I saw in my August edition of Sail magazine a nice little article about camp-sailing the H216 in Boston harbor. A couple of guys took the H216 for an outing for a couple of days throughout the Boston environs and camped over-night on one of the islands in the mouth of the harbor. They had a great time sailing and exploring the islands. The boat worked great for storing their camping gear down below. They would pitch a tent on shore at night and cook-out. I need to find some places to camp-sail (like they did) in the lower Chesapeake bay.
h216 article in Sail magazine
- Thread starter Jeff Prideaux
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beach camping
Not sure about that area but if you have an interest you might want to get a copy of (beach camping and coastal cruising) by Ida Little, She and a freind have written a couple of books on the subject and it is a good read with lots of information , Good Luck Mike
Not sure about that area but if you have an interest you might want to get a copy of (beach camping and coastal cruising) by Ida Little, She and a freind have written a couple of books on the subject and it is a good read with lots of information , Good Luck Mike
K
Kris
Hampton Roads Camping
Jeff, That's a tough one around here. The guys in the article appeared to be primitive camping in protected wildlife areas. I have a hard time beleiving anything around Boston isn't owned by somebody or controlled by the State/Federal government in a protected capacity. The lower C. bay is either heavily commercialized or remote and protected wildlife areas. If the State Rangers or Marine Police see you they may will check to see what you are up to and won't permit open fires. A possibility is York River State Park up the river toward Richmond from Gloucester on the Peninsula side of the river. You could launch at Gloucester or York State Park. The State does not staff many of these places after the student staff go back to college in Aug. State Ranger coverage is very limited, and if necessary you can pay camping fees in a drop box. Heading south off shore from Gloucester you'll come across Plum Tree Island and Factory Point marked on the charts. You could could safely beach there, but the State Marine Police along the bay will stop to see what you're up to and I'm sure they would discourage open fires. I suspect these areas are similar to what the folks were doing up in Boston. The marine police dock next to me in Hampton and they tell me these areas used to be WWII era ranges and every once and awile a shell will be reported. Officially, they will tell you it's not a public camping area. The next opportunity would be at Cape Henry State Park near the Chesepeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. This is a combined Army and State recreation area with lot of support facilities and may be your best bet for other than primitive services. Anther area to reasearch is all the way around on the James River. I eventually plan on launching at King Mill Resort Marina at Williamsburg (Brand new just opened after rebuilding from Hurricane Isabelle). I want to check out Chipokes Plantation State Park from the James River. My daughter got married last year at the plantation house and some of my family stayed at the primitive campground. I could see the river nearby and it would be a great day trip from Kings Mill. Hey got to run to the salt mine of a job. Good luck in the hunt!!!!!
Jeff, That's a tough one around here. The guys in the article appeared to be primitive camping in protected wildlife areas. I have a hard time beleiving anything around Boston isn't owned by somebody or controlled by the State/Federal government in a protected capacity. The lower C. bay is either heavily commercialized or remote and protected wildlife areas. If the State Rangers or Marine Police see you they may will check to see what you are up to and won't permit open fires. A possibility is York River State Park up the river toward Richmond from Gloucester on the Peninsula side of the river. You could launch at Gloucester or York State Park. The State does not staff many of these places after the student staff go back to college in Aug. State Ranger coverage is very limited, and if necessary you can pay camping fees in a drop box. Heading south off shore from Gloucester you'll come across Plum Tree Island and Factory Point marked on the charts. You could could safely beach there, but the State Marine Police along the bay will stop to see what you're up to and I'm sure they would discourage open fires. I suspect these areas are similar to what the folks were doing up in Boston. The marine police dock next to me in Hampton and they tell me these areas used to be WWII era ranges and every once and awile a shell will be reported. Officially, they will tell you it's not a public camping area. The next opportunity would be at Cape Henry State Park near the Chesepeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. This is a combined Army and State recreation area with lot of support facilities and may be your best bet for other than primitive services. Anther area to reasearch is all the way around on the James River. I eventually plan on launching at King Mill Resort Marina at Williamsburg (Brand new just opened after rebuilding from Hurricane Isabelle). I want to check out Chipokes Plantation State Park from the James River. My daughter got married last year at the plantation house and some of my family stayed at the primitive campground. I could see the river nearby and it would be a great day trip from Kings Mill. Hey got to run to the salt mine of a job. Good luck in the hunt!!!!!
J
Jared
Couple of Ideas
Check out False Cape State Park through Back Bay near Virginia Beach. We had considered doing it on our Hobie Cat. I am not sure about depth, etc., but it just sounded like a good place and you can camp there. Depending on depth and what you draw, maybe that is possible. Maybe Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore? Pick a good day to shoot across the bay oor try to find another place to camp over there. Maybe also check out Grey's Point Campground and Bethpage in Urbanna - not quite sure if they are tent or RV sites? I bet if you scoped them out in advance, you could find some nice little places where you could get by putting a tent up for the night down near the mouth of the Rappahannock. I know of one place I have seen people camping at that I could email you - don't want to put it here for the world to know so it isn't lost.
Check out False Cape State Park through Back Bay near Virginia Beach. We had considered doing it on our Hobie Cat. I am not sure about depth, etc., but it just sounded like a good place and you can camp there. Depending on depth and what you draw, maybe that is possible. Maybe Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore? Pick a good day to shoot across the bay oor try to find another place to camp over there. Maybe also check out Grey's Point Campground and Bethpage in Urbanna - not quite sure if they are tent or RV sites? I bet if you scoped them out in advance, you could find some nice little places where you could get by putting a tent up for the night down near the mouth of the Rappahannock. I know of one place I have seen people camping at that I could email you - don't want to put it here for the world to know so it isn't lost.
Thanks for the ideas
Thanks for the camping ideas. Being from Richmond, it takes me 1.5 to 2 hours to trailer to a decent sailing area. It makes a long day to travel this distance twice in a single day (not to mention launching and retrieving). I'm trying to find as many places as possible where I can leave the boat in the water for a day (or two) and stay near by. I have in-laws in Beaufort NC where I can do this. I've also camp sailed at Kerr lake in NC. I'm now trying to find places to camp sail in the Chesapeake bay. If anyone knows of any "secrets" you can send me an email by following the link in the owners section of this site (under the H216 section). Other options would be B&B's that have a dock or hotels associated with or near marinas... (but I'm trying to keep costs down)..
Thanks for the camping ideas. Being from Richmond, it takes me 1.5 to 2 hours to trailer to a decent sailing area. It makes a long day to travel this distance twice in a single day (not to mention launching and retrieving). I'm trying to find as many places as possible where I can leave the boat in the water for a day (or two) and stay near by. I have in-laws in Beaufort NC where I can do this. I've also camp sailed at Kerr lake in NC. I'm now trying to find places to camp sail in the Chesapeake bay. If anyone knows of any "secrets" you can send me an email by following the link in the owners section of this site (under the H216 section). Other options would be B&B's that have a dock or hotels associated with or near marinas... (but I'm trying to keep costs down)..
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