First sail on Checapeake Bay, North East, MD to Hampton, VA

[Marc]

Boat History

I purchased the boat last fall from my wife's, cousin's, uncle in law. It is documented and named Aeolus. He purchased the boat in the Caribbean from the original owner and brought it to the Chesapeake in the early 1990's, eventually mooring it at Bay boat Works in North East, MD. He and friends sailed it up to Maine in the summer of 2005. I live in VA and have leased a slip at Southall Landings in Hampton for the next year. Marc

 

[Ben16737]

RichH - contacting Pax

How exactly does one make contact with the base to find out if the targets are in use? I'm docked near Solomons; I don't normally get out into the bay much but that's good information to know.

 

[RichH]

Try this ....

(301) 737-2400 and you will get redirected to the correct number.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Since you have a shallow draft

Smith island is also worth a stop. I liked Smith Island better than Tangier Island. There is a bed and breakfast that is in Smith Island and a slip is $1 a foot (as of a few years ago). Very nice people that run it. There was also good fishing in Smith Island. Don't come from the Chrisfield MD side of Smith Island, come from the Bay side.

 

[Ross]

To whom it may concern : down load this link:

http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/coastpilot3.htmChapter 2 page 100 through page 104. It details the proceedures followed by the military for the restricted areas around Aberdeen proving ground, The U.S. Naval Academy and PAX river. The chart identifies these with a note for 334.140 Aberdeen Proving ground and 334.200 Pax river. They have patrol boats that will chase you out if you get inside the restricted area during times of danger. I think that you can call range control at Aberdeen on chan 16 if you must cross the restricted waters.

 

[Ross]

Dan , That's what Owens looks like after every flood

One day I had to power into my slip with a north wind and the current flowing south. I spent an afternoon pushing wood out of the marina.

 

[Mike B]

Took 2 days to clear

A buddy of mine keeps his boat in Tolchester and told me it took two days to clear the debris. Many of the slipholders, including himself, helped out in removing the massive log jam. We happened to be heading north towards the C&D from the Sassafras that day and saw no less than 6 tires, complete with rims, floating about. It was about the nastiest I've seen it.

 

[Ross]

Mike, Up here on the river we have the current to help

I just nudge the flotsam out past the breakwater and turn it into someone elses problem. We get great rafts down on the flats. They stay there until they sink or a storm and high tide takes them to Tolchester. Get a strong south wind on a high tide so it blows the water up the bay and then have that wind shift around to the north on the ebb and all the drift wood goes south.

 

[Mike B]

Head rivers

Ross, we're always aware of the junk that comes down from the head rivers on the bay. It's not only the Susquehanna but the Elk and NE Rivers that add to it as well. Georgetown is far enough up the Sassafras that it's not a problem for us but once you break out past Ordinary Pt it's a different story. Any time we make a run after a storm we keep a sharp eye out for it all. I've seen major portions of large trees floating just beneath the surface. Not something I'd want to hit that's for sure. Another thing we've noticed on multiple occasions is that once you get south of the Annapolis Bay Bridge it seems to disappear. Must have someting to do with the bridge structures or currents that surround them.Mike

 

[TOny]

A body

Well I have you all beat last July 4th week while going down the channel I came upon a human body floating at about 2 knts with the tide and currentCalled Coast Guard then thru to local fire and rescue til they came out to get him Turned out he had jumped from tyhe Rt 95 bridge some days beforeNot pleasantFYI per CG request stayed on site til others arrived t

 

[Warren Milberg]

Get a copy of

"Cruising The Chesapeake" by Shellenberger, or Chesapeake Bay Magazine's "Guide to Cruising Chesapeake Bay." Either will answer all of your questions above. They will also come in handy as you may have to change plans while en route due to unexpected weather, unexpected repairs, or any of the many unexpected things that happen with a new/old boat. Also, April is very "iffy" month for sailing the bay. Can go from very cold to very nasty to very nice .... Keep a good eye on the wx reports. FYI, I've done a few back to back 50 nm days on the bay single-handled and without autopilot. Very doable; very tiring. Much more fun with crew and autopilot. You'll love exploring the Bay!!! Good luck with the new boat.

 

[Bad Obsession]

A body...

We are really getting off-topic but while we are on the subject of bodies here is a story that I was told.My uncle was sailing in July in Mid-Bay. It was a hot sticky July day with hardly any wind. He was sailing a long when he began to smell something that stunk, really bad. It got stronger and stronger for about a hour. It smelt like a dead body.Finally, my uncle spotted, off in the distance, a waterman's glove (the type that they use when handling crab traps). It was floating in the water with the fingers up above the water and the hand area down.My uncle reluctantly turned on the engine and he motored over towards the glove knowing full well that he was going to find a dead body. He came up on the glove and discovered that it was stuck on some piece of driftwood. He turned off the engine and about 15 minutes later a dead sea turtle floated by him. He was really relieved at that point.

 

[Mike B]

That's a tall bridge

Tony, that's a tall bridge, 285' clearance if recall the charts correctly. It's not the fall but the sudden stop at the bottom that seems to get to people.Mike

 

[Baysailor2]

Wow, Tony...

I was over at Tidewater the weekend before the 4th last summer. Makes me glad I went down Bay to Worton later in the week as I wouldn't have wanted to come across that "floater".Ross, it's not the wood stuff coming down the river that worries me, it's the other things I've seen, like refridgerators and picnic tables, that worries me after a storm up North!Mike, we probably saw the same tires later that day as things like that caused me to abandon Baltimore for Worton Creek. Getting in there was even a problem as a lot of the stuff was stacking up on the southern side--it was safer to hug the north shore entering and only worry about grounding!