Friday 5th Sept - Annapolis here we come

The day started with Marian informing us that Liam their Shetland Collie had been 'skunked' the night before whilst out for his bedtime 'walk'. He had come into contact with a skunk in the garden and had returned smelling somewhat! In order to neutralise the aroma Marian had had to bathe Liam in tomato soup?! At first we thought Marian was having us on, but apparently this is a little known remedy for neutralising the pong. So Tamsyn you'd better start getting the cans of Campbell's in! After breakfast we loaded up the cars and headed south the 120 odd miles to Annapolis where we were scheduled to join the Union League Yacht Club for their 'Fall' Regatta. We arrived mid-afternoon and settled in to our accomodation on a boat that seemed like an aircraft carrier in comparison to our little Shamu! - it was 53 feet long and had 3 double cabins (one a so called 'state room') each with en-suite bathrooms. This is definitely sailing in the lap of luxury! In the evening we met the rest of the club sailors at a pontoon buffet held on the pier next to the Annapolis Naval Academy. At this stage we were all beginning to suffer the temperature rise which at this stage had reached the low 90's! We were all very grateful for the air conditioning on the boat!