Where to go this August

Tips on Cruising, Information on Sailing Destinations and Stories about Trips Taken
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Mark
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Where to go this August

Post by Mark »

Does anyone have suggestions as where to cruise this Summer? We keep the boat in Southern Maryland so I fancy a trip down the Chesapeake and then up the "outside passage". That is the passage between Maryland and the Atlantic to Delaware and then back into the Chesapeake. However, the kids want better fishing than the Chesapeake, my wife wants cleaner water and we could all do without the nettles. Last year we sailed down to the outer banks which was fun except we broke a cardinal rule of local boaters, stay away from the channels leading to the Atlantic near 5 pm - the big sport fishing boats return in amazing numbers with huge wakes in channels just wide enough for two boats. Surfing towards the shallows was a unique experience! We have a few weeks so we could trailer the boat to a suitable location.

Mark
rorr1203
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Where to go this August

Post by rorr1203 »

Mark, why not try going North this time. Sail the coasts of CT and NY in Long Island Sound or try the Narragansett Bay and Block Island in Rhode Island. I’ve never cruised those waters, but I have sailed in a couple of regattas on my A Cat - The American YC in Rye, NY and Bristol YC in Bristol, RI. Water temp is great this time of year and lots of ports to stop in.
gary green
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Where to go this August

Post by gary green »

I keep my boat at a marina in Clinton, CT, one of the shoreline towns of CT east of New Haven. I primarily sail Long Island Sound and I think you will find it very enjoyable. I usually sail accross to Mattituck on Long Island's north shore, Port Jeffereson is a great town also on the North Shore. Shelter Isalnd is a favorite of mine as its a very large anchorage and a dinghy hop to some of the Islands features, or with our Telstars you can beach them along the shore or anchor in a foot of water where no on else goes except a few Cats. In fact Billy Joel has a boatbuilding business in that area as well as a home. Three Mile Harbor is another great spot as well as Greenport, Long Island. Orient Point on Long Island's North shore tip and Montauk Point on Long Island's South shore tip provide a lot to see and do. Once inside the tail of Long Island there are a lot of additional marinas and anchorages. In CT along the shore there are plenty of marinas and anchorages like Duck Island Roads in Westport, Old Saybrook, up the Ct River to the town of Essex, go further east to Stonington and as mentioned from there a quick jump off to go to Block Island or back to Newport Rhode Island. Plenty to see and do. Most every spot mentioned is less than a day's sail. The wind on Long Island sound is usually anywhere from 5-15 knots but there are times when it goes 20 and over. While everyone waits for wind I have a great sail in all the wind conditions.

Get one of the Long Island Cruising books as they list all the sites and mark out the anchorages, what to look for and what to expect.

Good sailing,

gary g
Ron
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Where to go this August

Post by Ron »

Mark -

The Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound are two of the best cruising grounds in the world, but both tend to suffer from hot temperatures and little wind in August. The Sound gets a little better further east though. I'm not suggesting any place in particular, just wanted to let you know what to expect there, but as a Chesapeake sailor you're probably aleady aware of the usual conditions on the bay in August.

But - you can do 55 knots to windward with the boat on the trailer, rignt? That opens up the rest of the country. The northern portions of the Great Lakes could be a good spot in August. How about Cape Cod? Maine? As you can see, I'm steering you in a northerly direction. Lots of heat and little wind is no fun.
Ron Marcuse
Telstar 28 #359 "Tri-Power"
MarkB
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Where to go this August

Post by MarkB »

The North Channel of Lake Huron offers some spectacular scenery and good anchorages especially for shoal draft boats. We've put in at Spanish, Ontario and Little Current which is on Manitoulan Island accessible by bridge from the mainland or ferry from Tobermory,Ontario. Also, Tobermormory which is on the tip of the Bruce Peninsula is a prime diving area for shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. The water is cool/cold all summer but most can tolerate a dip without a wet suit. The mosquitoes and blackflies are usually gone early July on and we haven't encountered fog the times we've been. Navigation into shoal areas is best with the sun behind you to avoid the house-sized rocks, but the rewards are some great views especially for bird lovers. I've seen fisherman and there's local commercial netters but I don't know the season or catch. The launch ramps are good and should be no problem for the Telstar. Charts and guidebooks are available at the marinas and we've had no problems with Canadian customs.
MarkB
Mark
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Where to go this August

Post by Mark »

Thanks for your suggestions. We have decided to give the inside/outside passage a try from the potomac to cape Charles, up to Delaware Bay and back into the Chesapeake. There are a couple of 35' bridges which will be a little work. The 10 ft ones may need low tide and we'll have to go outside to bypass the 4' one.

