Hey, blogs are supposed to be a two way street. We need more audience participation. I seem to have a lot of readers but very few comments.
Let me throw this out to the boating people or people who know the Chesapeake area:
Can you suggest good spots to go for a week at a time? Good anchorages? Good marinas? Good hurricane holes?
What about the heat and insects, is it worse than Florida?
What do you think about going on the outside (ocean) vs. the inside (Intracoastal Waterway).
Comments, please!
The Schooner video shoulda been longer. It looked like he was having a great time! Fun to watch.
When I took it several months ago I had no idea it would show up in a blog, otherwise I would have made it a little longer and done a better job.
Hello Janice and Alan,
Just moved to Stuart, FL from Norfolk, VA. Found your blog on St Lucie Sailing Club
website. I can answer most questions regarding the Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis
southward. Good spot to go for a week? Gwynns Island, at the confluence of the Piankatank and Rappahannock Rivers. Very reasonable prices for daily and weekly rates. Central location for exploring the area, like Urbana and Carter Creek (fine dining at “The Tides”), Tangier Island, etc. Also York River Yacht Haven for a variety of reasons. They also have a top notch restaurant “River’s Inn.” Good anchorage, very clean facilities, full service yard, plus other reasons. Really good anchorage on the Eastern Shore at Kiptopeake State Park, locally known as “The Concrete Ships.” Good marinas? You need to qualify what constitutes a good marina for you. Good huricane hole? Inside the locks at Great Bridge,on the Albemarle (Eastern) Branch of the ICW in Chesapeake, VA. Slightly better is the Atlantic Yacht Basin (marina) just East of the locks. First come, first serve. Heat and insects worse than Florida? VA has house flies that have a very painful bite, even 30 miles off shore and “No See-ums.” Vicious little critters. At anchor, 5 knots of wind will keep bugs away. Going outside or ICW? Depends. Going outside is no big deal. With friends, I’ve done the circumnavigation of the DelMarVa peninsula 7 times in 14 years now, going the opposite direction each time to mix it up a little. Weather usually is the prime determinator. Just some highlights, I’ve done the ICW from Norfolk to Ft. Lauderdale. Bermuda twice, Martha’s Vineyard once, Stanford Conn once, NYC 4 times, Tortola, BVI once in 12 days, Georgetown, Exumas/Bahama, St. Marteen (FR) in 9 days, and most recently/this spring St. Thomas to Aruba to Panama. I prefer going outside because there are fewer unlighted obstacles to avoid when sailing at night. Watches are more relaxed. If sailing isn’t fun, you should find something else to do, that is fun. For more particulars, whys and wherefores it is probably best to e-mail me. All the best,
Richard Steele
S/V Petto Rosso
Thank you Richard. Your info is very helpful. Will look up the places you mentioned. I am concerned about the vicious house flies though. They drive our dog crazy. He tries to catch them in his mouth and messes up the boat in the process.
Hope to see you at the SLSC.