[Ajax_MD]

I've visited Chestertown by car, for Downrigging Weekend.

I've fallen in love with the place. It's what Annapolis would be if it hadn't sold it's soul to commercial interests and cheezy shops. Chestertown has real character.

Have you guys sailed there? Is it a tedious motor up the Chester River, or have you actually sailed there? AC says the marina is tired and the bathrooms are a mess, so I'll anchor out. How's the anchorage? Will my boat get run over while I'm in town?

 

[4arch]

There's an article about sailing to Chestertown in the December issue of Spinsheet that highly recommends doing so. You might want to grab one up before the January issues come out. One of the main points made in the article is that you can actually sail to Chestertown since, after all, sailing ships did it for decades without auxiliary power. It's been on my list to sail there for a while now, just haven't gotten to it since it's 26 miles from the mouth.

 

[T37Chef]

I have not been in several years, and have not actually sailed the whole way...but I agree its a great town. The Kitchen restaurant which is highly recommended for breakfast is there and several other good restaurants and many B&Bs.

 

[Donna_F]

There are quite a few good anchorages on the Chester River if you're thinking about making it an overnight trip. We've anchored several times in Grays Inn Creek back behind Drum Point, one night during a heavy thunderstorm. It's a very good anchorage and we barely rocked during the storm. The channel snakes around a bit and the water is thin on both sides, but otherwise easy to navigate.

 

[Ajax_MD]

I read the Spinsheet article, but I wanted to hear from more than one source.
I appreciate the advice on Grays Inn Creek.

Do you guys know if the marina facilities are as poor as people claim? I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but if they really are nasty, I'll pass.

 

[SVAuspicious]

Have you guys sailed there? Is it a tedious motor up the Chester River, or have you actually sailed there? AC says the marina is tired and the bathrooms are a mess, so I'll anchor out. How's the anchorage? Will my boat get run over while I'm in town?

Sailed there. Long time-consuming sail. Had a nice spinnaker run most of the way up once that was really nice. Anchorage was fine. I don't remember a lot of traffic on the river, and I was pretty close to the channel.

No experience with the marina or their bathrooms.

 

[Jeff_H]

I have not sailed to Chestertown in many years. In fact the last time that I actually sailed there, I was sailing Rugosa, the Laser 28 that I owned before Synergy, and which I sold back in 2001.

My experience is that the prevailing winds result in a beat going in and a series of reaches and runs coming home. The river has enough windshifts, twists and bights that if you can get into sync it becomes pretty easy to minimize your tacks. Two of my favorite pictures of Rugosa were taken on the beat on the way to Chestertown.

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and

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The trip home was a nice spinnaker leg with a whole lot of jibes, punctuated by one drop and raise.

I really enjoy Chestertown as well, although I must admit that most of the time that I have been there I have gone there by car. My recollection is that when I sailed to Chestertown, I anchored out and rowed ashore. My recollection is that Washington College has a small park and a pavilion with a dock. I believe that we had called and gotten permission to tie up my dinghy there and so I anchored near there and left my dinghy there while we wandered about town.

Sailing up from Annapolis with a PHRF rating of 129, I typically would do the Chestertown trip on a five or more day long weekend, sailing from Annapolis to Grays Inn Creek or the Corsica the first day, beating up to Chestertown the second day, meandering around Chestertown the third day, sailing back to Grays Inn Creek or the Corsica the next, and then back home again.

Jeff

 

[travlin-easy]

Lots of neat restaurants in Chestertown, one of the best ones, however, recently went out of business. They had a huge assortment of homemade breads, plus a lot of locally made wines for sale. What was really nice was the people - very friendly.

The marina that I saw was deplorable, run down, filthy, and pretty much catered to the local watermen, who for the most part were living on the edge of poverty because of the conditions of the bay's fisheries.

Chestertown is also a college town, lots of younger folks, mostly late teens and early 20s. So, I imagine the nitelife there can be pretty wild at times. Don't know for certain, though.

The Chester River's channel is fairly wide, but unforgiving. Lots of very shallow flats on both sides of the river, and some old, submerged rock jetties just south of the Chester River Bridge. The only reason I know about the jetties is I used to fish them for yellow perch and striped bass many years ago. I'm sure they're still there.

Good luck,

Gary

 

[Rapp]

I crab the Chester quite a bit,its a beauty of a river,Rolphs has an outdoor bar with food thats nice,it's not far down from Chestertown.You would definately want to avoid any creeks off of the river as they're very shallow.I'm a novive to sailing so I'm not sure how much wind you need but I can tell you it has a pretty strong current.

