Why?

By 1:10 a.m. the lightening made just enough of a flash as to cause me to head to the pilot house to check out our environment.  The boat is so quiet below, it was the light and not the thunder that got my attention.

The wind was picking up and Bel Sito was uncharacteristically moving around on her mooring ball in Annapolis Harbor. There was a big blob of a deep orange and maroon mass pictured on the WeatherBug radar app and it was moving toward the pin that marked our spot in the Harbor. I watched for awhile and kept looking at the app until it updated and warned we were going to be hit be 48-mph gusts.

This struck me as an all-hands-on-deck moment so I woke Richard and we had a 'meeting' in the pilot house. I had already turned on the switches on the panel that enable the engines to start if we broke free of the mooring and had to keep the boat in place under power.

Bel Sito swung from south to east to south to north and visibility was near zero. The engines were now on and we were ready if the 1-inch line holding her to the ball chafed through and couldn't stand the strain.

This is why (without the question mark) we do this.

To experience nature this intimately isn't possible from the confines of a condo or a house. How often do you think about the wind shifting otherwise? Being able to witness AND experience these periodic moments of extreme weather make the otherwise comfortable days aboard a boat all the more interesting. Of course, we are not in Kansas, Toto.

Participating in a storm as the wind makes flags stand straight out and lightening illuminates the sight of a solid sheet of water coming down around you is a real experience.  Hearing and feeling the wind as it moves tonnage around like a rubber duck in a bathtub is something land lubbers don't know.

Bel Sito in Annapolis Harbor

And don't care to, thank you, some of you may be thinking.

Thanks, Bill!

Bill Hollinger spotted us on the Chesapeake Bay as we passed by the Thomas Point Lighthouse, took the pix below then searched the internet and found this blog! I am so grateful he took the time to seek us out and share what he shot!

Photo by Bill Hollinger

Back by 'popular' demand!

In response to numerous (four) inquiries as to when this blog will be updated, here we go again!

If you're a boater, you don't need me to tell you this and if you are not a boater but think you might want to be, you don't want to read what I'm about to say.

There is always something that needs repairing on a boat. Never mind if it's a brand new $1mm plus yacht or a small fishing boat, there may be fleeting periods of time when everything is working as intended so just when you get complacent, bam, the day you had planned is altered once again because something needs fixing.

At this moment, Richard and Andy are making their second run to West Marine to pick something up to get our dinghy going.  We had been lulled into thinking it was the most reliable boat ever made, even casting off from the stern of the boat BEFORE turning on the engine. We were that cocky.

The Gods were taking note and decided we needed to be taught yet another lesson by having the engine conk out a few yards from the dock. We thought we'd run out of gas, and congratulated ourselves on the good fortune of having this happen just a few paddle strokes from a gas dock.

That's what we boaters do. We immediately think of a worse case scenario and as long as we're all still alive, there's always a worse case.

I vividly remember trying to calm a reluctant passenger on my first trip captaining a 26' sailboat assuring her she was perfectly safe. She had never gone sailing before, didn't know how to swim and yet some how agreed to get on a boat with me even though at that point I had close to zero experience sailing.  Through a violent Chesapeake squall in which we were able to flag a boat for a tow, I kept telling her she was perfectly safe. But when I tried to start the motor to guide the boat into the last few feet to get into the slip and it burst into flames, I realized telling her she was safe was an alternate fact. 

And yet, we survived.

It could have been worse.

The guys just came down to where I'm typing this and report they are taking the dinghy out to make sure she's running ok. Andy thinks we might have picked up some bad gas. He changed the fuel filter and we now have a spare on board.

Soon, this will be a distant memory.

Now, the truth is we've been having a great time with this boat. We've had many guests, some overnight, and even taken two grandchildren age 12 and 17 from Annapolis to Cape May, NJ where their parents have a home in the seaside village of Stone Harbor.

All good, as we say. All good.

Bel Sito no longer feels overwhelming in size or maneuverability and she handles the ocean like a skiff on a calm lake.

'Clever' Boat Names

'Nice Transom'

Most of us spend A LOT of time thinking up boat names.

The photo here is of the name 'Nice Transom'. It took me awhile to get it until I realized the transom of a boat is the rear end.

No doubt a conversation starter.

We had an electric Duffy and over a stretch of several days came up with: Watt, Me Whirry!

