April 17, 2011
On April 3, our friends Erwin and Uli arrived from Germany for a two week visit. We had a full schedule filled with hiking, sightseeing, shopping, visiting friends and family, eating, and just a few drinks. Erwin and Uli displayed their culinary skills, cooking some marvelous dinners. We also had lobsters flown in from Maine for a wonderful dinner at home. We visited Bradley’s daughter Margy, husband Bryant, and son Tyler and Grandpa successfully fed Tyler for the first time.
Kathy, Erwin, and Uli - Shear Madness Crew
The trip was capped off with a visit to Shear Madness, where we were able to take her out for her first trip of the year. The weather wasn’t perfect and we left the dock with gray skies, fog, and intermittent drizzle. Uli and Erwin were crew-in-training and assisted with all aspects of the trip – coiling dock lines, doing engine room checks, watching for boats and marks, photographing our journey, and giving the boat a good washdown on our return.
We left the dock at Solomon’s Island without incident and headed north up the Chesapeake Bay for a couple hours. Due to the chilly and rainy weather we stayed inside the pilot house, happy that we were on a trawler and not a sailboat! After a good run north we headed back south to the Patuxent River where we anchored for the night in St. Leonard’s creek and enjoyed a fabulous dinner of lamb chops on the grill with asparagus and mint sauce (cooked by Erwin and Uli). The weather cleared up nicely and we enjoyed a clear, calm night.
Kathy and Erwin stow docking lines on a gray day
In the morning we had beautiful weather so we headed north up the Patuxent for a ways, exploring along the way and enjoying the welcome sunshine! Then we headed back to Solomon’s Yachting Center where Captain Bradley brought us right alongside the dock smoothly and safely. In short order we had the boat secure and breathed a huge sigh of relief that our first outing of the year had been so smooth. We ordered some fresh local oysters and enjoyed lunch on the flybridge before manning the hoses, sponges, and chamois to wash down the boat. Erwin and Uli did a great job in crew training and passed with flying colors! We hope to see them on board again soon – maybe this winter in the Caribbean!
After enjoying a final “Shear Madness” drink (a special recipe known only to us), we headed back to our house and bid our friends a fond farewell – till next time!
For more photos of Erwin and Uli’s visit, click here or go to Photo Gallery.
Shear Madness 