38⁰58’22” N – 076⁰29’27” W
Well, “Somedayers”, I’m back from my “Vacation”. I stayed the weekend with an old friend and had a very nice time. From what I understand the guys here had a fairly easy weekend, LT and Perry went to town each day and continued their sightseeing, while Capt. Greg mostly just hung out on the boat and relaxed. We have developed a serious battery issue, they’re old! These batteries are over five years old and they’ve been working hard the whole time. And while on this trip they have been working even harder, to the point that they have given up the fight. They are taking a charge but they won’t hold one, so tomorrow or the next day we’ll be replacing all eight old batteries.
Yesterday Capt. Greg and I hooked up with some friends of his whom own a Formosa 51 just like the Banana Winds. Andy and Carole Keenan of KTI Systems inc. Andy is the inventor and the distributor of “Filter Boss” fuel systems. Capt. Greg installed one in the Banana Winds. We love it, and would recommend it to anyone who owns a boat with a diesel motor. Andy and Carole invited us to their apartment here in Annapolis for dinner last night and boy was it good. Carole made shepherd’s pie, and some homemade salsa, it was delish’. You know “Somedayers”; the thing that makes the cruising life so nice is the people you meet and the common bond that is formed when you find yourself among others doing the same thing. Living aboard the Banana Winds is wonderful, but it has its draw backs. For instance, we have a shower but it’s small and it uses precious water and we choose to use it sparingly, and we have no easy way of doing our laundry on board. When we first met up with them on Monday Andy and Carole said “Hey, guys why don’t you come by, have dinner with us, take a shower and come back tomorrow and do some laundry.” It is so nice when someone knows just what to say to make you happy. So this evening we went back to their place to break bread with them again and found out that we would be sharing our meal with Bob Bitchin and the rest of the Latitudes and Attitudes boat show crew. A great time was had by all. We ate a heck of a meal, consisting of steak, sausages, and fresh veggies. They made us feel like shipmates. The cruising community always makes me think of one of my favorite sayings, “A candle looses nothing when it lights another… and the flame that is made burns twice as bright”. I try to live by those words and I know that anyone who has found themselves on the receiving end of the kind of hospitality that Capt. Greg and I have received from the Keenan’s and Bob and his crew would agree that this is the life. And on that note… Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.
