Passage advice - Arlington VA on Potomac to Annapolis MD

[flyingwaspsailing]

Ahoy sailors - I'm moving my sweet sweet Flying Wasp from a marina in Arlington VA down the Potomac and up the Chesapeake Bay into Annapolis.

This is the first time I've done this and would love advice from others that have experience in parts of the journey as well as the entire passage as well.

I'm planning on motoring as much as I need to make it within 3 days with 2 night stops. My first stop was going to be Colonial Beach and then the 2nd day would overnight somewhere around Drum Point or Cedar Point MD.

First time long passage for me so any advice on splitting it up, routes to avoid, and places to overnight would be appreciated.

I'm sailing a Precision 23 with an 8hp Honda outboard. LMK if you need any other info. Thank you!
- Glenn

 

[dlochner]

We came up the bay last week to Annapolis. The route you're planning is pretty ambitious for a small boat. It can be done and could be a fun trip, I'm not certain trying to cover that distance in 3 days will work.

A big factor in your trip will be the tides and currents. The ebb tide is much stronger and longer than the flood. We saw ebb currents approaching 1.5 knots. That is a lot of current to buck for a small boat. The dam on the Susquehanna River is wide open due to lots of rain in PA and NY. Expect some more current and debris working its way down the bay.

The anchorage around Drum Point is pretty exposed. The shore line is lined with houses and private docks, finding a suitable spot may be difficult. Better to continue into Solomons and anchor in Mill Creek. There are a number of places to anchor which will be well protected and quiet.

The Cedar Point anchorage is filled with construction barges working on shoreline preservation. It is also directly under the flight path for Patuxent Naval Air Station and exposed to the north.

Annapolis got busy this weekend. The heavy rains that have been falling in upstate NY has forced the closure of a vital section of the Erie Canal. Great Loopers and others headed back to Great Lakes will not be able to progress until the end of June at the earliest. As a result all these boats are scattered in marinas and mooring fields as far south as Annapolis. In Annapolis I know three boats here waiting (I'm one of them). When we left Thursday there were plenty of empty moorings in the front mooring field, when we came back today there was only 1 open mooring.

Good luck! Hope the trip goes well.

 

[flyingwaspsailing]

Thank you so much for this insightful answer. This is very helpful in planning this passage out!

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@dlochner gsve you good advice. I suggest waiting till good weather comes back and allow 6 days to make that passage safely. I was a former sailboat dealer who sold many lines of trailerable sailboats in the area and attended the Annapolis shows for over 35 years.
Better yet, may I suggest you contact Backyard Boats in Potomac Mills, Va who use to sell Hunter and Precision trailerable sailboats for advice. They use to have a sales office in Annapolis.
Crazy Dave

 

[thinwater]

I would plan on four days. That's a long run for a small boat. Additionally, a good four-day window is difficult to bet on. If you get a long day with the wind on the nose it will hurt.

I would have planned that that way on my 34' catamaran, but not on a 23' mono, and probably not on my 24' trimaran. Also, unless you carry a lot of fuel, you have to plan on fill-ups.

 

[flyingwaspsailing]

@dlochner gsve you good advice. I suggest waiting till good weather comes back and allow 6 days to make that passage safely. I was a former sailboat dealer who sold many lines of trailerable sailboats in the area and attended the Annapolis shows for over 35 years.
Better yet, may I suggest you contact Backyard Boats in Potomac Mills, Va who use to sell Hunter and Precision trailerable sailboats for advice. They use to have a sales office in Annapolis.
Crazy Dave

Thank you Dave. Looks like Backyard Boats is permanently closed but your tip of taking 6 days to do it is a good one. No rush! Be safe.

 

[jssailem]

As you pass by Mount Vernon, be sure to signal Washington standing high on the bluff.

 

[DRhoads]

As you pass by Mount Vernon, be sure to signal Washington standing high on the bluff.

He is only there on the third Tuesday

 

[Foswick]

It's been said, but by my eyeball estimate, that is about 160 NM or more. For reference, on my larger boat, unless I am going offshore, I don't typically plan for days longer than a bit over 30 NM. (Granted, I plan to sail as much as possible, and that tends to bring distances down a bit.) If I really needed to make some time, I might just plan on motoring and stretch this to a 50 NM day, but that I wouldn't want to do that for three days.

I don't believe you said, but my impression is that you plan to do this solo? And, it looks like you have tiller steering. If you don't have autopilot, that would be a really brutal haul. Even if you stretch it over 6 days, it is still pretty punishing.

Honestly, the absolute best thing you could do, if it is an option, is to bring along another warm body. That would make all the difference. You can take turns at the tiller, better handle emergencies, simplify docking (in particular if weather got frisky), and just have someone to talk to so you don't go out of your mind listening to the engine drone for hours on end.

 

[flyingwaspsailing]

Honestly, the absolute best thing you could do, if it is an option, is to bring along another warm body. That would make all the difference. You can take turns at the tiller, better handle emergencies, simplify docking (in particular if weather got frisky), and just have someone to talk to so you don't go out of your mind listening to the engine drone for hours on end.

Thank you Foswick! Yes to the solo and I'm about to install an autopilot (overdue). I have a couple of guys that said they'd love to join for a leg or two so will need to make that happen.

Other thing I'm thinking of doing is leaving the boat at a marina on day two or three, depending on how I'm doing, then coming back to it a few days or week later. My wife will appreciate it as well

 

[dlochner]

Thank you Foswick! Yes to the solo and I'm about to install an autopilot (overdue). I have a couple of guys that said they'd love to join for a leg or two so will need to make that happen.

