Bought a 30! Relocation imminent ..

[BillyK]

I just purchased a 1990 Catalina 30!!

Happy days ahead of us... the first of which will be quite a journey to her new home port. I'll be single handing for the relocation.

She's in Solomons, MD... so that will be the starting point.. I'm planning on leaving before sunrise and the first leg should get me to Annapolis where i will overnight.. next morning off again before dawn with a destination of Chesapeake City on the CND for another overnight.. the Next morning up and off before dawn again to Cape May, NJ her new home..

Question i have since i'm not familiar with these waters is from a float plan perspective, is this doable? are the distances realistic?.. I grew up on the Delaware Bay so i'm at home on those waters.. its the Chesa portion i'm more concerned about..

Thanks.

 

[BillyK]

Charting it out it looks like I'm right at about 50nm per day.. If I can maintain speed with wind and tides I'm thinking real world travel time of about 10 hours per day.. Just a guess here though...

 

[rbmcintire]

Congratulations, BillyK. When are you bringing it up the Bay? Not sure I would do it this time of year. Are you familiar with Sailflow? Tidal situations will also affect your progress on this estuary.

http://www.sailflow.com/windandwhere.iws?newHomeRegionID=108

Seriously, keep it safe, Bro.

Rob

 

[BillyK]

Completely unfamiliar with the waters outside of staring at charts and tidal maps.. I'm looking at the first or second week of April depending on when i can get a good weather window. I'll be on the motor for the trip and will probably throw up a sail to help out if the wind is favorable.. Since the boat is new to me, i want that engine on as a a safety net during the passage..

 

[Stu Jackson]

Congratulations. In addition to the currents, with a "new-to-you" boat depending on the engine, you should spend a lot of time gaining confidence and knowledge about the engine.

On another "New C30" topic, I posted some helpful links about engines (if you have an M25 or similar): http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=126094

If it's an A4, get to know www.moyermarine.com

I highly recommend spending some time with your new engine and making sure it's up to the task.

Have a great trip.

 

[rbmcintire]

BillyK,
Rockfish season opens April 16... and you'll be moving right through the thick of them. Could be a sweet bonus on your trip!

Rob

 

[Jimm]

I just purchased a 1990 Catalina 30!!

Happy days ahead of us... the first of which will be quite a journey to her new home port. I'll be single handing for the relocation.

She's in Solomons, MD... so that will be the starting point.. I'm planning on leaving before sunrise and the first leg should get me to Annapolis where i will overnight.. s.

A loong day trip will get you from Solomons to Annapolis even with adverse tide/wind -- give us a shout when you plan to arrive Annapollis - glad to lend a hand

 

[Twice Around]

Billy, if you are used to the Delaware Bay, the Chesapeake is a piece of cake!!

If you are planning to anchor out your first night, I'd skip Annapolis Harbor and try for Sillery Bay (Dobbins Island, Magothy River)..much prettier and it gets you farther north. I've left Solomons at dawn and made Annapolis by 1:30 in an Olson 29..we motored the entire way, the little 5HP outboard wide open (probably about hull speed), which is a little bit faster than a C-30, but not much under power. If you had good weather, another 8-10 miles to Sillery Bay would be easy. We often get a seabreeze in spring & fall, so that may give you a push as well.

With regards to Solomons area, there are two (well three) issues to deal with down here if you are not familiar with the area...
#1 - when you leave Solomons Harbor, you have to go around the flats..If you look at a chart it is obvious, but if you've never come in the harbor before, the marks look wrong when you leave..don't go out the middle of the flats. Take the north channel..plenty of depth and quickest.
#2 - Little Cove Point (exit of Patuxent River)..There is no need to go all the way out to Green #77 before turning north...however, there is a fishtrap or two in between Little Cove Point & Cove Point..as long as you are outside of it, depth is no problem. The outside edge of the nets are on the 18 foot shelf inside of Green #77.
#3 - LNG Pier just north of Cove Point. They have a perimeter set up with white floaty marks that are not on most charts...(however a pink outlined 'safety zone' on the chart is pretty close to matching the four corners of the buoys.) You need to stay outside of it or they may holler at you on the VHF or a CG boat may come out for a 'visit' if a tanker is anywhere near the area. As long as you stay outside their perimeter markers, they don't bother you...usually it is the guys rockfishing that 'drift' inside.:naughty:

I have electronic charts that I use in SeaClear that I can highlight for you if it would help.