Get it?

Bel Sito translates to 'beautiful situation' and is the name of hotel where we stayed in Italy. As soon as we come up with a name we go to the Coast Guard registry of boat names to see how many other vessels have the name because we like having the only boat named whatever it is we've come up with. Watt, Me Whirry was safely ours and ours alone. So is Bel Sito.

Our Second Post Owning Bel Sito due (2)

Peter, Ron, Andy, Eric, Shelley, Sue Anne,  Jim, Anne,
Jim Michelle, Drew,
Pam, Jim, Mark, Rick, Gerry and us.
Photo by Andy Hoyt

This blog has been neglected since we assumed ownership of our 53' Selene. We've spared you the details of the anxiety we felt moving up to bigger boat with all new systems (to us) and I'm delighted to report we now feel confident ('fairly confident,' inserts Richard) we can manage all 100,000 lbs of her. For now. Until the unexpected occurs. Which it always does on a boat.

We have the good fortune of having Andy Hoyt, owner of the concierge boat maintenance company, Dock Call, guide us every step of the way of our boat purchase. He made us walk away from the first Selene we put an offer on once it was pulled out of the water during sea trial and inspection. Andy came with us when we brought this boat from Virginia Yacht Brokers in Chesapeake, VA to our old stomping grounds of Annapolis and taught us the fundamentals of how she operates.

Holy Moly! 

Upon arrival, we slowly headed into the marina where the boat would be docked. By then, I had just enough confidence to be dangerous, and told Andy I was ready to dock her. When we pulled up to the slip Richard and I were certain it was too narrow to ease a 16.5' wide boat in comfortably, but Andy assured us he measured the slip and it would be fine.  Andy calmly told me which thruster to use when and we had a successful first docking experience.




Over time, we've fallen into a comfortable pattern for both of us around docking and anchoring. Richard handles the lines, which he always had to re-do anyway after I botched the first go around, and I drive the boat in tight quarters.  Jason, a dockhand at the Jib Room in Marsh Harbor, taught me how to maneuver 'little' Bel Sito using her twin engines by doing the twist dance step. I think of him often and fondly when approaching a dock.


Andy helped us move the boat to a mooring ball in downtown Annapolis Harbor, where we stayed and stayed and stayed, hesitant to make our first solo move. Eventually it became time to put water in the tanks and Andy hopped aboard to guide me to the fuel dock (Richard was in Baltimore for a board meeting).

We have two mantras gleaned from others regarding docking:

• Slow is pro. 
• Always approach the dock at the speed you intend to hit it. 

So I creeped up to the dock and discovered how easy it is with bow thrusters stern and aft! Really!

Andy admonished me not to tell the dock hand it was my first time, but I couldn't wait to tell him.

Above Deck

Elly and Hank

We've been in and out of Annapolis since her arrival and have hosted several dinner parties, a boat naming ceremony, overnight guests, and a party of 20 to watch the Blue Angels flyover for the Naval Academy graduation.

Removing the former name, Passage

Pat Winkler prepares to feed Poseiden, God of the Sea, to which all yell 'oh no' as the champagne is poured into the water to appease him and keep newly named Bel Sito safe.

First boat gift...

Boat Naming Ceremony, Richard, Julie, Tom, Beth and Ruth

Look! Up in the sky! It's the Blue Angels!

Bel Sito (Due): A New Chapter

We can barely log into Facebook without learning of the demise or serious illness of friends our age.



If life is like a banquet, we could be in the 'dessert and decaf coffee at the end of the meal' stage.



So, what do we do? Act responsibly? Sit on the balcony in the sunshine and go on short walks around the neighborhood?



Nope. We bought a bigger boat. A much bigger boat. A huge boat (for us).  A 2009, 53' Selene, currently known as Passage. Her former owners kept her in pristine condition and we hope our stewardship is even close to their meticulous standards. Our other trawler was a 38' Pacific Seacraft and adding feet to a boat is a bit like dog years. Each foot seems to expand the storage and capacity exponentially.



Now, if we could just figure out how to start the engines. I'm not kidding.



Introducing: Bel Sito, Due (pronounced dew-A, meaning 'two' in Italian). We're going to drop the 'due' as soon as our original Bel Sito takes on a new name.

Location:Basin Rd,Chesapeake,United States