Marinas in the Chesapeake

[gnzoidberg]

Hi everybody,

I am looking for a marina in the Chesapeake area for the summer and into the fall. It's for a Catalina 25, so 25' and ~3' draft with a swing keel. Any recommendations?

Ideally it'd have a ramp and storage for a trailer as well (though it's not a requirement). Or if you can recommend websites that that list marinas that works too. All I know is that they exist.

Regards,
Ian

[thomm225]

Which part of the Chesapeake?

It's about 150 miles long and 30 miles wide in places.

[gnzoidberg]

Good point. Well, I'll be driving from Arlington so wherever I can get on the water and sailing the fastest. I'd say a within 10 minutes driving from Annapolis, from South of Baltimore down to Chesapeake Beach on that shore.

[MARC D]

Have a look at Hartge Yatch Harbour. In Galesville. We spent many wonderful months there. Very nice people running the place. Reasonable rates (in 2012...)

[The Traveler]

There's a new marina in Annapolis, South Annapolis Yacht Center. https://www.southannapolisyachtcentre.com/dockage

They have some affordable slips (dock F) if you don't mind not having your own dock.

Both Herrington Harbor's in Deale are beautiful but pricey. Shipwright is nice, in Deale as well.

Pirates Cove, in Galesville, isn't in the best condition but may be more affordable.

There are a ton of small marina's between Baltimore and Deale.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by The Traveler

There's a new marina in Annapolis, South Annapolis Yacht Center. https://www.southannapolisyachtcentre.com/dockage

They have some affordable slips (dock F) if you don't mind not having your own dock.

Both Herrington Harbor's in Deale are beautiful but pricey. Shipwright is nice, in Deale as well.

The new marina in Annapolis is an interesting find, thanks for posting.

FWIW, their annual slip rate for the boat we're hoping to buy... would ~3x higher than Hartge's and ~2.5x higher than Herrington Harbor North.

-Chris

[LouK]

Two places that I would recommend are:
Seashell Marina (Don) 301-370-3717 in Eastport
Whitehall Marina (John) 410-757-4819 on Whitehall Creek just before the bridge

Neither have loading ramps but both are considerably more reasonable that that of the previous post. Both are smaller, well-managed establishments, not too fancy & easy to deal with.

LouK

[mvmojo]

Check out Olverson's Lodge Creek Marina. It's on the Yeocomico River on the south side of the Potomac. Very protected, fair prices, pool, two ramps, bathhouse, trailer storage, friendly owners. We kept our boat there for years.

(804) 529-5071 or https://www.olversonsmarina.com/

[marcjsmith]

no ramp at paradise marina in deale, but you could probably talk to john about storage of the trailer.


I make the drive from Vienna to deale takes about an hour. unless someone does something stupid on 495.

[Scrimshaw4]

I'd recommend that you get a copy of the Waterway Guide for the Chesapeake Bay. You'll find a wealth of information about all the marinas in The Bay plus a lot of information about cruising in the Chesapeake. JMHO

[cruising_ollie]

I like the publications from Atlantic Cruising Club.
https://www.atlanticcruisingclub.com/Store/Product/1

[Ted Zook]

We've been docking our Albin 27 Family Cruiser at Cather Marine (https://cathermarine.com/) since 1985, which we chose on the basis of our good experiences with them beforehand. It's a family-run concern located on a tributary of a tributary of the Lower Potomac in St. Mary's County MD. My trust in them is absolute. They re-powered our boat a few years ago with a Beta 85 -- there was nothing wrong with the boat's original 78 hp Nissan; however, Nissan discontinued supporting the engine parts-wise years ago so I figured that it "was time" to re-power. We independently came to the conclusion that the Beta 85 was the best choice -- 100% mechanical with no "black boxes" which could fail at inopportune times. It was an extremely tight fit; however their professionalism saw it through to conclusion.

In short, I can't recommend them highly enough. It's a boatyard, not a resort marina, but it has been meeting our needs 100% for decades. It's about 70 miles from our home in Arlington; a nice 1-1/2 to 2-hour drive away. In my opinion, there's no closer place that's farther away for a complete change of pace. Also, most of the time we're out on the Lower Potomac and its tributaries, most of the other boats are working watermen (the area is richly-endowed with crab, oysters, clams and finfish), instead of drunk 1-percenters impressing clients with the size of their wakes.

Uncovered slips are $125/month (https://cathermarine.com/slips-%26-storage).

If you reach out to them, please feel free to mention that it was at my suggestion with my highest recommendation.

Due to the inordinate amount of construction traffic -- particularly debris-spewing dump trucks -- on MD 5, Indian Head Highway and US 301, if time permits we take a more leisurely route: https://goo.gl/maps/HSmcPng41rMoFSpb8 -- but on weekends one must keep an eye peeled for cyclists.

This should give you a good idea of the area:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJIF...bertDonaldson;

here's the NOAA Chart: https://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/12286.shtml.

Good luck!

[gnzoidberg]

Thank you for your suggestions. I will be reviewing all of them. Also thank you for pointing out the Waterway Guide for the Chesapeake Bay. I was actually think about getting it precisely to look at marinas there as well.

Regarding the Potomac. It's been suggested to me that I consider sailing there instead since it's closer to Arlington. How realistic is this for a 25 feet, 4 feet draft Catalina 25? I had the impression I'd be doing a lot of tacking in a narrow channel.

Ian

[Ted Zook]

There are several sailboats docked at Cather Marine. The river itself at that point is as wide as the bay is at Annapolis. The entrance to St. Patrick Creek is narrow; sailors always power in. Here is Cather's guidance for entering St. Patrick Creek:

"Cather Marine is located on St. Patrick's Creek, just north of Colton's Point and St. Clements Island. The channel entrance begins at Red Flashing #2. Steer directly for Red #4. This mark is in the center of the channel, so pass it as close as possible. The Green can buoy adjacent to it is on the shoal, so stay away from it. Next, steer for the center of the next set of red and green marks. Do not steer for the red mark as it shoals somewhat on that side. After this, just follow the next two red and green marks and stay in the middle of the creek until you get to Cather's on the left."

There are several wide creeks in the area, both on that side of the Potomac and on the Virginia side. We often enjoy cruising to them and anchoring out for the night.

The only waterfront restaurant in the area: http://www.morris-point.com/; https://youtu.be/hdxXdiffL6U.

A chart of the immediate area: https://bit.ly/3vbZbaF.

A video of the approaches to Cather Marine: https://youtu.be/FJIF5b2WPow.

A broader chart of the area, which can be zoomed to provide detail: https://charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/12286.shtml.

The Lower Potomac is vast with many enjoyable destinations for slower-moving boats such as our Albin. We've docked it there since 1985, and have never regretted it. A word of warning: one must always keep an eye on the weather!

[marcjsmith]

If your gonna come up the Potomac. Look at Washington sailing marina just south of national airport. Call and see if they have any slips avail Might get lucky. But yeah the further up river you get. It’s a lot of tacking or motoring
I had my albacore there fo quite a few years