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Boat/trailer storage for Chesapeake sailing


tom151

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Hello all,

Hope to spend the early/mid/late summer sailing various parts of the Chesapeake Bay this summer.

I live in Massachusetts but I am looking for advice on possible locations in the area for economically storing my trailerable 24' boat for the summer (maybe winter too) so I can drive down to the boat,go to a lunch ramp, rig & launch -- then sail for a week or two at a time.

The key here is "economical" so if that means a very rural area or some out of the way place on the MD/DE peninsula that's fine. I won't mind a drive to a boat ramp as it won't be like it's an every weekend thing. That said, the closer to my daughter in Washington, DC the better -as long as it's affordable.

Of course, personal recommendations would be great - but if you know of a guy who knows a guy... that might lead to something too.

Thanks for any help/ideas you might be able to share,

Tom

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Tom,

If you are interested in boat storage in Poquoson, VA, PM me. We have private land there a short walk from a nice, public ramp and may be able to help you. Google Poquoson. It is a short drive from Hampton, Norfolk and Virginia with good access to the lower Chesapeake.

Good luck,

Garland in VA

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  • 4 weeks later...

If you are looking for places closer to DC, look around Annapolis and Kent Island. My boss stores/launches a Precision 18 at Fairview Marina, Pasadena, MD on Rock Creek just inside the mouth of Magothy River. This is just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It's not a very well run marina in my opinion, but is cheap, in a good location near Annapolis and w/ good water access. If you can find a spot to store it but need a launch, the Sandy Point State Park just down the road from there has a large and well appointed set of launch ramps. No storage, though.

If you go south of Annapolis, the Rhode River and West River have a number of marinas. Rhode River, Casa Rio, Blue Water marinas are all on the Rhode. At least one, Rhode River, advertises $50/month for trailer storage. I don't know if that is just for the trailer, but they do "boatel" like a lot of marinas here. Solomons, MD also is a fine location and there is a state ramp as well as numerous good marinas. All these areas are cheaper than in Annapolis. They are all close to the Bay but also have river sailing, and have good access to DC.

BradW,

Thanks so much - lots of good info there and very much appreciated.

Hope I get to say thanks you over a beer or two some day.

Tom

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When things get too steamy, find a riverside restaurant and cool off. Downtown Annapolis is very walkable and you can find places to tie up, take a mooring, or anchor and dinghy or water taxi into Town Dock. Sailors head for Davis's Pub or the Boathouse Grill in Eastport. I like Galway Bay near the capitol. Good Irish food and they know how to pull a pint o' Guiness. Galesville on the West River has a couple of places. We've enjoyed Pirate's Cove several times. Solomons has good places. The Tiki Bar is an interesting scene and one of the original tiki bar places on the Bay. For classy small restaurant dining, the Dry Dock in Zahniser's Marina is great, and Z's (where I kept my boat for a while) is a top yard for work. The Eastern Shore has many nice spots and more anchorages than can be named. St. Michaels has the museum and much food, but is a zoo on holiday weekends. Oxford is quieter. But there's always another cove around the corner. For a shoal boat on a trailer, you might look at trailering down to Crisfield on the Eastern Shore to explore Honga River, Tangier Island, etc. rather than sailing over the bay from the west. Those waters are some of the least spoiled on the bay.

If you want a spot on the Potomac, look at Pt. Lookout near the mouth of the river. A bit of a drive from DC, but a good marina and nice creek. St. Mary's City, MD on St. Mary's River is a historical town w/ a sailing-mad college. I'm from Virginia, and have cruised the bay down past the Northern Neck where there are a lot of good creeks for anchoring but not as many good boating towns. Reedville is one. Mobjack Bay down by York River has a lot of nice shoal depth potential if that's your kind of thing. We used to fish there when I was young. My brother still goes there to flyfish the shallows for sea trout with his kayak.

Enjoy!

Hey Brad,

I've spent some time with your punch list and my GPS - thanks to you I have some of those areas ready to try out when I get there.

So far I have one (expensive for me) place to use temporarily that gives me mast up storage on the trailer with a handy launch ramp. This is the type of arrangement, except for the cost, that would be the best solution for me as I plan to be a week or two on the bay then a week or two at home in Mass. - alternating during the summer.

I may stay somewhere on the Chesapeake, or migrate down toward the Carolinas, until the hurricane season is past then haul down to the East Coast of Florida for the winter.

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience. Forums like this are such a valuable resource.

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