Liveaboard

Four days after the record shattering February 5/6 blizzard the third Nor'easter of the season landed another foot plus of snow on Ferrity.  Over a twelve day period, 50+ inches of snow fell.

Life is GOOD!

As a liveaboard, I awoke to this view from Ferrity's cabin:

These photos tell the story of our latest blizzard.

and if you're unsure of the severity of this storm, here's the friendly weather-guesser explanation...

Beginning around 10 p.m. Friday night the snow began to fall.  It fell and fell and fell until the wee hours of Sunday.  Official accumulations for the Annapolis area were 18"+.

Departing Ferrity Saturday morning required a careful easing of the main hatch, a sliding hatch that I assumed covered with snow.

An hour before the sun scales the horizon I prepare to step off Ferrity, the 30 foot sailboat that I call home.  A gusty north-northwest wind pushes the thermometer’s 23 degrees into single-digit windchill.

Chesapeake Bay's normal tidal range is around two feet, but a strong, persistent, northerly wind can blow another two feet of water out of the bay.  This morning, Ferrity’s foredeck lies three feet beneath the dock.

After three years ashore, living in an apartment, the itch to sail overwhelmed fingernails and medication.  Money or the lack thereof was an issue so I set a budget of one thousand dollars with the idea that I could find a Sunfish, Laser, or similar small dinghy sailboat.

As my thoughts developed, I thought hey - I've always wanted to play with a catamaran.  Could I find a cat for $1000?

I began the quest on Craigslist.

Now you may wonder why I was so darn anxious to return to sailing.  Here's an abbreviated history of the past twenty some years.

In December 1986, I purchased my second sailboat in Annapolis, MD.  Sun Po, a Pearson 35, became my home until late 2005 when I listed her with a Honolulu broker and flew back to the mainland.