Moving to DC from SF with Catalina 30

[pkremser]

HI all:

We just found out we might be moving from the San Francisco Bay Area to Washington DC with our Catalina 30. Was wondering if anyone could recommend a marina in the area. We are used to sailing in the SF Bay and would like to have the ability to do some winter sailing, so I am thinking the Potomac is out and marinas on the Chesapeake might be our best bet. Thoughts? Any advice or opinion would be sincerely appreciated!

 

[Ron20324]

There are hundreds of marinas on the Chesapeake Bay. Trying to narrow down the field may well depend if you live IN DC, or north/south/east/west suburbs. Any one is within driving distance- if you have the time.

 

[Bill Roosa]

DC sailing

Ron is correct, there are lots of options. You need to narrow down your options by determining where you want to live which will be driven by where you will be working. The commute is pretty bad in some places but there are some options there too.
I commute (slug actually) from Woodbridge VA to the Pentagon in 30 minutes each day. We keep the boat about an hour from the house (in good traffic) at Harrington Harbor North. This works for us because of the slug lines and DC Metro.
The Woodrow-willson bridge has a bad rap but since they rebuilt it it has dramatically improved the traffic flow during rush hours.
If you have some specific questions about the area please ask

 

[Ross]

Re: DC sailing

DC is a very big place. Especially when you include the metro area. You could easily spend an hour at rush hour traveling from one extreme to the other.

 

[pkremser]

Thank you for your responses!

We will most likely be living in or around Arlington, VA and probably would not want to travel much more than 45 minutes to get to the marina. Are there any advantages or drawbacks to marinas in VA vs. MD (other than proximity to our theoretical house in VA)?

 

[Jim Seamans]

Don't knock the Potomac

It is a great place to sail. plenty of water and anchorages all within 5nm of just about anywhere on the River. check out this place -> http://piratesdenmarina.com/

We use to live in Northern Virgina and it was 87 mi or 1.5 hrs to get to the marina.

Edit: In Virgina you will have to pay property tax on your boat based on the NADA boat value every YEAR. In Maryland you will pay a one time excise tax on the NADA value. From Arlington, marinas are much further away than Chesapeake or Potomac River. I don't know much about sailing above Cobb Island on the Potomac other than it is smaller and swallower than below it.

 

[KD3PC]

Live in Arlington, and be 45 minutes to the marina will make it tough to be anywhere but on the Potomac river..Colonial Beach would be a maybe but is further than 45 minutes...the new national harbor is a possible, but I have heard it is quite pricey, yet quite empty when you drive by.

Even woodbridge or occoquan would be tough to do in 45 minutes.

You may have to increase your travel time to do much sailing, as that far up the river it is not very wide...

PS the personal property tax in VA varies by county..... a LOT...i.e Hampton City has NO tax, Roanoke County is outrageous. Where I keep my boat it is a percentage of sales price not NADA based...and then so many dollars per thousand of value...your county will let you know

 

[garylinger]

If it were me, I would check out marinas from Annapolis to Solomons Island, all in Maryland and on or almost on the Chesapeake Bay. If you did the southern end of Anne Arundel County, MD or Calvert County (I'm in Calvert County), MD your travel from Northern Va would be doable. The closer you get to Annapolis, the more expensive it is. My marina, Flag Harbor Yacht Haven in St. Leonard, MD is affordable and is right on the bay but is well protected. You can do a Yahoo or Google search for it and get all of the particulars as well as a map and pictures. It is a condiminium marina (slips are owned privately) with some for sale and others for rent by the individual owner.

 

[Drew13440]

There are marinas in Arlington on the river and in DC, but Catalina 30 is a lot of boat for Northern Potomac. No where to go. Recommend you go due East to Maryland's western Chesapeake shore. Dozens of marinas, as noted. It's about 40 miles, driving.

If the boat was bought recently, you won't get charged again for sales tax, it'll be forgiven. Virginia is the exception, as Jim noted, don't register it there.

Potomac River 50 miles south of DC opens up wide, is fun and the marinas are a lot cheaper than Chesapeake close to DC. Water is brackish/salt so you can sail in the winter. Scout it out - you don't have to give up your boat or winter use to join us back here! Good luck.

 

[Ron20324]

I'm not sure how many gunkholes you'll find on the Potomac, but you deal with the river's flow in one direction of sail or the other. Taking the beltway east to Rte 4/PA Ave, you can get to Herring Bay (Herrington Harbor Mainas) plus a couple others in Deale MD. That's also a way to get to West and South River marinas. I have a friend in Arlington/Shirlington that I used to visit from Annapolis, and the drive is not that bad since it is 55/65 most of the way on Rte 50.

 

[wonkodsane]

I have a small (23' Sonic masthead sloop) in DC and it is exactly the right size for the Northern Potomac. A larger boat deserves the Chesapeake, which is where we put our newly acquired C30.

If you're in Arlington it is about 45 minutes to Herring Bay via 495 and MD-4. The latter half of it is a very pretty drive and worth the small bit of extra time to put yourself on bigger water. We're in Annandale, which is a comparable distance, and if you haven't settled on a home yet, you may want to investigate it, as we love the area.

