When Henrik tells about our trip, he usually says that he likes to sail and I like to go places. I find the places, I would like to go to, Henrik gets us there, and I figure out what to see, when we are there. Sometimes Henrik objects a little to the things I want to do and see, but my enthusiasm isn't too big either, when we sailing against the wind or sailing overnight.

Basically, we're having fun at different times, and this week, Henrik has had the most fun! When we left Annapolis, we didn't get to refuel, since a huge powerboat was taking up all the space at the fuel dock and would be so for another hour. We didn't bother waiting for that, so we set sail and left Annapolis with 30 litres of diesel in the tank. Our plan was to refuel further down the coast, but every time we got near a fuel dock, Henrik said: “No, I think, we'll be OK”, and then we continued sailing.

Subsequently, I have suspected him on doing so on purpose, because without much fuel in the tank, we were forced to move under sail – and so we did. When it was calm winds, Henrik had his Code 0 up, in 20-30 knots of headwind we were tacking up the Potomac River all day, and when we were unsure, if we had any diesel left in the tank, Henrik even sailed under sail all the way into a small and shallow creek, while listening to a lot of objections from my side. However, the only answer I got was: “Now, we’re having fun!”

Except for a few times, when I decide to take the tiller and actually enjoy steering the boat, I'm not very interested in the sailing part. But that doesn't mean that I haven't picked up a bit of knowledge along the way. When I for example suggest one anchorage instead of another, because the winds the following day will be so that we will be able to hold up the next waypoint easier, it is like sweet music in Henrik’s ears. I actually think he loves me a little more in those situations!

He also keeps telling me how good I look in my long underwear, no make-up and messy hair, but I think he mainly says it of the same reasons as I tell him how strong he is, when he carries all the grocery bags.

In this week we practically haven’t been off the boat, since we only have arrived at the anchorages just before dark. Only a few times have we been able to get ashore, but those places hardly appear in any Lonely Planet guide. However, yesterday evening we got to Washington DC, so now it is my turn to have fun. I have already suggested an evening with highlights from Puccini’s La Bohème, but he pretended to collapse by the thought of it, so I
guess I need to remind him of how much fun, we had last week!

Signe Storr: Freelance Journalist and friend of Boatshed