 

[CalebD]

Make sure to look up Bill from the Moyer Forum while there.
I forget if don Moyer is nearby, or not.

 

[mltroy]

We live in Rock Hall and go to Chestertown frequently by land. We keep the boat in RH and have never been all the way up the Chester to C-town but can highly recommend anchorages at Grays Inn, the Corsica and Lankford Creek.

From what I understand, the marina at Chestertown is pretty run down but it has been bought by the town and they are in the process of figuring out what to do with it and how to pay for it. They want to make it more attractive to visiting boaters. Here's a relatively recent news story:
Mayor Presents Current Marina Concept to Town Council

Mary Lou
Rhodes 22 Fretless
Rock Hall

 

[travlin-easy]

Caleb, the last time I talked with Don Moyer he was living in PA.

Gary

 

[willyd]

I've sailed there twice, once motorless. Really beautiful trip. Be sure to get extra paper towels from JR's Pub to clean the duck crap out of the dinghy that you stashed in the bushes next to the landing at the park at the end of High St on your way back to the anchorage.

 

[Ajax_MD]

You wound your way up AND downriver, motorless?
My hat's off to you, mate.

The dinghy dock situation is that bad?

 

[willyd]

Actually the park was pretty convenient, just bring a lock, since it's open to the public. I think that after dark you could probably raft up to the Sultana (why name a boat after a raisin?) since I doubt anyone's looking. There's also a significant tidal current to factor into your navigation along the river.

 

[mltroy]

...Sultana (why name a boat after a raisin?)

It doesn't really answer your question but the current Sultana was named after the original built in Boston. The Sultana Education Foundation has been a real force for good in the community and has been one of the prime movers in the effort to secure the public access at the waterfront and make it more attractive to visitors.

Here's more about the schooner from their website:
"SULTANA is a reproduction of a Boston-built merchant vessel that served for four years as the smallest schooner ever in the British Royal Navy. Manned by a 25-person crew, the original SULTANA patrolled the coastline of colonial North America from 1768 to 1772 enforcing the hated Townsend Acts or “Tea Taxes.” From this vantage point SULTANA and her crew had a unique perspective on the conflict that would ultimately become the American Revolution.

A key factor that led to SULTANA’s selection for replication was the wealth of primary documentation from the original vessel that was preserved by the British Navy. SULTANA’s reproduction is based directly on a 1768 Royal Navy survey of the original schooner, making it one of the most accurate 18th century replicas in the world today. In addition to these drawings, the Royal Navy also preserved more than 2,000 pages of the vessel’s log books, correspondence, and crew lists. These documents have proved to be an incredible resource for the schooner’s educational programs.

The construction of SULTANA would not have been possible without the inspiration of Master Shipwright John Swain and the 200,000+ hours of labor provided by the scores of volunteer shipwrights who aided with her construction."
- See more at: The Schooner SULTANA | Sultana Education Foundation

Mary Lou
Rhodes 22 Fretless
Rock Hall, MD

 

[aa3jy]

The construction of SULTANA would not have been possible without the inspiration of Master Shipwright John Swain and the 200,000+ hours of labor provided by the scores of volunteer shipwrights who aided with her construction."
- See more at: The Schooner SULTANA | Sultana Education Foundation
MD

John Swain's personal beautiful Colvin designed schooner is moored during the summers at our marina..

Clay
s/v Tango
Lankford Bay Marina
Chester River, Md.

 

[Jeff_H]

The name Sultana comes from the earlier definition of the word Sultana; meaning the wife, daughter, or mistress of a sultan. Mistress was also a common ship name.

Clay,

I never noticed that you keep you boat at Lankford Bay Marina. That is a super little yard with the nicest owners. I have been going into there for close to 30 years now and love the place.

Jeff

 

[aa3jy]

Clay,

I never noticed that you keep you boat at Lankford Bay Marina. That is a super little yard with the nicest owners. I have been going into there for close to 30 years now and love the place.

Jeff

Presently up for sale..

http://www.simplymarinas.com/WordPress/lankford-bay-marina

 

[Jeff_H]

Presently up for sale..

Lankford Bay Marina, Rock Hall, MD | Simply Marinas For Sale - Marina Real Estate and Development

That is bittersweet news. I am glad they did well enough to sell the place and retire, but I will miss them since they were always nice people to chat with and ran a very tight ship. They certainly saved my fanny on a few occasions.

Jeff