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Chesapeake Adventure!
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stclairgal



Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 55
City/Region: St Clair Shores
State or Province: MI
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Dragonfly
Photos: Dragonfly
PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2018 11:59 am    Post subject: Chesapeake Reply with quote

Hi John and Eileen,
you will LOVE the Chesapeake. There are SO many nice places to visit. A few years back we lived in Norfolk and later in Baltimore. Some of our favorites were:
Smithfield, VA
Portsmouth, VA
St Michaels, MD
Chestertown, MD
Rock Hall, MD
Annapolis, MD

Steve Baum is a C-brat who lives in Portsmouth - I am sure he will share some of his knowledge with you. Steve organizes a C-brat outing or two just about every year. Steve and his wife Joan are wonderful people.
Have fund and watch out for those pesky crab pots!

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Joyce and Wolfgang
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robhwa



Joined: 04 Dec 2013
Posts: 272
City/Region: Anderson Island
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2003
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Marcia C
Photos: Problemadela
PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2018 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Chesapeake mariners, beware, everywhere (it seems): crab pots, fish nets
and shoaling galore (not to mention restricted areas military jets use for
practice strafing). Don't take it personally.


Crabbing will usually be done with lines in the shallower north Bay and Bay tributaries. There are usually only two floats usually, though the baited line can be a half mile long, with sinkers to keep bait and line on the bottom. Not a snagging problem like crab (Chesapeake Bay) and lobster pots (Maine), which are put out by the hundreds in deeper water, and easily snaggable when the tide stretches the sinking line (by law) toward the surface. It can be fun to watch a crabber work the line, slowly moving with the "roller" bringing the line off the bottom, and the crabber netting crabs as fast as they can. I've posted a couple of pictures of this technique under "Maryland Line Crabbing" in my photo section.

In the north, crabs don't arrive in abundance until late August and into September. These crabs MOVE...thus the term "Beautiful Swimmer". Larger waters are also more sheltered in the North, and most large boats turn into Baltimore, though some will continue into Delaware Bay through the C&D canal. If you do go into Delaware Bay, a visit to Schaefer's Canal House is popular. They have a free dock. Also, Lewes, Delaware and nearby Cape May, NJ, can be a birders paradise, as many species of migrating birds rest either before or after crossing the mouth of Delaware Bay. This isn't quite as dramatic or as dangerous as the mouth of the Chesapeake, which is much busier with "bigger" weather.

Geez, your posts are already making me start thinking of a Fall trip back here where I grew up and rediscovering all of those neat places again.
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ssobol



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 3362
City/Region: SW Michigan
State or Province: MI
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: SoBELLE
Photos: SoBelle
PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2018 1:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

With something like a C-Dory, crab pots are not a big concern. It is easy to pass between/around them. Also, the shallow draft means that a lot more of the bay is open to a C-Dory than to some other boats.

So far, we've only got stuck once in one of the tributaries to the bay and it was easy to pole off.
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gulfcoast john



Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 989
City/Region: PENSACOLA
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2010
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Cat O' Mine
Photos: CAT O' MINE
PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2018 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks all for your suggestions and comments…believe me, Eileen and I are carefully looking at each!
We’ve therefore decided to ‘cut’ the Dismal Swamp Loop off this trip (that’s 178 water miles) and defer it for another adventure. Technically, it’s not part of the Chesapeake anyway.
We plan on using a technique we used on the Hontoon River Adventure…cruise up any un-familiar river or shallow or complex area on one engine (with the other down but off) at 5-7MPH. Some depths charted as 0 ft were really 5, and some charted as 5 ft were really 2. This gives lots and lots of time to make notations on the plotter as waypoints and comments. Then return at lowest cruise speed through the least complex areas after we’ve been through them at least once. The ‘off’ engine or prop is unlikely to be damaged by by a slow-speed strike when the hydraulics kick it up with a strike.
I’m always aghast at the 10 million lobster trap between Key West and Dry Tortugas on the Fast Ferry or seaplane. Of course, in the winter (who goes there in the summer?) there is ALWAYS a 15-20 knot NE trade wind with whitecaps which completely engulf the typical trap buoy, which is 2-4 painted Styrofoam balls the size of a small Florida orange, and when painted white or green or blue are invisible in the billion whitecaps around you. We can’t imagine the Chesapeake could be any worse than that on the days we would consider cruising.
We are planning with a 2014 Garmin Vision Mid-Atlantic SD card from Amazon which is pretty obviously counterfeit ($78 vs vs $378 for the current genuine Garmin SD card).
I also have Rose Point Coastal Explorer 2011 for the laptop with maps and sealed GPS USB sensor and un-opened NMEA2000 Gateway that is supposed to be much more intuitive to use with free maps. But I just can’t get myself to like it. Bob warns laptop screens aren’t bright enough to use, though I’ve only tried home use. Pat Anderson made it work somehow on his Loop. Anyway, I’ll sell the whole $650 combo for the first $250 and pay for Priority shipping to the first Brat who wants it with 14 day return full refund. Send me a PM to get it if you want it. I’ve been dealing with the primitive, free non-Windows Garmin Homeport interface so long that to me at least, modern Windows 10 commands and files seem more cumbersome. I know it’s just what I’m used to. However, compared to Garmin the Rose Point Tech support is fabulous…US (California) based real techs pick up in person on the second ring and know your issue very well every time. I admit it is a superior product…just not for me.
Today added 200 ft of Lewmar ½’ plaited windlass line to my 90 ft of G4 ¼” Hi Test chain with a link pounded and epoxied with JB weld. Partly cleaned up a rat’s nest of excess wiring to the Helm Bus (now 2).
We both conclude the Deckadence marine carpeting, esp in the cockpit, is the best boat improvement we’ve ever done. Everything (sand, dirt, wind debris, pollen, dead bugs) goes through it where it’s never seen underneath). Never, EVER show anyone what’s under there, or they’ll want it. If the entire cockpit looks and feels like pristine plastic carpet, who cares what’s hidden under there?
Thanks again, we really appreciate the experiences you have, and it’s comforting to know what others have already successfully done.
Happy Boating!
John and Eileen

