Anyone sail the lower Chesapeake?

[SceptreSailor]

I am relocating to the Hampton Roads area and looking for good places to sail to as I have a slip lined up at Baypoint. What are some must see destinations? Good anchorages etc. thanks in advance!

Skipper Ken

 

[Bad Obsession]

There are a ton of good places to go in the southern bay. I have an uncle that docks in the Salt Ponds. From there you have a ton of options.

Deltaville is a good overnight trip. It is a neat town and the anchorage in Jackson Creek is nice. There is access to a town dock and you can then walk or bike ride into town (if you carry bikes). There is a good sail maker, canvas makers, West Marine, and cool places to eat.

Tangier Island is a must see. It would be a good overnight trip as well. What makes it unique is that it is an island in the middle of the Bay that is accessible by boat or small plane. It is a water-man's community but it has interesting shops.

Onancock is a cool place that is on the Eastern Shore. It is a neat little town. It is a bit of a haul to get through the channel through there because you will pass about 50 nav markers (if I remember correctly).

Kiptopeake is a state park across the bay from Hampton. It is a man made area to anchor that has sunken barges to provide an area to anchor. This anchorage can have swells if the wind is out of the North West.

There are a lot of other nice places to go such as Solomons Island, Smith Island, Chrisfield, and Indian Creek. You can also go out of the bay to Rudee Inlet and visit Virginia Beach that way.

 

[SceptreSailor]

This is great stuff....thank you!

 

[Buck420]

I've been tied up at Bay Point and in Little Creek for many years.
When you get here, PM me and I'll not only help you with all your questions
( "Bad"'s suggestions are excellent), but introduce you to many of the local cruisers if you'd like to cruise with other folks as well as by yourself.
Looking forward to seeing you... you'll really enjoy Hampton Roads and the Bay.

Buck

 

[Juice6576]

Lot's of good srtuff to do. It;s been a long time (we left in 1995) but Smithfield station is a nice trip. Anychroing spots are availabe in the Hampton River, Lynnhaven Inlet, and a trip up to Yorktown would also be fun. We would sail and anchor off Norfolk for Harborfest, Fireworks off Hampton for July 4th.

 

[Warren Milberg]

As a new bay sailor, I suggest getting a copy of "Cruising the Chesapeake: A Gunkholer's Guide" by William Shellenberger. You'll love the Chesapeake and this guide is well worth it from Amazon or elsewhere.

 

[Bad Obsession]

"As a new bay sailor, I suggest getting a copy of "Cruising the Chesapeake: A Gunkholer's Guide" by William Shellenberger."

I second this suggestion. A cruising guide to the Chesapeake would be very helpful.

I forgot to mention trying Waterside in Norfolk. I have heard good things about down town Hampton too.

If you go on an extended cruise you have to try Annapolis, Oxford, St. Michaels, and the Rhode River.

If you go up the Potomac there is a neat place in the St. Mary's River called Horseshoe bend. It is at the College of Saint Marys. They have a concert series on the lawn of the college that is free.

Basically....you are moving to an incredible place to cruise....but the July and August cruising can be brutal because of heat and humidity.

 

[arknoah]

Onancock is a cool place that is on the Eastern Shore. It is a neat little town. It is a bit of a haul to get through the channel through there because you will pass about 50 nav markers (if I remember correctly).

I can second Onancock. It is a great, comfortable little town with a couple of nice restaurants and New England charm.

 

[thinwater]

All good sugestions...

... and when you're feeling adventurous you can always head up the outside (Atlantic).

I'd add Cape Charles City; they've done a lot of upgrading in the past year, so most of the guides are out-of-date on that. I've got a soft spot for Kelli's Gingernut Pub.

My blog (below) has some trip reports you might like.

 

[SceptreSailor]

Thanks all for the input. I am here , signed my lease at Baypoint and boat will be this Monday!

 

[Bad Obsession]

Good luck and enjoy the area. There are so many things to do there it isn't funny. If you are into fishing there is also good fishing. There are a lot of us who will drag a line behind our boats in hopes of picking up a Rockfish (A.K.A. Striper or Striped Bass). They are good eating.

You will find that places up North are a little bit more boater friendly for those who like to drop the hook and dingy in. Annapolis and Solomons are very much pro boater.

You also may want to get some folding bikes. There are some ports that require a lengthy walk or short bike ride to get to the restaurants or the town. For example Solomons has a lot of places that are walking distance from the $2 a day dingy dock at the Holiday Inn. If you need groceries you will have a three mile (I believe that long) trek to a Food Lion.

Make sure you add good mosquito netting to your boat. Some places are loaded with mosquito. Other places are loaded with this annoying bug that we call Canadian Soldures. Those are annoying bugs that don't bite but they leave these little tiny blue/green specs all over your boat and the bugs sometimes get stuck in the morning dew.

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

Ken-
While I do my sailing on Lake Superior I have a little time on the Chesapeake and the eastern shore. If you get to Crisfield there are a couple of good restaurants that are an easy walk into town. There is Mi Pueblito Grill, great little mexican place with excellent margaritas. There is also a big crab house restaurant-Olde Crab House? Something like that. Somer's Cove Marina is a decent place to stay too. Facilities are not fancy but bearable.

 

[Jim Seamans]

Welcome to the Bay...

I've been sailing it for many years and still haven't seen it all...
All the suggestions are great, all beautiful places to spend time in.

 

[arknoah]

You also may want to get some folding bikes. There are some ports that require a lengthy walk or short bike ride to get to the restaurants or the town. For example Solomons has a lot of places that are walking distance from the $2 a day dingy dock at the Holiday Inn. If you need groceries you will have a three mile (I believe that long) trek to a Food Lion.

I don't think anything in Solomons is that far from anything else. It's perhaps a mile to a mile and a half from the Holiday Inn to the Food Lion -- just sayin'

 

[Bad Obsession]

I have only walked it once and it was 110 degrees with the heat index. I always am there at the end of May and the beginning of June.

 

[Ross]

Un mentioned so far are the rivers. The james can take you all the way to Richmond and the Rappahannock also goes way inland and little farther up the bay is the Patomac. You could spend a season on any one of them.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Urbanna is supposed to be nice (backing up with Ross said). It is up the Rappahannock River.

Indian Creek is also nice (been there once). PrincessoftheLake is also right about Chrisfield.

You could always do a Hampton to Onancock, Onancock to Chrisfield, Chrisfield to Tangier, Tangier to Deltaville, and Deltaville to Hampton cruise. That would be a cool one!