We came to Baltimore last Sunday from Bodkin Creek, which is just 15 miles away. Our friends Lynn and Wayne had made arrangement for us to tie up at Ann Street dock at Fells Point. It's a very convenient spot to be, bakery, restaurants, pubs and bars all within a stone's throw away. Wayne is one of the Captains on the Urban Pirate ship "Fearless", he's known as Captain Bones. We had the good fortune to be onboard the pirate ship for a day trip and an evening trip this past week, and it was great fun; with water cannons, music, acting like a pirate and the moving scenery of the Baltimore harbor.
Lynn and Captain Bones; Mark and Joyce onboard "Fearless"
Kids getting ready to be pirates; cruising by the inner harbor
There's so much to do in Baltimore, from museums, book stores, shops, night life and music. Just sitting on the boat and watching the street scene is entertaining to us. There's dog walkers, serious runners, people walking to work, people walking by to go onboard the pirateship, tourists, and party goers. And many stop by wanted to know about Pooh, so in a small way we are becoming one of the attractions. After a week, we have a favorite restaurant to hang out, a favorite pub for music, etc. and while Mark is busy rewiring the pirate ship, I have covered many corners of city blocks and getting to know my way around.
Nice way to see the harbor; submarine Torsk and the Aquarium
2 comments:
Enjoying your cruising blog. Winnie the Pooh looks like an interesting vessel -- what sailboat hull did you start with? Do you use the aft mast for sailing or just a steadying sail?
Do you find a round-bilge sailboat hull rolls a lot as a powerboat? What power are you using?
John Schieffelin
Jamestown, RI
John,
Winnie the Pooh was a 1978 Heritage West Indies 46 ketch, a Charlie Morgan design with a 15' beam and 6'draft, displacing 33,000lbs. I bought the boat after she was dismasted in hurricane Hugo in Puerto-Rico.
The 22' mast (34' bridge clearance)is primarily for a steadying sail, of 100 sq ft. There is also a 200 sq ft jib, which can be hanked on the forestay for sailing if the engine should quit mid-ocean.
I installed a new John Deere 80 hp diesel, which has given excellent service over the last 11 years and 6600 hours. We burn 1 gph at 6.5 kts, and 1.5 gph at 7.7 kts.
When converting a ballasted sailboat to a trawler, it is necessary to reduce the ballast. Rolling would be very quick and snappy with the short mast and the full ballast of the sailboat. I cut the external lead keel down from 6' draft to 4'8". Besides the steadying sail, Pooh has small bilge keels, 8' long and 6 inches wide on each side to help dampen the roll.
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