Hauled and Boarded

We made Baltimore in a screaming squall. Dark clouds replaced blue sky in a slow but determined way and there wasn't too much to do about it. Near the Key Bridge, the wind piped up to about 20 knots as rain and whitecaps took over a previously placid sea. The visibility was almost gone with grey everywhere. Tom sighted a buoy and kept the bow into the wind . Half an hour later the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler and the storm was over ! We hauled out in Baltimore. In addition to usual maintenance things , the pump was running every 1/2 hour or so. We could rationalize that when we had a wooden boat but Brilliant is not wood. Happily , Brendan arranged for us to be hauled at the yard he used and the Willises put us up in their home for wayward sailors. Turned out that the Cutlass bearing had backed itself out all the way to the prop. We got a new bearing put in, tightened the stuffing box and problem was solved. After Tom made Brendan and I slave over bottom paint, wax, buffers and varnish, we were launched and put in a slip for the night. Some of the staff were working on a boat in the next slip. They called that boat the "spider boat " because they found 3 Black Widow spiders on board. They told us that it had been fumigated , and that no one would work on it until the spiders were gone. I wished we were in a different slip. We were almost asleep that night when a black kitten jumped through the companionway and began to make itself at home. We put it ashore twice but it really wanted to be a boat cat. It prowled, it pounced , it pawed. Once it tried exploring the screen over the midship hatch. We saw the little paws but before any of us could move the cat had fallen through the screen and landed in the cabin- on it's feet! Ashore it went again and this time we closed the hatches. Not too early the next morning we raised sail heading for the Eastern Shore. The rigging and stays were covered in spiderwebs! Black cats and spiders, Early Halloween? Baltimore has a great feel to it these days. Fells bars are fun and nicer than I remember, I think we put a good dent in the oyster population. Hospitality at the Willis home for wayward sailors was extraordinary as usual. On our way again. Great layover.