Tucson??? Wow, man, you've been doing some serious driving! Have fun! Sounds like you had a good time at the B.E.E.R. cruise! In case you start running behind schedule later this summer (hint, hint), I'm going to *try* to make it up to the North Channel in early September if possible. Sure would like to sail with you again. Chesapeake trip went well. I'll let the others tell the CBC part of the story. They left Tangier Island while I decided to hang around for a day. It's not a very big island and the houses are very tightly packed on the shrinking useable landmass. After taking the waterfront tour with Doug aboard Seas the Day and then wandering around with Bilbo and feasting on crab cakes and soft-shell crab sandwiches (Gary, you ought to give them a shot, they're tasty critters!) We made it back to the boat before the onslaught of 'skeeters (of the classification hummingbirdus maximus vampirus). Next morning I made my best effort at getting up early and made it to the "Double Sixes" by seven to catch breakfast with a handful of lollygagger watermen (I only say lollygagger because most of them had LONG SINCE come and gone. No way I could hack that job!). I think I might have caught a word here and there. Between the words I've not heard before and the funny accent I was mostly lost. The coffee was "fix-it-yourself-it's-instant" and the menu was, shall we say, minimal. The sandwich of choice seemed to be scrapple and cheese, so I ordered one too. Quite tasty, actually! After eating, Bilbo and I cast off from between the two 50' plus yachts and headed out the channel to the northeast. I was a bit careless, putting the lines in order instead of watching out for that post in the water and whoa!!! sideswiped it, leaving a bit of a streak along the gunnel. Ah, well, its fixable, just a paint smear from the pole (notice, not even any gelcoat damage to Busca, but the pole lost some paint!). We had a speedy hop on a broad reach over to Crisfield, arriving before noon, I think. Steve E. and his stepfather had just rolled into town a few minutes before I did, so we tied up there at the Captain's Galley restaurant right on the end of Main Street (not a good place to tie up that day, too much chop), had crab cake sandwiches that were oh, so good, then went for a spin with Steve at the helm. The marina at Crisfield is something else. Inexpensive (well, for boaters, not the general taxpayer I suppose), well-equipped, etc. Got some laundry done and Bilbo and I walked around a bit. Next morning, we set out and got about halfway across the anchorage when the shear pin gave way. It sure is sensitive and any shifts at more than slow idle are risking a shearing. So anyway, hoisted the main and sailed over to an empty pier where we changed the pin in a jiffy from the ease and comfort of the dock rather than leaning out over the motor like "Stretch Armstrong". Off north towards Deal Island. I wasn't sure about getting in there with the deep rudder, so we sailed on past and up around the northern end of Bloodsworth Island. Just as we were leaving the channel, I noticed that there were some nasty thunderstorms building on the Bay ahead, so I turned around and headed back to anchor in a shallow open area for the night. Ugh, I should've taken the extra time to go to the sheltered area because it was a rather rolly and uncomfortable night. It didn't help any when that thunderstorm rolled through and lightning was striking all around. But at last dawn came and a little sleep had been gleaned here and there. Away again, around Lower Hooper Island and across the Bay, the sheet-to-tiller doing all the steering while I finished my book. Just as we entered the Patuxent, a shower let loose on us, but it felt good after the heat and humidity of the day. Spent the night in Spring Cove and started unloading the boat for the trip home the next day. Whew! So, when's the next trip???? I didn't have any luck with the inverter to charge the laptop from the 12v. I think it's too sensitive to low voltage and expects the slightly higher voltage that one would find from the alternator on a car, but I'm not sure yet. Anyone have any experience with them? The thing would start to squeal and then shut itself off. It's working fine in the truck. Thanks, Tod