North or South of Solomons, MD?

rb437 · Dec 5, 2011

Going north

Going north there is a nice quiet gunkhole with deep water on the north side of Gibson Island. Annapolis and Rock Hall are a few hours away. If you want to go further north than Rock Hall, check out Great Oaks Marina on the Eastern Shore.

Benny17441 · Dec 5, 2011

Don't shortchange Baltimore because it is a big city. Plenty to do around the Inner Harbor both for old and young alike. Phillips Restaurant has delicious Maryland Crab Cakes and you can go anywhere by ferry. As far as a good marina check out the Baltimore Marine Center.

Ron20324 · Dec 5, 2011

Benny17441 said:
...the Inner Harbor both for old and young alike. Phillips Restaurant has delicious Maryland Crab Cakes ....

Uummm... didn't Phillips close that location in I.H.?

srhummer · Dec 5, 2011

Ron,
My understanding - from one of the watresses - is that you are correct but they are moving to the old ESPN End Zone site and will be reopening by spring.

Paul Mermelstein · Dec 5, 2011

While there are lots of options, I think with the kids you might want to do Baltimore's innner harbor, like Benny said. Take them to the Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, and other attractions. Also, you may want to break up the trip, stopping along the way to B-More, both coming and going. That way you can do a bit of gunkholing and/or marina stays.

If that does not appeal to you, there are still lots of options. I do recommend St. Michaels and Oxford. It's a nice trip and you can find marinas all over the place.

There are a couple of great books, including "Guide to Cruising the Chesapeake Bay" by Chesapeake Bay Magazine and "Cruising the Chesapeake: A Gunkholers Guide" by William Shellenberger. Both are excellent reading this winter whille you plan your trip!

Have fun. Start them young. Keep sailing alive.

Bill Roosa · Dec 6, 2011

Kinda depends on the wind and tides and if you are willing to travel during the hours of darkness. At 4 knots and 14 hours the best you can hope is 56 NM per day. Factor in current and the fact that you can almost never go in a straight line due to the wind (you were going to sail and not motor the whole way, right?) and that starts looking more like 25-30 NM per day. The weather forecast will determine north or south so make a plan for both and decide the day of. For the record I spent a whole day going from Sharps Is to the bay bridge motoring against the current. Only started to make some time once the tide turned. Also made the same trip in less than 6 hours with a favorable tide. NOAA has some excellent current tables so you can do some planning based on the specific date of the cruise.
Nothing kills a cruise better than having a scheduel and it gets blown the first day out. then you spend the rest of the "relaxing cruise" trying to make the scheduel.
I'd recommend you get Mr Shellenburger's book and take it with you. Pick all the spots you think you might like to see and then take off in the direction the wind determies the first day. About 3:00 PM you make a port call after discussing with the first mate and crew.

Ron20324 · Dec 6, 2011

I'd suggest Choptank River with your 4/5 day time. Cambridge (39 miles) has a nice municipal marina with a large park for the kids to play around, and it's several blocks to several places to eat. You'd be close to Oxford(35 miles) if you prefer there- to anchor or marina. Up Broad Creek/San Domingo Creek you can go in the "back door" of St Michaels and then dingy in. Lots of stores and waterfront dining.

srhummer · Dec 6, 2011

Roger Long just did a stop in Reedville about half the distance to Deltaville from Solomons, you can look at his log of events since he says "I can’t believe I was even thinking of leaving this place without seeing it." You can find it under Forums / Featured Contributors / Roger Long - Cruising on Strider. He has an 11/11 and an 11/14 entry covering Reedville and it sounded really nice. Made me put it on my list of places to visit.

Ron20324 · Dec 6, 2011

bcollis said:
I considered Cambridge on the way back, since there looks to be a nice Hayatt hotel marina there... In case my wife wants a night in a jacuzzi tub. Other than the golf course though, I'll have to see what might interest the kids.

The bridge is 50 feet.

rgranger · Dec 7, 2011

I did my first mini-cruise in that part of the bay this summer. We left from South River for St. Michael's. St. Michael's is definitely worth visiting. We ate at a very nice restaurant (first one to port as you enter) and they let us stay in a slip for free if we ate at the restaurant. Good deal for us and nice clean showers to boot.

Buck420 · Dec 7, 2011

Brian,

You might want to consider ...
Work up itineraries for ...
Plan A .. Go North ... to Choptank.. ( San Domingo Crk, Oxford, etc.)
Plan B .. Go South ... to Reedville, ..(then? Tangier, Onancock, etc.)

Go with whichever plan best suites the weather for the time you'll be sailing ... or just flip a coin .. which ever works best.

thinwater · Dec 10, 2011

Following the weather can be a great plan, particularly for

It avoids getting beat-up with a crew that isn't used to the mileage.

Smith and Tangier arn't too shallow for you--I've seen far larger boats in both--and they should be on your must-visit list, but not if the marina/restaurant scene is the plan. The lower eastern shore has those things, but is more about solitude, beaches, and exploring. I'm guessing your kids would love Tangier; my daughter makes me take her friends there, and we are one more day away, in Deale.

For the marina scene, head north. I might do:

St. Michaels. A long day.
Annapolis
Hudson Creek on Little Choptank
Home

Much depends on the group. I had a 10-year old for crew on a 2-week trip around the Delmarva and I've taken low-milage marina hopping trips. Really, the possibilities are endless. I've taken many trips with no real plan when I left the dock.

There is also a bunch of stuff on my blog, below.
http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/search/label/Trip Reports

svpattyd · Dec 10, 2011

You could go to Fishing Bay/deltaville area. If u had more time consider Yorktown. Free shuttle to Jamestown and Williamsburg. Mooring balls at Riverwalk or great marina in Sarahs Creek

Also Crisfield is a day away from Solomon's.