Yup, can be a problem.

a. You now have a 12-month season. Spring and fall are best for cool temps and dependable wind.
b. We watch the forcasts a lot, looking for wind, not avoiding strorms!
c. Reaching chutes are great.

On the otherhand, it is unusual too have too darn much wind in the summer, except for passing squalls and the very rare huricane.

My blog, listed below, has a bunch of Chesapeake stuff on it. Enjoy!

 

Re: Yup, can be a problem.

pdq,

Nice web site.

We are thinking of heading to the Chesapeake area end of next year or early the following. Will be reading your area info.

Greg

a. You now have a 12-month season. Spring and fall are best for cool temps and dependable wind.
b. We watch the forcasts a lot, looking for wind, not avoiding strorms!
c. Reaching chutes are great.

On the otherhand, it is unusual too have too darn much wind in the summer, except for passing squalls and the very rare huricane.

My blog, listed below, has a bunch of Chesapeake stuff on it. Enjoy!

 

Welcome to the Chesapeake Bay summer doldrums. Usually July-Aug are down times..usually spent fixing,sanding and or painting thus getting ready for the fall season

 

On the other hand, for a newer sailor like me, it's nice to get a little experience in the lighter winds of summer before the fall winds come.

 

Best sailing months by far....Sept thru Dec
and Apr-early June

July and August, projects and scuba for us...just too brutal out there weather/heat/humidity/flies wise

Welcome to the Bay area

 

Big sails for summer.

 

Sunday 07/17/2011 the "wind" went from 3 to 18kts in 2 hours.

Feast or famine!!

September/Octobet/November are best, the rest I guess we just put up with!!

 

March, April, May, some of June, and September, October, November are your best sailing on the Bay. And during those times, you can get some absolutely fantastic sailing out there!

But July and August typically are very hot, humid and windless. No joy for a blowboater.

Where do you sail out of Deltaville? My boat currently is on the hard in Deltaville Boatyard, where she's been since January, but I'm hoping to get her back in the water before August. Don't know if I'm going to be able to get the work done that I need to, though, because it's supposed to be 100 degrees this weekend. If that's the case, I'll just bag it. It's already been too hot up there over the past couple weekends, when it was around 90.

 

Thanks.
So I guess it's normal for no or little wind in the summer months.
We still have not went on a three day cruise yet... (we purchsed her late Spring and launched her early Summer)
I'll look forward to this September to December.

 

:laugher Oh, you can do a three day cruise...just be prepared to motor. When you have a schedule and a destination the 'iron jenny' comes in handy.

 

This season has been among the worst for wind. It seems like when there was any wind it was Mon-Fri and then back to the doldrums Sat-Sun.

Look on the bright side, at least down in D'ville you rarely get rocked by a powerboat compared to how often it happens mid bay.

 

Well, not a lot of encouragement here from everyone for sailing in July/Aug.
I do have a list of "endless" projects that perhaps I can put a dent in and be ready for September.
I grew up in Oswego, NY on Lake Ontario where at times, there was too much wind. But then again, you could not leave your sailboat in the water during the winter months unless you want your sailboat to be toothpicks in the spring from the frozen waters, and the sailing season was short, sometimes really short due to cold weather, rain, and early or late winters.
Unfortunately my two children start school in September and I'm not sure if the school will accept a note of absentee that says "Wind picked up, gone sailing for the day. Please forward their homework to our marina, dock 12..."

 

Unfortunately my two children start school in September and I'm not sure if the school will accept a note of absentee that says "Wind picked up, gone sailing for the day. Please forward their homework to our marina, dock 12..."

Time to find a new school, then.

 

We carry good-sized sails and pick our destinations based on conditions. We shoot for close and beam reaches within five or six hours based on the wind. Sometimes we just go out and back and anchor somewhere near home.

 

Ouch

you copy and paste this forecast for the next few weeks I think!

Anz532-210815-
chesapeake bay from sandy point to north beach-
314 pm edt wed jul 20 2011

rest of this afternoon
e winds 5 kt. Waves less than 1 ft. A
slight chance of showers and tstms.

