A Baby Boomer Discovers the Fountain of Youth in one of America’s Oldest Cities
By: Axel Olson
Let’s face it…right now it sucks to be a baby boomer. The people who created the sexual revolution are filling Viagra prescriptions, former pony-tailed hippies are using hair restoration tonics, the only ones still smoking marijuana need it for medical reasons, and instead of discussing SATs, my buddies and I are swapping PSAs (prostate scores.)
On my 60th birthday, I wanted to hide, but I had an appointment with my lawyer about my will, (as if I needed another reminder of my impending death). I asked how he had handled this milestone and he recommended retail therapy. For years I’ve fantasized about a new boat and suddenly I realized how to rationalize the cost; I could trim my waistline while trimming the sails. Ever since I was ten, I’ve been a water rat when my pop came home with an El Toro boat kit and we built it in the garage. If sailing couldn’t make me feel young again, nothing could.
There’s no better place to shop for a new boat than Annapolis, Maryland, “sailing capitol of the world”, and home to the longest running “in the water” boat show. I brought along John, my sailing buddy since childhood, and we learned that even landlubbers will enjoy Annapolis, especially this year.
Annapolis is celebrating its 300th anniversary with special events each month (www.annapolisalive.org), including demonstrations by the daredevil Blue Angel pilots, a national town crier competition, tours of historic ships and a Great Gatsby style croquet tournament at St. John’s, one of the oldest colleges in the U.S.
After calling the Conference and Visitors Bureau (www.visitannapolis.org) for tips on where to stay we booked the new Marriott Springhill Suites located just outside of town to save money and avoid the traffic. CVB spokesperson Susan Steckman says the best way to see Annapolis is on foot so John and I tied our deck shoes and strolled past Colonial era mansions. “We’re very proud of the fact that there are more 18th century buildings in this city than any other place in the country,” says Steckman. “We call it a museum without walls. History is all around you.”
This ancient seaport town has the oldest state capitol in continuous operation. The Maryland State House is the site where George Washington resigned his military commission before the Continental Congress in 1783 and Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War in 1784. There are museums for every interest in town: the National Cryptological museum, a Presidential Pet museum and the Anneker-Douglas Museum of African American culture and history built in 1876. Every day at noon you can catch the best free show in town at the Naval Academy with 4000 cadets decked out in uniform marching to a military band in formation.
The Maritime Museum has the wackiest annual event: a sock burning ceremony every March 19 at 5:03 p.m. Bob Turner, former manager of the Annapolis Yacht Yard, started the tradition after spending a season working on OPBs (other peoples’ boats). His socks were full of metal filings, sawdust, and fiberglass so on the first day of spring in the mid-80’s, he put them in a paint tray, doused them with lighter fluid, and toasted spring with a longneck beer while they burned.
The world’s first Sailing Hall of Fame (www.nationalsailinghalloffame.org) is expected to open in 2010. A committee is busy raising 25 million to build a waterfront museum with interactive displays, films, and footages of both sailors and famous people who sail, such as Walter Cronkite and Ted Turner.
“Sailing is the only professional sport lacking a Hall of Fame,” says Dick Franyo, one of the driving forces behind the effort and owner of the Boatyard Bar and Grill (www.boatyardbarandgrill.com).
In the meantime, his restaurant is known as the unofficial Hall of Fame. Signed photos of professional sailors line the walls and regulars are glued to TV sets airing local boat races. We knew it was a cliché but John and I couldn’t resist the Jimmy Buffett Land Shark Lagers and Cheeseburgers in Paradise.
Afterwards we wandered along “Ego Alley” the dock where locals berth the latest, greatest sailboats and “stinkpots” (power boats). I spotted a 74’ schooner named Woodwind docked next to Pusser’s Landing which brought back childhood memories of watching the TV show “Adventures in Paradise” with skipper Gardner McKay sailing around the world in a similar yacht. Turns out the Woodwind (www.schoonerwoodwind.com) is a charter boat, so my childhood dream came true. For the next two hours I felt like a kid again, sailing on McKay’s schooner ‘Tiki’.
Captain Jennifer Breast said their busy season is tax time to Halloween, but there are also frostbite regattas in the winter. “In the summer it’s great because you’ll be too hot on land but on the water it’s 20 degrees cooler on the water,” she said. From spring to fall, sailboat races take place every Wednesday night. “I advise visitors to grab a window seat at their favorite waterfront restaurant and watch the free show; 130 sailboats displaying colorful spinnakers,” says Steckman.
The Chesapeake Bay produces some 500 million pounds of seafood a year, and the most popular is the infamous blue crab. Second best to catching your own is visiting Cantler’s Riverside Inn (www.cantlers.com), one of the last old-fashioned crab shacks. It’s so popular they have a staffer whose only job is directing traffic! People order crabs by the platter here and everyone has their own technique for digging out the delicacy. Our waitress gave us some basic instructions: “Don’t eat the lungs,” she said, as she cut them out, “and use a mallet to break the crab in back. Then dip the sweet white meat in either drawn butter or vinegar.”
Locals also gather at Chick and Ruth’s Deli (www.chickandruths.com) on Main Street, famous for starting your day chanting the pledge of allegiance. Owner Teddy Levitt explained that when he started the tradition, “Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, but now even young people in their 20’s come up and say thank you for doing this.”
I’m as patriotic as the next guy so I decided to help my country in the truest American fashion—-spending money. John and I headed for the boat show, which has been around for 38 years and attracts more than 100,000 visitors, adding some $54 million dollars (2006 figures) to the local economy. To give you and idea of how big this show is: there are 250 tents, 500 wooden floors, and 60 temporary pilings holding a mile and a quarter of docks. Director Jim Barthold says, “This year the exhibitors told me it was the best show in the past three years.” Other baby boomers must agree that a new boat will lead you to the fountain of youth.
John told me to narrow down my choices to a 35 footer, because any bigger boat and I’d be dead before a slip became available in the Santa Cruz Harbor. I also wanted an easy boat to sail, so my mai tai wouldn’t spill while tacking (changing direction). For a guy trying to regain his youth though, the most important thing about a new boat is the ability to beat the one in front of you. When I learned that the same architects who built the winning boats in the last two America’s Cups International Yachting campaigns designed Hanse Yachts, I figured they could give an old guy like me the competitive edge I need.
Look for me on the Monterey Bay this spring. I’ll be the one sailing the easterlies off Santa Cruz Harbor with my baby boomer buddies. We may not have the wind whipping through our hair, but we’ll all feel like we’re 20 again, at least for a few hours!
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