Annapolis is Mecca for sailors and what I discovered is that specifically Easport (part of Annapolis but don't say that to an Eastport person) is like a HUGE candy store for sailors. All the players are here. Sailmakers, canvas shops, yacht brokers, navel architechs, riggers, yacht clubs, and on and on.
I went out and made some friends. Imagine that!
Dan at Sailrite was an absolute Prince of a guy. He was patient with the hundreds of questions I had and gave me tons of good ideas and suggestions on various canvas projects for s/v Honey Ryder. Funny guy too. This shop is simply a MUST for any sailor visiting Annapolis. Hands down awesome! *Dan knows his Eastport lore too. Good, good stuff!
Next stop was Doyle sails. Chuck gave me a tour of the loft as we talked all things sails. Calibers are outfitted with Doyle sails from the factory. He has some great suggestions for cleaning and sailing care.
Lee Ann at North Sails was wonderfully warm and friendly as we chatted about all things North Sails including their super high tech sail loft in Nevada of all places. She loaded me up with two North Sails DVD as well as offering up their head and water as I was hoofing it all around Eastport.
The history in Weems & Plath was amazing. Pictures of Commander Plath with Charles Lindbergh! None of him with Amelia Erhart - explains alot doesn't it. Just kidding! A nice chat with the receptionist or as I like to call her...."my new best friend at Weems and Plath"....taught me a simple way to test the barometer on s/v Honey Ryder to see if it's working - put it in a zip lock bag. If the barometer changes, then yes, it's working. If not, then no it's not and it needs to go back to Weems and Plath to be fixed. How kewl is that little insiders tip!
Finally there was multiple visits to the Eastport city hall aka The Boatyard Bar and Gill. Sorry no pics. Too much to see, hear and observe. ALL the racers, cruisers, crews, owners, industry sailors go here. We stopped in the first time Sunday after class. I overheard the following from a group of hardcore sailors "And this bastard just came back from the Sydney to Hobart race where he was responsible for them having to turn back to the start to secure the life raft and the SOB's still finished among the top group of yachts." OMG! And the pics on the wall - Dennis Conner, Gary Jobson, Terry Hutchinson, Paul Cayard, etc.... And the yacht burgees from all the various clubs. And the food. OMG! We met Bill and Pam here and ended up having dinner with them a few nights later. He's originally from KCK - Strawberry Hill and she is from Oklahoma.
The other Eastport must is Daves Pub. We had found this little gem in 2007 when we where at the boat show. Cap10 Tom ate there both days of his level 2 class. I joined him the second day. YUM -crab cakes and Maryland crab soup. Again - overflowing with sailing industry folks grabbing a quick lunch.
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