Cruise

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rawidman

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Rather than continue to derail another thread and at the suggestion of a couple members, I'm starting a new thread.

My wife and I are planning a cruise this May and June from Charleston, SC to the Chesapeake Bay and back. We used to live outside of Washington, DC and near Frederick, MD and used to boat out of Sandy Point with a smaller boat.

I have a list of possible stops and would like opinions on these and other stops I might have missed. Marina suggestions would be nice also but we would anchor often as well.

AICW:
Edenton, NC
Washington, NC
Bath, NC
Swansboro, NC
Beaufort, NC
Oriental, NC
Elizabeth City, NC
Hampton/Norfolk, VA

Chesapeake Bay:
Solomons Island
Annapolis
Baltimore
Chestertown
St. Michaels
Havre de Grace
Rock Hall
Sasafras River
Chesapeake City
Oxford
Cambridge
Crisfield
Smith Island

Potomac River:
Colonial Beach
Washington, DC
 
Ron will you be taking the Dismal Swamp Canal route?
Looks like a great trip!
Bill
 
Yes, I plan on the Dismal Swamp route. I may not hit all those destinations but I'll do what I can. We like cruising slowly and we like seeing wildlife and quiet anchorages, especially if there's a beach to dinghy to.
 
Sounds like a great trip how long are you planning to taking is this like a one month trip?
 
Solomons - Zahnizer's is a popular, nice full service marina with great staff and a nice pool. A bit further from town is Solomons Harbor Marina that usually does "stay 2, get the 3rd night free" and also has full access to the Olympic pool at the Holiday Inn with pool-side service.

Annapolis - If you like to be in the thick of things, try to get a slip or tie up to the wall at City Dock. Note: this gets rather loud on weekends and you're open to the public. I personally prefer to stay right across the creek at Annapolis City Dock (private, despite the name). Easy walking distance to downtown as well as some very nice Eastport restaurants. For a pool, and cheaper dockage, stay on Back Creek. Port Annapolis Marina is a good one there. You can also pick up a mooring ball in either creek and have the water taxi pick you up.

St. Michaels - St. Micheals Marina is over-priced in my opinion. Family-run Higgins Yacht Yard is cheaper and closer to town, but no pool. We tried St. Michaels Harbour Inn. Small, but nice pool, good docks, nice staff, easy walk to town. DO NOT MISS a meal at Theo's, especially if you like steak. Everything is locally sourced.

Rock Hall - Many choices here. We usually anchor in Swan Creek to the north. Rock Hall Landing Marina is in the main harbor and has a pool with Waterman's restaurant next door plus a few others. Sailing Emporium is a very nice marina, but a longer walk to things. If I was going to stay at a marina I'd probably opt for Sailing Emporium or Osprey Point (floating piers) on the east side in "the haven".

Crisfield - I haven't been there in a while due to getting stuck there for around 4 days and being bored out of my mind! There's a pool, a couple of restaurants, and an ice cream shop. This is the largest state of MD-owned marina in Maryland. If you do stay here, you may as well take one of the tour boats to Tangier Island.

Oxford - Pretty little town. Mears Point is a nice marina with pool. Personally, I'd opt for extra days at St. Michaels over going to Oxford.

Baltimore - Quite a few choices. Harbor East Marina is my personal favorite. Floating piers and very close to downtown. Baltimore is like any other city and has it's crime problems. After dark the good part about Harbor East is that the entire area has it's own security force (not just the marina). There are no shortages of restaurant choices in easy (safe) walking distance. No marina pool, but cheap passes available for pools at nearby athletic club.

Cambridge - There's River Marsh Marina at the Hyatt, and that's about your only choice! The Hyatt has multiple pools. The marina has been running deals the past few seasons. I believe shuttle service into town is available and one or two of the restaurants my offer you a ride. However, if you play golf, this one is worth a stay from what I hear (I don't play golf). A better choice on the Choptank River would be Oxford IMO.
 
I vote no on the DSC. We have done it once, and will not do it again. The only time I would do it again is to skirt weather. If the weather is good I would rather run the other route(s) instead of the canals.
 
Ron, on the NC stretch; Edenton is nice but a fairly long ride up the sound. Another option would be to go out the Neuse river to Okracoke, and then run up the sound to Manteo. From there you can continue north and back to the Albemarle sound to catch the ICW. Weather permitting of course. On the way back South you can then hit Edenton, then the Alligator river, Aligator-Pungo canal to the Pungo river, Bath, Washington, etc.

Sounds like a great trip, enjoy.
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and local knowledge. Everything is appreciated. I have several guides, but personal experience is a big help. Living in MD for 60 years, I've been to Annapolis and Baltimore but only the Baltimore by boat and that was years ago in a small boat.

Many, many years ago (1968 or so) my band played a Christmas dance on Smith Island and we had to load all our stuff in a boat at Crisfield so I feel some connection to the place and taking the tour boat is probably in our plans.

Here's an account of our Florida cruise nearly two years ago:

http://www.widman.biz/indigo/Adventures_of_HIGH_COTTON.pdf
 
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