Chesapeake bay cruising advice

[Hardrightrudder]

We’re looking at heading north from Oriental, NC starting in April and want to check out the Chesapeake bay before making our way back to Maine later in the summer.. We skipped it on our way south a few years ago due to being behind the weather.

Any and all advice for places to go. Family of three with a 4 year old boy.

Cheers-

[Hardrightrudder]

Forgot to mention: 39’ sailboat with a 6’ draft.

[TheOffice]

Lots of options! Norfolk, Solomons, Annapolis,St Michael’s, Baltimore are obvious

[thomm225]

You can actually get into Onancock with that draft. It's on the Eastern Side of the bay near the widest part which is about 30 miles wide.

It's about 5 miles I think "up the creek!"

I used to come out of there to fish over near Watts Island or Tangier Island on my 14' aluminum boat.

In High School, we always knew the tides practically by smell.

https://www.waterwayguide.com/featur...ck-town-marina

Mobjack Bay on the West side also gives you lots of options.

[AA3JY]

The key question should be asked how much time one has to spend in the Chesapeake..’cause it would a take more than lifetime to see(visit) the Chesapeake..

[puffcard]

Great cruising grounds. Lets us know how long, I know that's a copout answer. Recommend 2 weeks min.

[hlev00]

This blog entry is the first for our stops up the Chesapeake after our leaving the ICW at Norfolk in May 2019. Other stops are in subsequent posts.

https://juno423.blogspot.com/2019/05...hesapeake.html All of the stops were terrific.



Stopping in Norfolk or Chesapeake and picking up a rental car for a day up to Yorktown was a good detour too.
https://juno423.blogspot.com/2019/05...cht-basin.html

[Hardrightrudder]

We will have about 7 weeks.

[ranger58sb]

For anchorages, look at "Cruising the Chesapeake, a Gunkholer's Guide" by Bill Shellenberger.

For "town" (sorta) visits along that route, at least starting north of the Patuxent River:
- Solomons Island
- Cambridge
- Oxford
- Knapp's Narrows
- Deale
- St Michaels
- Kent Narrows
- Annapolis
- Rock Hall
- Chestertown (maybe)
- Bal'mer
- Havre d' Grace
- Chesapeake City
- Delaware City
- Lewes
- Cape May

See Waterway Guide, ActiveCaptain, etc.

-Chris

[Bean Counter]

We found the waterways guide very useful, as was Active Captain
https://www.waterwayguide.com/ship-store/product/92

[deltaten]

TowBoatUS membership and gold level insurance at least..
Lotsa nice places on the Bay; but a lot of them are near/less tha 6 feet.
Just sayin'

[puffcard]

Seven weeks that's great.
List given are good, I've cruised the bay for over 50 years and haven't seen all of it. Here's a few favs, I haven't seen listed for the mid and lower bay
Any creek off Fleets Bay, beautiful.
Mill Creek off the Great Wicomico, the very best. Be certain to go well in.
Fishing Bay and Deltaville both sides.
After 50 years for the first time we went into Reedville. Great little town and super carry out seafood at a good price
The Rappahannock, so many anchorages with small towns like Irvington and Urbana. Spend a night at Tides Inn.
The Corrotoman River is special, many anchorages.
Anchor behind the sandy beach on the south end of Gwynn's Island, a must do nothing like it.
Anchor in the East River of Mobjack Bay just past John Lennon's old house with the tide Mill and at high tide with the dinghy go up the creek to the town of Mathews for Market Days or lunch.
Onancock and Cape Charles great towns on Va Eastern Shore
Go to Tangier Island and dock at Mr Parks, he's been there since I was a kid. Get a golf cart and grab crab cake from Lorraine's. It is an easy walk, the cart is just cool way to get around on the Island.

[sailorboy1]

Norfolk/Portsmouth - marine museum and museum
Jamestown - settlement
Yorktown - battle field and HUGE war museum for history
Solomon - museum and lighthouse
Reedsville - museum on the menahen fishing that you will probably see the fleet on way in
Annapolis - mainly for the Naval Academy
St Mary's in Potomac - first MD capital
Mount Vernon up Potomac - George Washington's estate
Washington DC - anchor in Capital channel, the best deal ever to see FREE museums
St Michael's - another maritime museum

then of course there are gunk holes and quaint towns here and there

[Tortuga's Lie]

If you want to go for towns, the obvious ones have been mentioned but one in particular may be the only one left with a grocery store within walking distance from the dinghy dock and that is the small historic town of Urbanna, on the Rappahannock. Also on the Rappahannock is the Corrotoman River, which can handle deep draft sailboats and has lots of gunk holes.
The lower Potomac River has too many anchorages to mention, but the St. Mary's river is worth exploring and up to Horseshoe bend at St. Mary's College, nice grounds to walk around.
I'll second Onancock Virginia, small, quaint and some nice restaurants, art galleries and historic homes and gardens.
Cape Charles is worth a visit but you need to plan on a marina there as there is no anchorages.
In settled weather, Kiptopeke State Park has a nice beach, good fishing and plenty of hiking trails
Rock Hall, St. Michael's, Annapolis are musts. Baltimore is a big city and can be iffy at night but probably safe during the day. Fell's Point area has been revitalized, so that's a good bet.

The Chesapeake can take a lifetime to explore, something like 11,000 + miles of shoreline to explore!

[rmhutch59]

Yorktown is cool, lots of history within walking distance. I also endorse Onancock, closer to 6 miles from creek entrance. Prettiest town on the Eastern Shore of VA (my hometown) Cape Charles is great too, town dock is a very nice marina. Tangier is a place out of time, but check the depths.