After that it is a long boring ride north to Thomas Point..magnetic 010 if I recall.

That's my $0.02. Do what you want with it.

Give me a shout if you need any help down at this end. I am 5 minutes away.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Sailing the Chesapeake Bay in Early April can be a bit different than sailing it in May and June. I transported my Catalina 30 from Deltaville, up the potomac, to Colonial Beach in early April and I hit the worst weather that I have ever hit. The original prediction wasn't nearly as bad as what really happened. I hit 40 knots sustained and really nasty waves in the direction that I was heading. I beat into that for over 5 hours with the engine barely getting me any progress and I finally got to the first piece of shelter on the Potomac Side of Smith point, the Coan River. It was a really scary ordeal.

Watch the weather really closely. The Bay can be a very easy place to sail and it can also be extremely nasty. When you hit current going against the waves it makes the waves very short and very steep.

It can also be pretty cold that time of year so you probably should look into going into docks and having some plug in heaters because being wet and cold is miserable that time of year. I didn't do that on my trip and I ended up being extremely miserable when my rain gear decided to fail and when I woke up the next morning there was frost on the deck of my boat and the wind was still howling through the rigging.

If you have to go into strong wind that is on the bow, it is best to reef the main and try to keep it up as long as possible and go off of the wind slightly. The main will help you get better and more stable progress on a Catalina 30 (they love to hobby horse in rough conditions on the bow).

Congradulations and good luck.

 

[BillyK]

Billy, if you are used to the Delaware Bay, the Chesapeake is a piece of cake!!

If you are planning to anchor out your first night, I'd skip Annapolis Harbor and try for Sillery Bay (Dobbins Island, Magothy River)..much prettier and it gets you farther north. I've left Solomons at dawn and made Annapolis by 1:30 in an Olson 29..we motored the entire way, the little 5HP outboard wide open (probably about hull speed), which is a little bit faster than a C-30, but not much under power. If you had good weather, another 8-10 miles to Sillery Bay would be easy. We often get a seabreeze in spring & fall, so that may give you a push as well.

With regards to Solomons area, there are two (well three) issues to deal with down here if you are not familiar with the area...
#1 - when you leave Solomons Harbor, you have to go around the flats..If you look at a chart it is obvious, but if you've never come in the harbor before, the marks look wrong when you leave..don't go out the middle of the flats. Take the north channel..plenty of depth and quickest.
#2 - Little Cove Point (exit of Patuxent River)..There is no need to go all the way out to Green #77 before turning north...however, there is a fishtrap or two in between Little Cove Point & Cove Point..as long as you are outside of it, depth is no problem. The outside edge of the nets are on the 18 foot shelf inside of Green #77.
#3 - LNG Pier just north of Cove Point. They have a perimeter set up with white floaty marks that are not on most charts...(however a pink outlined 'safety zone' on the chart is pretty close to matching the four corners of the buoys.) You need to stay outside of it or they may holler at you on the VHF or a CG boat may come out for a 'visit' if a tanker is anywhere near the area. As long as you stay outside their perimeter markers, they don't bother you...usually it is the guys rockfishing that 'drift' inside.:naughty:

I have electronic charts that I use in SeaClear that I can highlight for you if it would help.

After that it is a long boring ride north to Thomas Point..magnetic 010 if I recall.

That's my $0.02. Do what you want with it.

Give me a shout if you need any help down at this end. I am 5 minutes away.

Great info, Thanks!! I'll definitely look to overnight north of Annapolis. The toughest part is having to wait till April now. :neutral:

 

[BillyK]

Sailing the Chesapeake Bay in Early April can be a bit different than sailing it in May and June. I transported my Catalina 30 from Deltaville, up the potomac, to Colonial Beach in early April and I hit the worst weather that I have ever hit. The original prediction wasn't nearly as bad as what really happened. I hit 40 knots sustained and really nasty waves in the direction that I was heading. I beat into that for over 5 hours with the engine barely getting me any progress and I finally got to the first piece of shelter on the Potomac Side of Smith point, the Coan River. It was a really scary ordeal.

Watch the weather really closely. The Bay can be a very easy place to sail and it can also be extremely nasty. When you hit current going against the waves it makes the waves very short and very steep.

