Century Club: Christopher Perez
Waved to some guests at the Waterfront Hotel as I went down Ego Alley in search of coffee. Sadly, RiseUp at Market House was not open at 5:30am, but this didn't detract from a beautiful morning on the water. What a way to start the day.
Tom and Ari joined me for this morning's outing. Flat conditions ahead of this afternoon's small craft advisory so I'm glad we got out.
Sailfish 2660CC “+1” gassed up and ready for action
Gassed up at Annapolis Landing Marina fuel dock. As usual, friendly service and assistance from Annalee and Dusty. Heard a USCG weather warning but it's now 5pm and we're seeing warm sun for the first time in several days. I'll be taking the sunrise crew out for a photo cruise in the morning.
I disregarded my sunrise predictor app's "Poor" prediction and headed out about 40 minutes before the 5:45am sunrise. I was rewarded with a silvery smooth mist that added a ton of drama and dreaminess to the light. Here we see the lights of the USNA's Rip Miller Field and some boats in the Annapolis Harbor anchorage.
Annapolis is socked in with fog which can make for dramatic photos. I ventured out into glassy calm and fished a large wooden plank from the water before I got out of my cove. A few minutes later I spotted a toppled and drifting speed limit buoy near the red 2E marker at the mouth of Back Creek. Tried to retrieve or secure it but it was way too heavy. I radio'd, called, and emailed Annapolis Harbormaster about it. Finished up with a view of nesting ospreys. Day 40 in the books.
Went for a creek spin to protest the past few sunrise-deprived rainy days and the Mem'l Day weather washout.
As I was leaving my dock around 0520 I heard a USCG pan-pan re a person reported in the water near the Bay Bridge. Almost every morning I'm one of the only boats on the water other than the crabbers so I high-tailed it over the 5 mile distance from Back Creek to the center spans. By the time I arrived there was a helo and a few emergency vessels on the scene so I stayed out of their way. Sadly it appears to have been a jumper but based on radio traffic she survived and was being transported for further treatment. The incident gave me a lot of food for thought about the importance of having safety equipment on board and being ready to use it on a moment's notice.
Later as I returned home I passed the beautiful Trumpy yacht "Mazurka" departing Back Creek into the morning glow.
A great day on tap for the 2026 USNA Commissioning Week demonstration by the Blue Angels.
Went out to see the titans of the Bay on a morning when the water was glassed over. Got a couple of keeper shots.