Does anyone have a favorite anchorage in Delaware bay?

I agree that wind in the Chesapeake in Summer can be a problem, although not necessarily lack of it. Last weekend we had great wind (SSW) starting out from St Jerome's creek to the Honga River and were then hit with a severe thunderstorm (60 mph reported by the weather service but the max I saw was 34 knots although I didn't look at the gauge very often. The next day was superb sailing, a broad reach and then close hauled to the Wicomico river to find no jelly fish so we could all swim and knee board without protection. To top it off, sailing back to St Jerome's creek, we had 14-20 knots apparent , from the mouth of the Wicomico to St Jerome's creek all on a port tack. This part of the bay is remarkably free of cruising boats. Two sailboats and a motor boat went up the bay when we started, we saw one anchored motor boat on day 2 and another sail boat going up the bay on day 3. Other than that it was just watermen catching crabs and us.

Hopefully we'll at least get a sea breeze as we travel north along the coast!

Mark
Ron
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Where to go this August

Post by Ron »

Mark -

Sorry to tell you this, but the Delaware Bay is not exactly a boating paradise. I've been through it a dozen times, but in much larger boats where we had absolutely no place to anchor, moor, or hide. You should be able to make it into the Cohansey River where there are a few marina's and some protected water. Don't ignore Cape May either - you can enter it from the ocean side, spend a night or two anchored near the Coast Guard station (or in one of the marina's), then leave Cape May going thru the canal to get to the bay. There's a 55 foot bridge over the canal which won't bother you, but I've never been able to go under it. There are also a couple of small creeks on the bay that you may be able to hide in, but they're really for smaller boats.

The absolute best place to stop on the C&D canal is in Chesapeake City - opposite where Schaefers Canal House used to be. You want to anchor in the Army Corp of Engineers basin, near a nice restaruant called "The Chesapeake Inn". They've got slips as well if you want that.

A word of advice - Do not get caught on the Delware Bay if the weather gets nasty. It's got to be one of the worst places to be in a storm. And take a look at the tide and current charts - you can get over 3 knots of it going the wrong way.
Ron Marcuse
Telstar 28 #359 "Tri-Power"
Mark
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Where to go this August

Post by Mark »

Thanks Ron for the heads up on Delaware Bay. The mouth of the Delaware looks pretty scary on the chart - I don't like names such as "Overfalls Shoal". I am no longer used to strong currents. I spent a lot of time sailing in the Bristol Channel and around the coast of Wales where the tidal range could exceeded 30 feet - overfalls off every headland! For a view of my old anchorage in the Mumbles- http://tallyho.bc.nu/~steve/tides.html . And recommendations for anyone planning on sailing in Wales, two of my favorite harbors, Tenby and Saudersfoot (just use very long dock lines when using the visitors wall!).

Mark



Tenby tenby-harbour.jpg (27.02 KiB) Viewed 44 times



Saudersfoot saundersfoot.jpeg (43.05 KiB) Viewed 44 times

Ron
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Where to go this August

Post by Ron »

The problem with Delaware Bay is that it is shallow and it's a large open triangle facing the ocean. When the wind and surf are strong and coming from the direction of the sea, everything bounces off of the two shorelines and you get pounded from all 3 sides at the same time by nearly square waves. Looks like a mix-master almost. And you've got almost no where to hide, especially in a larger boat. Been there, done that.

Check the weather forecast before you sail through there. Cape May is a great place to hide for a day or more waiting for either tide or weather. The harbor is very protected.
Ron Marcuse
Telstar 28 #359 "Tri-Power"
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