Anything within 2 hours of DC is fairly expensive, except for James Creek Marina on the southern tip of DC, nestled between National Defense University and Coast Guard HQ building. Again, I don't recommend keeping a 30 footer on the Potomac, you will quickly get tired of tacking and there is no air in the high summer. Stifling. The freshwater of the upper Potomac also gets pretty crunchy in the winter. Except in actual severe weather, there's no such thing as a bad day sailing on the Chesapeake and MD is way easier with regard to registration/taxes. DC's registration is very light on the fees as well.

Like the others have said, look in and around Deale and Friendship MD for the Chesapeake marinas nearest you. There are plenty, and they all have pros and cons. Herrington Harbour South is well protected, very posh, and much like a country club, but also with the attendant noise of a place that hosts lots of weddings and parties. HH South access to the Bay is a little quicker than the other Herring Bay marinas because you don't have to negotiate the long, shallow bar that runs north/south as shown about halfway up the left hand side on this chart of Herring Bay. HH North is quieter and is right beside the haulout and dry storage facilities, as well as a whole host of marine service folks. Shipwright and Paradise are just across a tiny channel from HH North, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Let us know where you decide to keep her and we'll see you on the water.

 

[rb437]

Assuming you will be like most of us you will be heading for the marina on Friday afternoon and home again on Sunday. If the marina you choose is in or near Annapolis then you will be traveling Rt 50 in Maryland right in the middle of the beach traffic. That said, I would be looking at southern Anne Arundel county and Calvert county in Maryland and sail to Annapolis rather than drive here.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I keep my boat in Colonial Beach. My marina is pretty new (less than 6 years old) and the docks are nice. The people in my docks are great. I have a Catalina 30 (1990 Tall Rig, Bow Sprit, Wing Keel) and love my area. The other Catalina 30 was made 8 after mine (I am 5800 and he is 5808).

Slip fees are $1500 for the year. You can stay in all year as Monroe Bay hasn't seen a hard freeze in years. There are a few places to haul out there as well. I am about 1.5 hours from NOVA and I am actually moving to Occquan (residence and not boat).

My marina is a safe marina with a lot of great sailing in the area. There are several nice weekend trips and you are a day out from the Chesapeake Bay. There is also a descent number of us that sail in the area and once in a while we meet up (we have a mailing list).

The slips are generous and wide. There is over 5 foot of depth at a really low tide in the slips.

I paid about $200 in property tax last year.

Let me know if you want more information.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Oh....Jim was right about sailing above the 301 bridge. The winds seem flukier and the river isn't much wider. I have raced from Washington D.C. all the way out to the Potomac River and find the sailing to be much better from the 301 bridge down.

Good day trips from the Cobb Island/Colonial Beach area are:
Canoe Neck Creek
Leonardtown, MD (Bretton Bay)
Nonomi Bay
Kinsale (Yeomico River)
St. Mary's College (St. Mary's River)
Smith Creek (Right before Point Look out which is the mouth of the Potomac River)
Coan River

You are about two days from:
Tangier Island (a must see)
Smith Island
Solomons Island (must see)
Deltaville
Onancock (cool Eastern Shore Place).

Get a cruising guide to the Chesapeake Bay. There is some good information in that. Also, tap the local knowledge. There are a lot of friendly people in the area who will gladly share information and maybe even some RUM!

 

[PotomacDaysailer]

I live in Arlington and sail out of a state park between Occoquan Bay and Quantico on the Potomac. You can make Occoquan in under 45 minutes except in the evening rush hour. Plenty of sea room on the Potomac, but lots of boat traffic too. I don't know much about the marinas down there, seeing as how my boat is just a little day-sailer. I don't think you can get to anywhere on the Chesepeake from Arlington in much less than an hour. Then again there is the tax issue, so you might want to drive the extra time to MD.

San Fran to DC, huh? The local politics and cost of living are much the same. The climate, not so much. Oh, and parking anywhere in Arlington is a nightmare.

Have you thought about sailing your boat around through the Panama Canal (or I guess you could go 'round the Horn!) ? It would be a magnificent cruise, if you had the time.

 

[Warren Milberg]

The choices are almost unlimited. The limiting factors are what kind of sailing you plan on doing (i.e., racing, crusing, day sailing, etc), how much you want to spend, and what you want out of a marina other than a place to park your boat (pool, contractor services, chandlery, picnic facilities, etc). Once you know these things you'll be able to make an informed choice.

I live in Northern VA (Fairfax) and can typically get to my marina in Deale, Md, on the Chesapeake, in about 50 minutes.

 

[KD3PC]

Warren,

You must be flying to get from Fairfax to Deale in 50 minutes...even in non rush hour, I am at least an hour, if not more...

Enjoy

 

[Berndahle]

I live in Annandale which is just a little farther from the bay than Arlington and I've never needed more than 45 min to get to my boat at Herrington Harbour North (ok I try not to go RIGHT during rush hour). It's a great marina, almost like a little resort, if you need any repairs it's all right there, it's at the bay, much cheaper than Annapolis and you avoid the Bay Bridge traffic on Rt 50 or the I-95 traffic to places like Occoquan. There are a few other very nice marinas in Deale that offer fewer amenities but are less expensive.

 

[wonkodsane]

Berndahle,

We should carpool.