_________________
John and Eileen Highsmith
2010 Tom Cat 255, Cat O' Mine
Yamaha F150, LXF150
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ssobol



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 3362
City/Region: SW Michigan
State or Province: MI
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: SoBELLE
Photos: SoBelle
PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2018 10:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

FWIW, any place you'd want to anchor in the bay area is likely to less than 10' deep. Most rode I've ever paid out in that area is ~30' (+10' chain on the anchor).
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gulfcoast john



Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 989
City/Region: PENSACOLA
State or Province: FL
C-Dory Year: 2010
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Cat O' Mine
Photos: CAT O' MINE
PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Greetings from Annapolis, aboard the NSA Navy Lodge.
We left home June 1. Thanks to all who posted very helpful comments and suggestions and recommendations…all appreciated and all right on, especially re how we were too ambitious in our initial plans.
We replaced the Chinese trailer tires mfg in 2014 with Goodyear Endurance (the only radial ST trailer tire you can buy that is made in the USA , DOT date March 2018). The only trailer tire with an N (87 MPH) speed rating, although I don’t advise towing a TomCat over 85 MPH (just kidding, mine likes 60-65 MPH). No ‘bucking’ at certain speeds. The last time we felt that bucking it got so bad on the old trailer the PVC guide-on pipes both broke off on I-10, and my tire guy found that all 5 Carlisle tires were delaminating (no warranty for that of course though only 2 years from date of mfg).
We are a bit amazed at how HUGE the Chesapeake really is with all its rivers and shoreline. We trailered 1,000 miles (less than to Key West from Pensacola, surprisingly) with the worst experience being taking over 3.5 hours to get through Atlanta on I-85 during a minor thunderstorm with fender bender wrecks every mile. We launched at Sandy Point State Park as advised by the Gathering commodore, but after filing our float plan at the park the next day a ranger called and said their policy had changed due to staffing shortfalls and now a maximum of 10-14 days was allowed…but allowed us to stay (by then we were in a Rock Hall marina). For a mid-bay launch, the public ramp at Kent Narrows is adequate for a R-31 and private secured trailer parking is close by.
This was our first cruise without Moby Dick, the HD2500 support truck. We stashed over 30 days provisions in a 20 qt Igloo Marine Offshore and 25 qt RTIC (iced) and 2 Engel 30 qt dry/coolers for dry goods and a West Marine zip duffel. Brie cheese and wine is 3-6 times more expensive in the resort towns and marinas. Our best new skill is learning to cook well on the boat, to the point that we would rather do that than eat out. At Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (our last 2 nights) eating out 3 meals with tips would top $200/day. We really like the NuWave Gold induction cookplate (thanks for the tip, Bob!), Coleman propane 2 burner (not used this trip), toaster, Med Breville toaster oven and Mr Coffee with SS (no glass) carafe.
We had 1 day of Gale and 4 days of Small Craft Warnings of the 24 total. Rented Enterprise car for those and continued exploring. Coolest days were 58 degrees and windy (surprised us) and warmest 90 degrees and more humid than Pensacola. We ended up not anchoring out in the weather we had.
We settled on hi tech zip-off long pants and a marine 1500w electric heater which worked out well along with rooftop Coleman 13k AC. Dockwa.com works well, read the cancellation rules.
Honk if you see us on the road home!
John
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