chesapeake area we heard that TS Hermine was headed for south Texas. The eye would soon roll right over our home in Beeville.

The Parthenon

The Parthenon and the entire Acropolis are the greatest of the many amazing sights in Athens. It was finished in 454 BC after only 9 years and was the crowning glory of imperial Athens. What a sight it must have been all painted, polished, and bedecked with exquisite statuary! It was a temple to the goddess Athena, but of course it was really a temple to the (justifiable) vanity of the people of Athens. Jan and I toured the hill top of the Acropolis for several hours. However, we spent more time in the marvelous Acropolis Museum which is at the base of the Acropolis on the eastern side. At the museum we could follow how the site came to be and why it fell into the sorry state that it is in now.

We could not enter any of the three temples on the Acropolis. All are undergoing repair and restoration. You can see in the pictures the little temple of Nike Athena as it is perched on the NW corner cocooned in scaffolding. There are heavy cranes inside of Parthenon itself. The third temple in the pics is the Erechtheion, which was a composite temple. The most interesting feature of the Erechtheion are the 6 nikes which form a porch. One of the nikes was stolen by the British and is now in the British Museum. The other 5 have be moved to the Acropolis Museum for safe keeping. The picture is of 6 replicas. I included a picture of a field of rubble. I do not know if that marble is going someplace or if it will just lie there cataloged and studied. The current round of restoration will (after 100 million euros and a dozen years) restore the Parthenon from a state of destroyed to merely wrecked as it was in 1880. That was when a mortar blasted it apart during one of the many conflicts of that area and era. I understand that people have passionate feelings about archeology, but I can only hope that one day when sensibilities have changed that the Greeks will restore the Parthenon to its full splendor. I am sure that display would be one of the chief wonders of the planet.

No pictures were allowed inside of the museum. We spent most of an afternoon there. Jan was particularly moved by the display on the second floor. The entire frieze of the Parthenon was on display. Only a small portion of the display was original, some was totally missing, some had been destroyed by Christian vandals around 400 AD, but most of frieze had been looted by the British in 1910 and is on display at the British Museum. Great quantities of the Parthenon are also at the Louve in Paris. It is heart breaking to see plaster replicas of these Greek treasures when they should have the originals. Hopefully, they will be returned one day. I was especially impressed by the nikes. These female statues seem to act as angels. In the Museum are dozens of examples from several centuries. It is easy to follow the evolution of these statues from simple figures to the exquisite forms that were at the Erechtheion.

Finally during the late evening we scrambled up the eastern base of the Acropolis to see the famous theater were Western drama was started. Of interest, the poor citizens of Athens were paid to attend the theater. It was considered welfare and building civic pride at the same time. Just a few yards away was the temple of Aescylopolis. This spot is the spiritual home of Western Medicine. I was quite excited to be there, but could not get past the construction tape as extensive renovation is going on there as well.

Finally we walked along Tripod Street which winds around the northern base of the
Acropolis. The street has been in continuous use for probably 3500 years. I am sure all of the famous ancients walked it many times. Jan and I found a traditional family taverna on the Tripod Street and had one last lovely meal to finish off our adventure in Greece.

The Parthenon

The Parthenon and the entire Acropolis are the greatest of the many amazing sights in Athens. It was finished in 454 BC after only 9 years and was the crowning glory of imperial Athens. What a sight it must have been all painted, polished, and bedecked with exquisite statuary! It was a temple to the goddess Athena, but of course it was really a temple to the (justifiable) vanity of the people of Athens. Jan and I toured the hill top of the Acropolis for several hours. However, we spent more time in the marvelous Acropolis Museum which is at the base of the Acropolis on the eastern side. At the museum we could follow how the site came to be and why it fell into the sorry state that it is in now.

We could not enter any of the three temples on the Acropolis. All are undergoing repair and restoration. You can see in the pictures the little temple of Nike Athena as it is perched on the NW corner cocooned in scaffolding. There are heavy cranes inside of Parthenon itself. The third temple in the pics is the Erechtheion, which was a composite temple. The most interesting feature of the Erechtheion are the 6 nikes which form a porch. One of the nikes was stolen by the British and is now in the British Museum. The other 5 have be moved to the Acropolis Museum for safe keeping. The picture is of 6 replicas. I included a picture of a field of rubble. I do not know if that marble is going someplace or if it will just lie there cataloged and studied. The current round of restoration will (after 100 million euros and a dozen years) restore the Parthenon from a state of destroyed to merely wrecked as it was in 1880. That was when a mortar blasted it apart during one of the many conflicts of that area and era. I understand that people have passionate feelings about archeology, but I can only hope that one day when sensibilities have changed that the Greeks will restore the Parthenon to its full splendor. I am sure that display would be one of the chief wonders of the planet.

