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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Chesapeake bay marinas feedback wanted

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frankr
Captain

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256 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/10/2002 : 19:17:38

Well after months of(physical and soul)searching and testing sailboats, we have decided on a Catalina 250. We hope to dock it in the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay anywhere from Essex on down to Deale. Any advise on marinas - the good, the bad and the ugly would be appreciated. Specifically info on services, the sailing community and the nearby waters. - Thanks we'll be the ones with the "Learner" sign on the back. Just joking - but it a big leap from 12 feet to 25.

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arlingva
Navigator

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USA
116 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2002 : 21:28:42

Congratulations,

I think you will enjoy the boat. Be patient we have several owners whe keep boats in that area. I'm sure they will respond.

Bill Swanson, C 250WK, #614, still unnamed

Bill Swanson
C250WK #614

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cathluk
Admiral

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USA
513 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2002 : 10:11:39

Congratulations & welcome! We sail the lower Chesapeake out of Deltaville so I'm afraid I can't help w/ the marinas. You may want to ask on the Trailer Sailor forum. http://www.trailersailor.com/forums/trailersailor/

Cathy
"Blown Away"
'97 C250WK #253

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Kirk McKay
Navigator

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USA
111 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2002 : 13:05:16

Hi Frank!
I started sailing this past summer and have an 1982 25'. We bought the boat in July and it wasn't in the water at that time. It was very hard to find a slip at that time. We had just assumed that Herrington Harbor North ould have a slip for us, as that is were the boat was being stored. I had been in contact with them via e-mail, but I guess that I misunderstood what they were telling me...but I digress. We went knocking on every door in Herring Bay until we came across Paradise Marina in Deale. While it wasn't exactly low-priced ( I still think that they knew the situation we were in and took advantage of us...)but it is very quiet and most of the people were very friendly. It is a (small)Marina that has been there for almost 30 years. It now has new owners that are slowly renovating it. Nice docks and finger piers. It ended up being directly across the creek from Herrington Harbor North, at the start of the channel out to the Bay. It's a 30 minute motor out to unlimited sailing opportunities! Since we are very new to Sailing, we usually just motored out through Herring Bay, but with the right winds, you can sail from the harbor. There are all sorts of Boat Services in the area, with a lot of tehm being right on the grounds at Herrington Harbor North. We did have a roller furler put on at the end of the season, but somehow I got betterinfo and results from a rigging place and a Sail place out of Annapolis, but they came right to the marina to do the work.
All that said, we probably will be at Herrington Harbor North next year. It really came down to the fact that they are much lower priced than the other place (and the pool sure would be nice to cool down after those hot summer days on the bay!) I think the actual slips are nicer at Paradise, and we really met some nice people, but I'm sure there are more people...
I hope this ramble helps. Feel free to e-mail me with any more questions-or if you need a deck hand to sail with! Good luck.

Kirk

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gerdo
Navigator

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107 Posts

Response Posted - 11/12/2002 : 09:20:01

We are at Herrignton Harbor North dock B slip 50. of the many marinas I have seen it is very nice. Comes out to about a boat unit per month for the slip.

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DC_Sailor
Deckhand

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5 Posts

Response Posted - 11/12/2002 : 13:12:13

I was at Herrington Harbour North for two years and moved north to Rhode River last year. HHN has one area which is VERY unprotected (Docks A-E(?)by the office) The other (closer to the pool)is much better but more expensive. HHN is very close the open Bay but there are no close-by anchorages. If gunk-holing is important to you you might want to consider a slip or mooring further north i.e. West R, Rhode R, South R etc. Sailing out of one of the Bay's rivers is true Maryland sailing and is really much more enjoyable than a place like HHN.

HHN also has a lot of services on site. I have had great experiences with Alpha Rigging (very fair and first class work).

Good luck. It can be really hard to find a slip where you want for a reasonable cost. But you will!

Mike

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Kirk McKay
Navigator

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USA
111 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2002 : 11:43:36

As an add on to Mike's post....I was talking to a slip holder at Herrington Harbor when I was picking up my boat after being launched there, he said he picked his slip (one of the A-E slips mentioned previously) on purpose. He liked the idea of being at one of the close to the bay slips in the event of bad weather. He could make it back to the slip easier, as oppposed to the slips furthur up towards the restaurant. Just something to think about, by no means an endorsement for HHN....just his opinion. Location location location. I would love to be further North, but as you go north, so do the fees!

Kirk

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DC_Sailor
Deckhand

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5 Posts

Response Posted - 11/14/2002 : 09:03:52

Frank,

There are a couple marinas in my area that you might want to check out. On West R. in Galesville there is Hartge's Yacht Yard which has reasonably priced slips and a good yard. Also in Galesville are Pirates Cove (which also has reasonable prices, no yard) and West River Yacht Harbor which is a condo with slips for rent (not as inexpensive). Galesville has a couple of good restaurants too.

There are a few nice and reasonable marinas on Rhode R just north of West R. I am at Casa Rio Marina on Cadle Cr. Casa Rio is a no frills marina (toilets but no showers, no pool etc.) but has a yard.

Paradise Marina in Deale where Kirk is located has really nice slips and is right next to Skipper Pier Restaurant which is really good with a great tiki bar. Paradise is very protected and the slips are brand new with longer finger piers which will make it easier for guests to board your boat.

I have some names and numbers which I will give you via email if you want. Hope this helps!

Mike

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Kirk McKay
Navigator

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USA
111 Posts

Response Posted - 11/14/2002 : 11:14:18

How could I forget to mention Skippers!!!!I think we ate two meals a weekend there this summer. They have the best Fish and Chips I've found around here (so far.) It was really nice to be able just to walk there from the boat (or should I say run there to get into the AC after a long hot day on the Bay!) Paradise Marina was really quiet. As we are still newbies, we didn't anchor out, but would instead, come back to the marina and spend the night in the slip. The only noise was at 6:00am when the fishing charters went out, and the occasional drunken cigarette boater chugging up Rockhold Creek. The only downside to the otherwise really nice dock renovations at paradise was that the lights up and down the docks were way to bright when you were trying to sleep. I did figure out that the plastic pot that plants come in(that you take of the plants before putting them in the ground)fit almost perfectly over the dock lights and block most of the light but let some light and heat disapate through the top. It's amazing what you come up with after a few ice cold adult beverages!

Kirk

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