charter - chesapeake - april?

[el]

We want to charter in the Chesapeake the first week of April. Can anyone give us info on:
-Weather to expect
-charter companies
-best cruising areas

thanks
el

[Jeff_H]

April tends to be in the Cool to cold range. (I usually keep anti freeze in the raw water side of my engine until early to mid April). It is a very changeable time of year. It can be cold and rainy or warm and gorgeous. The Bay water is too cold to swim and it is still cold enough very dangerous if you end up going over the side by accident. Still this can be a good time of year to start the cruising season. The Bay is comparatively free of traffic and you can tuck into all kinds of neat places and have access to the facilities.

That time of year I would probably charter out of Annapolis or Galesville. I would head over to Eastern Bay, up the Miles River and spend a night in the Wye River and then either hop over to St. Michaels of the weather looks to be really threatening. Or, if you have a great weather window and a fast boat, I would hop down to the Choptank and go to Oxford and perhaps Trippe Creek. If the weather is OK but not great or you charter a slow boat, you might head north into the Chester river through Kent Narrows from the Miles River and cruise the Chester. Greys Inn Creek has always been a favorite quite spot for us on the Chester and Langford Creek Marina is a good place to duck in for supplies. Coming Back from the Chester River you can poke into the Magothy River if you are getting hammered and want short hops back to Annapolis but the Chester to Annapolis is only a 4 to 5 hour hop in a brisk northerly in a fast boat.

Of course in April, you might also duck into Mill Creek and into Martin''s Cove and tie up at our dock at the house if you just want to visit and say ''hi''. (The dock should be done by then but the house will still be under construction.)

Regards
Jeff

[Valdare]

Try Gratitudeyachting.com They Charter mostly Island Packet. Should be a good place to start and get more information.

[Jeff_H]

Hartge in Galesville, Md. charters a wide range of boats. There is also a charter company that is Associated with Annapolis Yacht Sales, in Annapolis. I believe they have Beneteaus and Dehlers, either of which would be a better choice for a charter boat on the Chesapeake than an Island Packet.

Jeff

[popye]

I am interested in taking my family cruising on the Chesapeake in June, as well. I took my 15 year old to Pintail Point on the Wye River August a year ago and did some fly fishing. We visited Annapolis and St. Michaels and fell in love with the area. Reading the e-mails leads me to wonder what sort of sailing to expect in the Chesapeake in June. Though I understand any area can become rough and choppy is the Chesapeake more prone to disagreeable weather, fog, rough seas? The only areas I have taken my wife sailing are the BVI and Great AAbaco, Bahamas. She is not one I would take blue water sailing or take into an area prone to big swells.

[BigRed56]

Ahoy popye, avast there Big Red the pirate of Pine Island says the Chesapeake is for the most part considered a calm inland venue north of the Patuxtent anyway. Sure the wide sections can get nasty in a T- storm or when a front moves through but other than that it''s not really a "swell" kind of place. On the other hand I''ve seen tornados come down and hurricanes waste the last of thier energy stormming up the bay so anything is possible. St. Mikes is nice but touristy, the Chester and Wye are pocked with mud banks and oyster bars, Oxford is much better The Choptank is more usable,and South to the Potomic is more prone to rough beats and heaver chop. Annapolis is the underbelly of it all with way too much traffic though like all such necessary ports there are things to do here like no other and everyone should visit at least once or twice to get the real feel for the place. Swimming ain''t much fun with the jelly fish about but they come and go some years good some bad. Compared to where we are now in SW Fl where the water temp in winter is like the Chesapeakes summer you''d better like it cool to dive in at least till later in the summer anyway. Of course I wouldn''t call the area''s you mentioned exactly fertile fishing grounds or even very clean north ot the bay bridge but the crabbing is good. So pick you weekend or whatever with you eye on the weather and you''ll have a great time. Big Red 56 the Pirate.

[popye]

Thanks Big Red for the info on Chesapeake. The more I hear, the more appealing it becomes.