Liveaboards In Autumn

Hermione Pattison’s family make the most of the Chesapeake before winter draws in

- Hermione Pattison

Help. Somebody has turned the thermostat down! Here in Annapolis, one day we were struggling to sleep in the sweltering heat, the next we were furiously digging out and airing ‘slightly mouldy’ duvets from the bilges. Where did I put that bag of winter clothes? It is like somebody has flicked a switch.

There was no slow transition into autumn here. Breakfasts these days consist of hot porridge (or ‘gruel’ as my children meanly call it) and despite the reduction in temperature, Arthur refuses to wear trousers on the basis that he wore shorts right the way through winter in the UK winter, including a snowstorm. From the galley comes a menu of soups and casseroles and early dinners as the evenings draw in. It must be time to sail south to Antigua to carry on from where we left off last season!

School has resumed, which was a shock to everybody’s system. I was utterly convinced that I had already got next year’s maths and English books on board. I would have bet money on it.

However after a frustrating morning of much searching and swearing, it looks like I was imagining things.

On the maintenance front it has been pretty quiet. We have not sailed very far in the last few weeks as we wanted to take things very easy following my back surgery in August. This has given me time to focus on rehab which is going really well so far. We have visited various places and towns along the mid to northern part of the bay. The pandemic has meant that many places of interest have been shut, but we have tried to make the most of it.