DELMARVA preparations

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by NedX

Thinwater, what's the deal with Great Machipongo? It looks like it's pretty deep and then there's an unmarked section of the chart... I guess that means shifting conditions? Is it navigable by a keel boat? [I promise to read your blog now]

UPDATE: That's an incredible blog (and not just because my signature and your intro quote the same knowledgeable rodent)

I've used Sand Shoal Inlet, Great Machapingo Inlet, and Quinby Inlet, but the ATNs are not charted and they can change. Generally, they are deep, but these inlets are not closely monitored by the Coast Guard and you really need to hear it from someone who has been there in the last few months.



Wachapreague Inlet is more used and is well marked, but it generally has a 7-foot bar that breaks in on-shore conditions.


As for the inside passage (Virginia Intercoastal Passage, AKA VIP) you have WAY too much draft; anything more than 3 feet is asking for trouble.



(Cobb Island Station ~ 15 years ago--I understand it is nearly gone now. My boat at the time, a Stiletto 27, was very shallow draft, though the harbor by the station was ~ 15 feet even near shore.)

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I've used Sand Shoal Inlet, Great Machapingo Inlet, and Quinby Inlet, but the ATNs are not charted and they can change. Generally, they are deep, but these inlets are not closely monitored by the Coast Guard and you really need to hear it from someone who has been there in the last few months.



Wachapreague Inlet is more used and is well marked, but it generally has a 7-foot bar that breaks in on-shore conditions.


As for the inside passage (Virginia Intercoastal Passage, AKA VIP) you have WAY too much draft; anything more than 3 feet is asking for trouble.



(Cobb Island Station ~ 15 years ago--I understand it is nearly gone now. My boat at the time, a Stiletto 27, was very shallow draft, though the harbor by the station was ~ 15 feet even near shore.)

Translation: If you have any keel at all like 4' to 5' or more, stay away from those lower Eastern Shore Barrier Island inlets unless you have local knowledge.

[brewski]

I've done this trip a few years ago in a 30' boat. We went counter-clockwise, starting in the C&D and making stops in Annapolis, Solomon's, and Hampton VA.

The Chesapeake to Delaware trip was light wind, but we had a great sail hard on the wind from Solomons to Hampton.

I see no reason to stop anywhere on the Maryland/Delaware coastline, it's shallow draft throughout and I imagine it could kick up like a bear and create some very unfriendly conditions. Also, the point of the entire trip is to do some ocean sailing and stretch your legs, right?

So I would recommend ending your trip by coming up the Delaware bay. I'd recommend doing that during the day, and with a favorable tide. Navionics or other apps have tide/current markers you can examine.

Cape May is worth a stop with some affordable marinas and a nice beach. Use this to stage your trip up the Delaware bay, which is a **** piece of narrow and shallow water. Hampton or Norfolk are suitable for staging the ocean leg.

All in all a very nice trip. Don't rush it, or it will feel like work instead of play.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by thomm225

It would probably be best to avoid both the Wachapreague Inlet or the Great Machipongo Inlet unless you have some sort of an emergency.

Wachapreague itself is miles from the inlet and there are lots of low spots going in.

You need local knowledge for the inlet if you have a normal draft.

There's nothing in the Great Machipongo inlet that would be worth going in there for except for shelter from bad weather.

There's a pretty cool island with part of an abandoned old Coast Guard station just inside and hang a left in Wachapreague, we were the only ones there for two days in August, so that was a somewhat unique and fun experience for our family. The town is definitely way in and not much there when you get there. I agree that I definitely wouldn't do that inlet with a deep draft and any seas over a foot or two, but if it's flat we had at least 10' of depth all the way following what was then the marked channel. The trick is that it might not be calm seas the next day, so definitely keep an eye on the weather if you're at all worried about depth.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

There's a pretty cool island with part of an abandoned old Coast Guard station just inside and hang a left in Wachapreague, we were the only ones there for two days in August, so that was a somewhat unique and fun experience for our family. The town is definitely way in and not much there when you get there. I agree that I definitely wouldn't do that inlet with a deep draft and any seas over a foot or two, but if it's flat we had at least 10' of depth all the way following what was then the marked channel. The trick is that it might not be calm seas the next day, so definitely keep an eye on the weather if you're at all worried about depth.

Yeah, there was also the old Coast Guard station at Metompkin inlet on Cedar Island

I used to fish both Metompkin and Wachapreague Inlets.

In Summer for flounder then in the fall for Trout.

I've gone out to Wachapreague Inlet from both the town of Wachapreague and also from Quinby, and Burton Shore on my 14' aluminum boat with 25 Evinrude back maybe 46 years ago

We used to put the boat in at Burton Shore back in the day and catch doormat size flounder at Metompkin.

Every now and then we'd go outsde thru Metompkin Inlet which could get quite shallow. So much so that I remember riding the back of a breaking wave thru it coming back in

Several Guys on my Little League team worked on their Dad's Charter boats out of Wachapreague back in the day. They fished Norfolk Canyon for marlin on their old wooden charter boats

All the stores though that used to be in Wachapreague are now closed, but the Island House restaurant is still open.

I think the town has maybe a population of 300 these days and a post office.

Photo is of the ferris wheel at Wachapreague Carnival.

I rode it with my 5th grade girl friend. You could easily see the ocean from the top.

https://www.theislandhouserestaurant.com/Home

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bu...!4d-75.6631626