It can also be pretty cold that time of year so you probably should look into going into docks and having some plug in heaters because being wet and cold is miserable that time of year. I didn't do that on my trip and I ended up being extremely miserable when my rain gear decided to fail and when I woke up the next morning there was frost on the deck of my boat and the wind was still howling through the rigging.

If you have to go into strong wind that is on the bow, it is best to reef the main and try to keep it up as long as possible and go off of the wind slightly. The main will help you get better and more stable progress on a Catalina 30 (they love to hobby horse in rough conditions on the bow).

Congradulations and good luck.

I have a Yamaha 2000 Generator that will be making the trip with me.. That should help through the night with heat and dampness.. I'm also looking at a two week window for the trip.. i'll pick the best weather i can get.. hopefully the forecasts will be accurate. unfortunately, you're not the first person to mention the weather there this time of year, but fortunately you're not the first person to tell me, which means i will be able to to be prepared both mentally and physically for the trip.

 

[Twice Around]

Bad Obsession makes good points...my most exciting times on the Chesapeake have been between Point Lookout & Smith Point..(25 miles south)...you need to watch the weather, & we've had regattas in Annapolis we've missed because we could not get the boat north from Solomons to Naptown after turning the corner at Cove Point due to the weather (not my C-30...it is a cruising boat..I race with other people that beat up their boats!!! Although that is not necessarily true...on our first cruise north we had a beautiful southerly breeze on Day 1 from Solomons to the South River in late May 2009, and then a brutal NWerly the next day and we beat all day just to make it to the Rt. 50 Bay Bridge only to turn around and retreat to Annapolis...so you never know.)

I know it's tough, but the winter & spring time can be brutal on the water here...make lists and more lists for spring time projects that you can work on once you get your boat home!

At any rate, for local conditions around the area , send me a PM anytime. Also, if you are in the area prepping the boat between now and April, we can have a beer too.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Get good charts for the trip and have a plan to duck and run if things get bad. I reflect on my trip and think that I should have turned tail and gone into the Great Wicimico. There are some great places to hold up in if you have to (The Rhode River is a place south of Annapolis but north of Solomins).

The next suggestion is to take a camera. Take some pictures along the way, especially of Thomas Point Light. That is a really unique structure and it is really cool to see. There is another light house around Cove Point. It is also nice to document your first trip.

 

[jimmcgee]

Good advice from everyone here. One other thing I'd do is bring several sets of fuel filters for your diesel and wrenches to swap them out. You don't know what's on the bottom of those tanks that can get stirred up in a chop.

Bringing our boat home we hit a nasty chop in the lower Delaware bay off Cape May and clogged our fuel filters. Thankfully I had spares.

Also bring a good set of tools and expect something to break on a new (to you boat).

Oh and congratulations!
Jim

 

[gpd955]

I moved my 310 from Bowley's Quarters to Chesapeake City and then from Chesapeake City to Atlantic City back in July. Bowleys to Chesapeake City took about 4.5 hours, mostly under power due to no wind. It was an easy and fun trip. The Chesapeake City to AC leg was easy under both power (through the C&D and then the Cape May Canal) and sail on the Bay and Ocean. That trip took about 18 hours. We made Cape May inlet in about 12.

I've done the bay and canal several times and it's fine if you follow the channels. We scheduled it so we hit the bay at nightfall. The only hairy things was getting into the entrance of the canal ( it's not as deep as one would expect) and it was nerve wracking going under the bridge (chart said we had plenty of room but I'm always on edge going under the bridge!! Of course it was fine.) The Cape May harbor area is filled with shoaly areas but if you follow the charts and if you're familiar with the area, you'll be fine.

When are you looking to do your move. If you need crew, I could help out if I'm not working.

 

[BillyK]

Good advice from everyone here. One other thing I'd do is bring several sets of fuel filters for your diesel and wrenches to swap them out. You don't know what's on the bottom of those tanks that can get stirred up in a chop.

Bringing our boat home we hit a nasty chop in the lower Delaware bay off Cape May and clogged our fuel filters. Thankfully I had spares.

Also bring a good set of tools and expect something to break on a new (to you boat).

Oh and congratulations!
Jim

Luckly the PO replaced the tank, and did it right.. brand new SS tank, tabbed in nicely. :dance: