September 13, 1812

The parade of ships into Baltimore Harbor.  This is
a NOAA research vessel.

That’s the date of the Battle of Baltimore near the end of the War of 1812, when some Washington DC attorney and part-time poet was kept on a ship in Baltimore Harbor, watching “the bombs bursting in air”.  And now, Baltimore is holding a week-long Celebration, exactly 200 years later, and we’re in the middle of it!



A Marine landing ship.  Note Harbor Pilot boat alongside.
Note huge H-53 and USMC uniforms "manning the rails"

As we were leaving Rock Hall MD a couple days ago, I get a phone call from a Baltimore marina where my name was on a waiting list, offering us a space to tie up for the weekend.  All the marinas in the area had filled their reservations way back in March for this Celebration week.  We had planned to just anchor in the outer harbor (and rock and roll all day and night in the waves and boat wake), but this was much mo’ betta.



A huge aluminum catamaran.  Have to look this one up.

So on Wednesday the 10^th, we head west to anchor for the day just outside the Baltimore Harbor, to watch the tall sailing ships and the military ships entering the harbor as part of the Celebration.  We were real close to the painted buoy where Key saw “by the dawn’s early light”.  We were just outside the shipping channel, so we got some excellent pictures as the ships paraded by.  But alas, no tall ships.  They had either come earlier or were scheduled for tomorrow arrival.  So we headed to the nearby Maryland Yacht Club marina to stay for 2 days until our space was available in Baltimore.

Foreign Navy frigate with 2 harbor pilot boats.
Helicopter on aft deck resembles what I did in Navy
when I "defied death" for a couple years. (You can
click on the photo to enlarge it)

As part of the Celebration, the Blue Angels were scheduled to practice and perform in the outer harbor.  The Coast Guard had set up a safety zone under the airspace, and stopped all boating traffic from 10 AM until 4 PM when the airspace could be active.  This safety zone was so extensive that it prohibited all boats from transiting to their marinas or just wandering about.  We heard one boat call the USCG at 10:30 requesting passage through the zone, and being told to sit still until 4 PM.  This safety zone restriction meant that we had to get to our marina prior to 10 AM on Friday morning.

Passing yet another ship on our way to our marina.

Friday was a beautiful clear day, though windy, as we joined the flotilla of boats entering the harbor prior to the time restriction.  We made our marina, just west of Ft McHenry, in the outer harbor.  We’re in the shadows of two huge Roll-on/Roll-off Military Sealift Command ships and just past the cruise ship terminal.  But we have a clear straight view of the outer harbor for 5 miles, all the way to the Key Bridge.  So when the Blue Angels showed up for their practice time Friday afternoon, we had one of the best seats in the house as we climbed up our boat to the dinghy deck & took all the pictures we could.

One of the MSC RO-RO ships next to our marina.
Their survival capsule really stands out (reminds me
of the "Captain Phillips" movie

Afterwards, we walked a mile or so to find the nearest brew pub, so the Admiral could sample some more beers.  We also started scouting out our position to watch the fireworks show Saturday night, if it doesn’t rain.  The rain forecast for Saturday will probably cut the Blue Angels show to their low-level show, so we’re glad we saw the complete show on Friday.  Then on Sunday, we’ll have an early departure to pass through the safety zone prior to 10 AM.  At that point, we’ll be heading south back to the Potomac River to store the boat again as we become land-lubbers for a couple weeks.  Our crab-eating days in the Bay are coming to a close.