Sailing on a Schooner

On Saturday, I went with a group to sail on a 74ft schooner in Annapolis, MD. It was a beautiful day, perfect to be on the water with a sea breeze. I borrowed the photo above of the boat from the internet, because if I'd taken it from this perspective, I would've been left behind!
Woodwind II is a sister boat identical to Woodwind and appeared in the movie, The Wedding Crashers.

The dome in the center and the buildings to the right are the Naval Academy, established in 1845.

The sails are hoisted quickly with help from some of our group and the crew offer soft drinks, beer, wine or champagne along with snacks.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, a 4.3 mile bridge linking the Western Shore to the Eastern Shore in Maryland.

Annapolis harbor with the dome of the Maryland State House in the background.




This must be the latest form of water transport as we saw a few people getting about using a surfboard and paddle.

A few of us had a go at steering the boat. It was just like steering a car and it had a very sensitive touch. I was lucky enough to be at the wheel when we had to turnaround and head back to land. This involved yelling out loudly to the crew, "Prepare to tack", then "Tacking", while turning the boat round sharply, which I enjoyed very much!

After our sailing experience, we headed to the restaurant to have lunch and chat. We were amazingly lucky with the weather; while sailing, the sun was blazing hot, yet as I left Annapolis, the heavens opened with cracks of thunder. Strange, as I had the same weather conditions the last time I came to this town. I intend coming back here to do some Christmas shopping later so shall see if it was me jinxing the town or a strange coincidence!