Other thing I'm thinking of doing is leaving the boat at a marina on day two or three, depending on how I'm doing, then coming back to it a few days or week later. My wife will appreciate it as well

If you are going to use marinas, use Dockwa.com. Most of the marinas on the Bay use it to book slips. It is sort of like an Expedia for cruisers.

 

[stanbass]

The toughest part for me was where the currents of the Potomac and Chesapeake COLLIDE together!
If the winds are high better hang on for dear life! I've read that some ship captains have complained that this
area can be some of the roughest waters on the planet.

 

[flyingwaspsailing]

wow. that's not great news... looks like I'll have to pick my window.
I've been watching folks on youtube sail through that area and they do it fine when the weather is "fine".
thanks!

 

[kappykaplan]

where the currents of the Potomac and Chesapeake COLLIDE together!

 

[dlochner]

wow. that's not great news... looks like I'll have to pick my window.
I've been watching folks on youtube sail through that area and they do it fine when the weather is "fine".
thanks!

The difference between cruising long distances between a 23 foot trailer sailor and a 30'+ boat are significant. Boat speed, comfort, carrying capacity, and other amenities are legion. When I moved up from cruising in a Tanzer 22 to a Sabre 30, I thought I died and went to heaven. The next jump to a 36' boat is even more remarkable.

One significant limitation on a small cruising boat is limited electrical power and even more limited charging capacity. Chartplotters, depth sounders, autopilots, VHF radios all consume electricity than needs to be replenished with charging from the engine's alternator or solar. The third alternative is marinas and shore power. Most marinas charge anywhere from $5 to $15 a night for electricity.

All this is not to dissuade you from your adventure, the advice and insights you have been provided with is the results of thousands of miles of cruising by multiple sailors. This trip can be a fun adventure or a miserable experience. Plan well and the fun quotient will be higher than the misery quotient. And just to be clear, all cruising is a combination of fun and misery. With experience the misery comes less often, but it will still sneak up and grab you in the ass. Which is why I"m sitting in Annapolis listening to the Blue Angels practice for their show this afternoon. It sort of balances out.

 

[flyingwaspsailing]

I think what you say here about the mix of merry and misery is what has drawn me to sailing. It seems very familiar.

When I was a lad, I was a nationally ranked cyclist that lived and breathed outdoor adventure. I'd be on my bike daily for up to 80 miles (after school!). In 1996 I rode my bike across the US in a bit of a zig zag pattern that ended up with a distance of close to 5000 miles in a couple of months. When I think of sailing there are obvious differences (which you and many here are shedding light on, thank you!) between it and cycling. I'm 52 now and not really interested in being on my bike more than a few hours but sailing seems to give me much the same adventure outlet, albeit with some of the comforts not found on a bike.

Re: Annapolis and the Blue Angels, hell's yeah! Exactly why I'm moving the wasp there.

Can't thank you all enough for this advice. I'm of course open to more feedback! Will certainly share some photos and an update about what went well and what didn't, when I am done.

 

[Foswick]

You will find your experience cycling distances to be invaluable. I have a similar background from my youth, and can relate. You know that feeling when you are 20 miles from home, bonked, and some improvised repair gives you only two gears? There is a bit of isolation and despair, but also a sense of calm with the clarity of the moment. (Cyclists nowadays can't relate, so much, because of mobile phones.) Still, you figure it out and, somehow, you get home.

And, on the bike, there is a sense of taking it all with you. Once you leave, if you don't have it, it doesn't exist. It creates a profound sense of self-reliance. You are either prepared for the trip or you aren't, but it is all about you and your bike. If you took good care of it, it will take good care of you.

I think you will find a great deal on this trip that feels familiar.

I think that, secretly (or not so secretly) all sailors look for crisis, a bit. Nobody wants catastrophy, but I think there is some sense of seeking out experiences that remind us of danger and hardship so we can meet them in a way that we are likely to overcome. Frankly, we wouldn't have anything to talk about if boats always worked like we want them to, the weather was always fine, anchors always held, etc. Nothing more boring than the story, "We sailed from X to Y last week. Had a great time. Caught up on my reading."

 

[flyingwaspsailing]

Numquam Amissa - Semper Vagus - Never Lost - Always Wandering

That's the spirit!

 

[flyingwaspsailing]

You will find your experience cycling distances to be invaluable. I have a similar background from my youth, and can relate. You know that feeling when you are 20 miles from home, bonked, and some improvised repair gives you only two gears? There is a bit of isolation and despair, but also a sense of calm with the clarity of the moment. (Cyclists nowadays can't relate, so much, because of mobile phones.) Still, you figure it out and, somehow, you get home.

And, on the bike, there is a sense of taking it all with you. Once you leave, if you don't have it, it doesn't exist. It creates a profound sense of self-reliance. You are either prepared for the trip or you aren't, but it is all about you and your bike. If you took good care of it, it will take good care of you.

Once I saw the connection between cycling and sailing I was hooked. To me, that really is what it's about and always has been. No cell phones, no distractions, a little money in the pocket and when things go wrong, and they do, you have to figure it out, stay safe and get home. So satisfying. And yes, bonk, been there many times. Once I was crossing Steven's Pass in western Washington, totally misjudged the day, was bonked, out of water, no homes in sight, but still made it to that next 7-11 for some juice!

 

[Art12050]

Have you considered having it hauled overland?