No pictures were allowed inside of the museum. We spent most of an afternoon there. Jan was particularly moved by the display on the second floor. The entire frieze of the Parthenon was on display. Only a small portion of the display was original, some was totally missing, some had been destroyed by Christian vandals around 400 AD, but most of frieze had been looted by the British in 1910 and is on display at the British Museum. Great quantities of the Parthenon are also at the Louve in Paris. It is heart breaking to see plaster replicas of these Greek treasures when they should have the originals. Hopefully, they will be returned one day. I was especially impressed by the nikes. These female statues seem to act as angels. In the Museum are dozens of examples from several centuries. It is easy to follow the evolution of these statues from simple figures to the exquisite forms that were at the Erechtheion.

Finally during the late evening we scrambled up the eastern base of the Acropolis to see the famous theater were Western drama was started. Of interest, the poor citizens of Athens were paid to attend the theater. It was considered welfare and building civic pride at the same time. Just a few yards away was the temple of Aescylopolis. This spot is the spiritual home of Western Medicine. I was quite excited to be there, but could not get past the construction tape as extensive renovation is going on there as well.

Finally we walked along Tripod Street which winds around the northern base of the
Acropolis. The street has been in continuous use for probably 3500 years. I am sure all of the famous ancients walked it many times. Jan and I found a traditional family taverna on the Tripod Street and had one last lovely meal to finish off our adventure in Greece.

The Hill of Aeropagus

After finishing touring the Agora of Ancient Athens there were still a few hours of daylight. Jan and I set out up the western slope of the Acropolis. As we trudged up the steep slope in blazing afternoon sun, I thought that this was the route that so many pious Athenians must have taken to worship in their beautiful temples on top of the Acropolis. It must have also been the route that so many slaves trudged up in misery hauling so much marble to create such wonders. Near the top of the route, off to the west, there was a small hill swarming with tourists.

We scrambled up the very polished surface of the hill and found to our amazement that this was the Hill of Aeropagus. The King James Bible in Acts chapter 17 says that when Paul came to Athens during his second mission, he preached to a skeptical audience from this very place. He did not have much success. However, he did make one convert, Dionysis, who later became the first bishop of Athens. To be fair later versions of the Bible do not reference the Hill of Aeropagus and seem to imply that Paul preached to group called the Aeropagus. The name derived from the ancient days when a council of elders met on this hill to decide matters of war, treason and murder, but later met downtown.

The view from the hill of downtown Athens as it sprawls across the valley is amazing, but a better view is back towards the east looking up. From here it is so easy to imagine the Apostle Paul preaching the new Christianity in the actual (early morning) shadow of the greatest temple of the pagan world--the Parthenon of Athena. For Jan and I this was the highlight of our trip to Athens.

Athens, day 1, the Agora

Athens is a treasure for all of the Western world since this is where it all began. One could spends months or years in Athens absorbing the history and enjoying the contemporary scene. However, for ordinary folk such as Jan and I three days was quite enough. We suffered from 'wonder fatigue.' After a while one marvel just blurs into another. The first sign of wonder fatigue is when all of the ancient clay pots start to look alike.

Our stay started with a jarring note. We booked into the Chic Hotel in the Omonia district at a ridiculous rate of 60 euros per night for a 4 star hotel. The Omonia is a gritty neighborhood roughly equivalent to Times Square in New York. Walking back too late at night we had to dodge homeless settling down to sleep in store fronts, but we were never threatened. I jokingly asked the night clerk if there were going to be any demonstrations. She said, "yes, tomorrow in Omonia Square." There was also a general strike called to protest pension reform. We had to go! There were loud loudspeakers, militant anthems, strident speeches (in Greek), and waving red flags with numerous hammer and sickle signs of the local KKE. It was all so quaint and reminded me of my hippie days in the 60's during the anti-war protests. We did not want to stick around for the rough stuff, so we hiked down Athina Street about a mile to the Agora.

The Agora was roughly downtown Athens during the Classical period and Roman occupation. Before that it was a cemetery for ancient Athenians. It carried on into the Christian era but then was abandoned for centuries. Later it became a slum of modern Athens. The quarter was razed and excavated in the 1950's with the assistance of the American Rockfeller Institute. The Agora today is about 100 acres of lovingly excavated ruins. These are undoubtedly the very grounds that Socrates walked and shopped (agora means market). Somewhere within these grounds the very foundations of our society were argued and codified.

The pictures show some typical ruins, a very beautiful clay pot perfect after 2600 years, the temple of Hephestus, and Jan hanging with Athena at the site's wonderful museum. We explored an ancient Greek Orthodox Church. Finally there is a view of the Acropolis from the Agora. This was the skyline the Athenians saw every day and it must have influenced their world view in 430 BC. That was the year they voted to make war with Sparta and started the centuries of decline.