Mike, there are lots of days when I have most of Chesapeake Bay to myself. Of course, weekends can be somewhat busy, but thbaat's mostly go fast powerboats, not sailboats. On weekdays, the bay is pretty much deserted with the exception of a few local hotspots, locations where sailboats tend to be congregated, Havre de Grace, Rock Hall, Annapolis, Baltimore, but other than those locations, the bay is wide open.
Here in Florida, owners of McMansions don't want blowboats clogging their million dollar views. Consequently, anchorages here are few and far between. When I'm at, the town fathers don't want boaters at all, and have imposed stiff fines for things such as living aboard, rafting up, parking your trailered boat on the street, etc...
Add to this the overall cost of boating is insanely high. Same goes for recreational fishing, which often requires a boat. When I was in the boat retail business, I sold 15 HP outboard motors for under $1,500 and a 14-foot aluminum fishing boat, with a depth finder, for about the same price. That same rig today is $15,000 and fishing pretty much sucks throughout the nation.
Another thing I've noticed during the past decade is many mom & pop marinas have closed down. The docks were torn down, bulkheads were put in place and condos were erected where those old homes once stood. In other instances, those old shore homes were torn down and McMansions now overlook the water. Those folks don't want people anchoring in front of their homes, thus those boats are the ones now relegated to the mooring fields and monster marinas such as those found floating in Baltimore's inner harbor area. Those floating docks are so vast that many have golf cart service to reach shore.
All the best,
Gary
Here in Florida, owners of McMansions don't want blowboats clogging their million dollar views. Consequently, anchorages here are few and far between. When I'm at, the town fathers don't want boaters at all, and have imposed stiff fines for things such as living aboard, rafting up, parking your trailered boat on the street, etc...
Add to this the overall cost of boating is insanely high. Same goes for recreational fishing, which often requires a boat. When I was in the boat retail business, I sold 15 HP outboard motors for under $1,500 and a 14-foot aluminum fishing boat, with a depth finder, for about the same price. That same rig today is $15,000 and fishing pretty much sucks throughout the nation.
Another thing I've noticed during the past decade is many mom & pop marinas have closed down. The docks were torn down, bulkheads were put in place and condos were erected where those old homes once stood. In other instances, those old shore homes were torn down and McMansions now overlook the water. Those folks don't want people anchoring in front of their homes, thus those boats are the ones now relegated to the mooring fields and monster marinas such as those found floating in Baltimore's inner harbor area. Those floating docks are so vast that many have golf cart service to reach shore.
All the best,
Gary
