Cruising the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River

P

PlanB

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Joane and I are planning to cruise the Chesapeake and Delaware this June, in convunction with the arrival of another Grandson. At first glance, Woodbridge, VA looks like a good starting point due to the proximity of I95 and an Amtrac station. Does anybody out there know this area? The plan is to tow to Woodbridge, launch, and drive the truck and trailer to a point on the Delaware 15 miles above Philadelphia, and return to Woodbridge via Amtrac.

Baby is due June 28, so will set off around June 15.

If anyone can offer tips, or suggestions, please respond.

Cruising with other C-Dories is always a pleasure, looking forward to meeting other Dory sailors out there.

Duane,
Plan B
 
Hey Duane,

I'll probably notice as it happens, but drop me a note if a date gets solidified. I'll add a signup sheet and calendar entry for you guys.
 
Duane,
Save a day & night for the Sasafrass River. It's about a dozen miles south of where you'd entere the C&D Canal to get over to the Delaware River.

Turn right at Betterton and enjoy about 8 miles of a beautiful river. Sailed on it for a few years. Plenty of marinas with facilities at the Georgetown end. Try dinner at the Granary Restaurant. You'll enjoy the sunset from your table.

Plenty of places to anchor out & be protected.

Have a good trip.
 
A good convenient stop on the canal is Schaeffers. They have fuel, moorage and an excellent restaurant. North of Philly you can get fuel and moorage at Dredge Harbor on the Jersey side, just south of Rancocas Creek., and Jack's Marina on the Pennsylvania side. Further up in Burlington is Curtin's Marina. If you go up to Bordentown eat at Mastoris Diner. Dont forget to take a look at the battleship New Jersey (BB-62) as you pass Philly. You can't miss it. I know you will meet a lot of nice people along the way.
 
More-I forgot to tell you that for about $7.00 you can tie up at the Camden Marina right next to the battleship and take a tour of it. Then walk to the world class New Jersey State Aquarium. From the Aquarium you can take a water taxi ride to Philadelphia and see the sights.
 
Duane, sounds like a great trip. I've got a place in Cod Creek, probably a day's trip down the Potomac just before you turn into the Chesapeake and head North. Have lived in Woodbridge, there are several good spots to launch. I've got a home in Stafford, probably 30 minutes south of there where you could leave your rig if you like. I'm sure I could manage to meet you on Amtrak at Quantico or in Fredricksburg (the nearest Amtrak stops) and get you back to your rig. As an alternative, there are some good marinas just a mile from me in Stafford, another 20 miles down the Potomac - not much to see between Woodbridge and Stafford -- Aquia Creek. Think about it, I'll work with you and may even cruise with you for a day or two.

Charlie
 
Marty - I'll bet that is not far from my alma matter - Rutgers-Camden Law School, in the shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge! And the world famous Campbell's Soup factory!
dotnmarty":1entq8rj said:
More-I forgot to tell you that for about $7.00 you can tie up at the Camden Marina right next to the battleship and take a tour of it. Then walk to the world class New Jersey State Aquarium. From the Aquarium you can take a water taxi ride to Philadelphia and see the sights.
Click to expand...
 
Pat, There is also a beautiful minor league baseball stadium, a riverwalk and condos at the old RCA Victor ("his master's voice")plant. Sadly there is also the big prison just north of the bridge.
 
We are just about 20 miles north of Woodbridge in Alexandria, VA. Would love to join up with you for a cruise when you arrive. There is an excellent book called Cruising the Chesapeake: a Gunkholers Guide by Richard Shellenberger. It has good descriptions of marinas, creeks, and attractions of the whole bay and most of the tributaries.
 
Thank You all for the comments and suggestions. I am plotting these locations on a MS Streets and Trips Map, and will try to organize a cruise around them.
Keep those cards and letters coming in!
Duane and Joane
Plan B
 
We almost did your route, in reverse, last fall. Ended up just doing the Potomac, and parts of the southern Chesapeake. You should have a super trip. My only suggestion would be to consider launching right in downtown D.C. at, say, the Columbia Island Marina, take your rig back north, and then take Amtrak to D.C. Take a cab or bus from the bus station to CIsland. Spend the night on board, and get an early start in the morning. At least to us, there's something magical about D.C.

Also found Crusing The Chesapeake most useful, and supplemented it with ADC's Chesapeake Bay, Maryland and Virginia, available at most boating stores.

Suggest you contact all marinas in advance to confirm availability of slips and gas. Some marinas were knocked out by Isabell, and the boats have stacked up in musical chairs fashion all the way to D.C. I'd take along a couple of 5 gallon jugs of gas, so you don't have to make unnecessary stops just to top off.
 
Thanks for the info on DC, I am also fond of our nations capital.
Is Capital Island at the confluence of the Patomac and Anacostia Rivers?
Are DC marinas expensive?
Thanks again,
Duane
 
Charlie,
I found Stafford on the map. I see it's close to I-95 also.
Some other folk's mentioned launching and staying in DC; which sounds great, except for dragging the 8 1/2 foot wide boat through that Washington traffic!
I do want the tow vehicle in Philly, when the Grandson arrives.
Duane
 
Duane & Joanne,
Nice to see someone talking about a trip on the east coast.
We are anchored on the Chester River off the Chesapeake near Rock Hall, MD. Maybe we can meet you somewhere on the Bay. Lankford Bay Marina, where we are located, is a nice clean marina, family oriented with small pool and clean bathrooms and Doug says tell you they have GAS. We are located just an hour from the bay on Lankford Creek off of the Chester River. It is another hour up to Chestertown from there.
Nice quiet, scenic area.
Maybe if some other C-Dory people read this we can get more together in one meet.
We live near the Philadelphia airport if you have any trouble with the truck/trailer commute.

Doug & Anne
 
Columbia Island Marina is at N 38 52.398, W 77 02.945, which by land directions, is just north of the Pentagon, at the NW corner of the interesection of 395/295 and 1. Phone number is 202/347-0103. Ask for Renee Sanders, who is the manager. Columbia Island is one of the few D.C. area marinas which sell gas.

My limited experience is that most of the public marinas in the D.C. area are fairly cheap (say, $1.25/per foot, give or take), since they're all operated under license from the U.S. Forest or Park Service, or some such agency.

Highway traffic was one of our concerns, too. However, having trailered our boat back from Baltimore, and driven in this area a fair amount, we're convinced that traffic is a hastle all the way from well south of D.C., to Philadelphia, with only a few stretches that aren't tough. When we were planning our trip, we only considered driving the problem areas during "off peak" hours. Don't recall what those were, so you'll have to be creative. Really shouldn't be all that bad, since you can do the whole thing on major interstate (95, 495, 295 or 395), which might move slow, but has wider lanes than anything you'll find on city streets.
 
Thanks to Charie, Pat, Alma's Only, and all the others that have contributed to my planning. There is another thread currently running in this forum, titled "Potomac River", discussing much of the same area. Perhaps we should move to that thread.
Also, it sounds as though there is enough interest to investigate a C-Dory gathering. Check out the Potomac River thread for a proposal.
Thanks again,
Duane, Joane, Mine, and Tiny aboard Plan B
 
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