Annapolis Sail Show questions

[Dallasron]

Hope I am posting in the correct spot.

This October I want to take the wife to Annapolis for the boat show, birthday, and vacation. Probably looking at having time in the area from the 4th to the 14th and would like to hear any and all suggestions for the stay. Will book a B&B close to the show for a few nights. Would be great to find a day-sail or over niter while there.

Open to all suggestions and thanks in advance.

Ron and Carrie

[Group9]

I don't live there anymore, but when I did, a lot of people in downtown Annapolis rented out there homes for the show. You might check with a local realtor for that as a possibility. Nice to be able to walk to the show as parking is a bear in Annapolis.

[Dallasron]

Thanks,,,I can still get a room at the Marriott but they want $460 a night. I am also checking on some B&B's across from it and take water taxis. We will only do a couple days there and will either come in from or head out to other areas. Pretty much open to anything since we prefer a very limited itinerary. (Imagine that on this site

[Julie Mor]

We went last year for the first time. We stayed at a B&B (201 B&B) within walking distance of the show. It was about $250/night. We met some very nice people at breakfast who were also in for the show including Pam Wall, who was a wealth of information! She was there to give some talks about women in sailing.

The owners of the B&B couldn't have been nicer.

We made Thursday and Friday our show attend days. We had heard from former show goers Saturday and Sunday are packed. Just the difference in attendance between Thursday and Friday was substantial.

Thursday is VIP day. VIP is $35 per person this year, and $18 for the F-S shows. But if you were there on VIP day, you had your run of the place and could see just about every boat in the show. "No waiting!"

We signed up for "Couples Take The Wheel" for Friday. It's $250/couple and includes:

• A two-day boat show pass
• Morning seminars
• Afternoon on-the-water boating experience
• All instruction and printed materials
• Continental Breakfast and Lunch
• Wine tasting social hour
• Opportunity to win West Marine gift cards

The seminars were great and included lunch afterward. We picked a Hylas 54 and Fountaine Pajot 44 for the afternoon on the water experience. For the FP, winds were very light but they picked up later when we were on the Hylas. We got to meet the Hylas owners and had great conversation with them

Last year they also gave out $50 gift certificates to the Annapolis School of Seamanship but I'm not seeing that listed on what's included for this year's show.

If you have pre-paid tickets or do the Take the Wheel event, you won't need to stand in line to get tickets.

IMHO, just being at the show on VIP day will allow you to take in pretty much everything you want. After that, you may get bored seeing everything all over again. So the Take the Wheel event can really add a lot to the overall experience.

[Group9]

I'll say this. It is a fun time. I went six years in a row.

[Dallasron]

Julie, Doing the "take the wheel" sounds like the way to go. I will go ahead order those tickets now. Any other sights and sounds you can suggest?

group nine, we are looking forward to it

[Julie Mor]

Originally Posted by Dallasron

Julie, Doing the "take the wheel" sounds like the way to go. I will go ahead order those tickets now. Any other sights and sounds you can suggest?

We did two days at the boat show then went to DC for a tour and then got in a couple rounds of golf in VA before driving back home. We found a nice hotel just outside DC (Arlington, VA) that was reasonably priced.

If you plan to do the DC thing, contact your congressman and ask for tickets to get into the House Gallery. Tickets are free but they have to get them for you. Just make sure they will be in session when you plan to be there. They weren't when we got there.

If you know anyone on the forums who lives in the Annapolis area, you might ask to meet up. We spent Thursday evening on a boat owned by people we met on another forum. We had a great time.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

[captainstubbie]

Great show
Been there 5 years straight
Go VIP day for sure
Sat Sun way too crowded

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Dallasron

This October I want to take the wife to Annapolis for the boat show, birthday, and vacation. Probably looking at having time in the area from the 4th to the 14th and would like to hear any and all suggestions for the stay. Will book a B&B close to the show for a few nights. Would be great to find a day-sail or over niter while there.

Three months out you're going to have to do some work to get a close-in place to stay.

Parking is a big deal also. If you end up driving in I recommend the Eastport Elementary School - parking fee is tax deductible, walking distance, and close to Eastport.

Places in Annapolis:

The Eastport Yacht Club Boat Show Bash Saturday night, Davis' Pub in Eastport, a visit to Bacons, the historic Segway tour, the Naval Academy tour.

In DC:

Communication with your Congressmen is a good idea. There are tickets to lots of cool things including the House and Senate, an FBI tour, and the White House. The Library of Congress, US Botanic Garden, Washington Monument, walk along water street South, and walking the Mall.

In Baltimore:

The restaurants in Canton and Fell's Point, and the museum in the Inner Harbor.

[Dallasron]

OK, So I made reservations at the Marriott for Thurs and Fri nights. We can valet the car Thurs morning and head to the docks. We will do VIP Thursday for sure. What kind of seminars do they have for the "Take the Wheel" friday. We both have 104 and have been around boats(I am an ex-navy boatswains mate) so are they very basic and would we be interested?

We might rather spend the money and contribute to a day of sailing on the Chesapeake...

Auspicious, Thank you, that's the kind of information we were looking for.

Thanks in advance

[Julie Mor]

Originally Posted by Dallasron

What kind of seminars do they have for the "Take the Wheel" friday.

For the very experienced sailor and long time boat owner, there may not be a lot of new stuff. But there's always something to learn. I thought I was pretty well versed in sailing but still learned some new things. My SO was new to most all of it and that's why we signed up. No matter what your level, I think it's worth going. If we go again, I think we'd do Take the Wheel again.

They should send you a list of available boats for the afternoon sails. It's a first come, first served basis. Last year the cats filled up fast. We prefer monohulls but chose a cat to see the difference. Both boats we were on were for sale. I think that's how they get these boats for the event.

There are other seminars you can sign up for but I'm only seeing 2012 seminars on their website. You may want to call and get an update.

If you want a good look at Jeanneau, talk to Cap'n Ed Jirsa. We met him there last year and he took us through everything. Very nice guy! He's our broker now.

[Dallasron]

Julie,

I will send them an email now to see what boats are available. Sounds like Iam getting this handled about as late as you should to have some options.

[Suijin]

As far as getting a sail in goes, here are a couple of options short of chartering your own boat for the day.

I'm a member of the Annapolis Sailors' Club, a Meetup group of about 175 sailors that provides a means of skippers who need crew to find sailors who don't have boats who are looking for day or overnight trips. It's a very active and congenial group.

On occasion, Vicki, the group organizer, receives requests from out-of-towners coming to Annapolis who are interested in getting in a sail or two. She passes them on to the group.

Another option that I know people enjoy are the two 74' schooners, Woodwind and Woodwind II that take people out for trips of various types and lengths. A quick google search should turn them up if you're interested.

I believe the "Take the Wheel" series are targeted squarely at novice boaters but that may have changed.

Make sure you bring slip on shoes for boat show or you'll be sick of tying and untying them every time you want to climb onto a boat.

[Julie Mor]

Ron,

They may not have all the boats lined up yet. If I recall correctly, we got the list pretty close to the show date. The same could be true for the seminars. After the last post, I went back to look and a lot of their pages are still dated from 2012.

Julie

[Julie Mor]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I believe the "Take the Wheel" series are targeted squarely at novice boaters but that may have changed.

Last year I'd say most were fairly experienced sailors, based on the questions they asked. But maybe not as many were boat owners. I heard many questions related to buying a boat. But, certainly, the novice shouldn't feel lost. They did a pretty good job of covering all the bases.