Tonight
s winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft.

Thu
s winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft.

Thu night
sw winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft.

Fri
sw winds 5 kt. Waves less than 1 ft.

Fri night
sw winds 5 kt. Waves less than 1 ft.

Sat
w winds around 5 kt. Waves 1 ft.

Sun
s winds around 5 kt. Waves 1 ft or less. A chance of showers
and tstms through the night.

 

Wind on the Chesapeake.....July/ August.....oxymoron

April, May September, Oct Nov...primo weather and winds with places to gi...thats why we love the Chesapeake.

We usally head up to NEngland or the LI Sound for our summer vacation just for this reason. Sail out into the ocean and head up the coast to NJ...Cape May...AC..theres always a nice cool ocean on shore breeze every after noon starting at 12:30

Dave

 

Fishing is better in the late summer. Yup, that's about it.

 

Hi,

What are all of your feelings about hypothermia when sailing during the sailing months?

We also live along the Chesapeake Bay and have been sailing now for several years. And have also noticed how so few days in the summer are good for sailing here.

We dock our boat just south of Baltimore along the Patapsco River. And have just returned from a six day trip to Tilghman Island and back. Even now, in September out of six days we had two days of storms, two days of perfect sailing (18 to 22 knots in beautiful weather), and two dead days where the Bay was smooth as glass and without any wind so we had to motor.

The posts here pretty much say the best sailing on the Chesapeake Bay is from:

• March --> Early June
• September --> December

I co-own the boat with my bf, and his concern during the sailing months is hypothermia should we fall overboard. Here are the average temperatures in the Chesapeake Bay over the course of a year:

What are all of your thoughts about hypothermia should you fall overboard during the sailing months in the Spring and the Fall?

 

I am going to go out on a limb and day that the winds this September have been unusually light/variable.

Charrob: Rule #1 is stay on the boat. Rule #2 is stay on the boat. If you don't have them, invest in a a tether, jacklines, and a harness. Would also recommend setting things up so you have to leave the cockpit as little as possible. We sail until mid Nov. And hypothermia and staying on the boat is always in the back of my mind.

Josh

 

I sail on the Chesapeake almost year round; pretty much any time there isn't ice between my dock and the Bay. I do dress with multiple high tech and wool layers. Like others have said, I wear an inflatable harness, and I rig teathers and jacklines. I keep a change of clothes and lots of blankets on the boat. I also try to make sure the decks are clear of ice and typically won't go out in temps below 40 and dropping since spray can freeze on the deck making moving around unnecessarily dangerous.

But as others have said, winter offers some of the most beautiful sailing of the year with clear blue skies, seasonal wildlife, no traffic, and good winds. Probably one of the best cruising months on the Bay is the month of October. In late October, the flyways are packed with geese and the autumnal foliage is in full magnificence, the breezes are good, the temperatures are not too bad, and the anchorages are wide open.

One other point, the water remains comparatively warm well into early to mid- November, but the can be deceptively cold well into late spring due to the snow melt to the north of us.

Jeff

 

The estuary that is the Chesapeake Bay has some special wind characteristics. I'm sure you are familiar with similar weather artifacts on the Great Lakes.

You may find this of some value: CBOFS: Surface Winds Forecast Guidance

 

+1 to what Jeff said:

Jacklines, tethers and harnesses. Spare clothing and blankets.

Also, the ability to boil water for instant soups and hot beverages. Hypothermia doesn't just happen when someone falls in the water. It will happen when you're bone-dry as well. Hot beverages help combat that.

 

One thing you have to get used to is the depths! We're Lake Ontario sailors too and you get used to the depth sounder reading in hundreds of feet! Not so in the chesepeake! its REALLY shallow! freaked me out constantly when we chartered there this summer. You also have to get used to the crab pot floats! they're everywhere, specially where they are not supposed to be! like channels, harbour entrances, etc!

 

One thing you have to get used to is the depths! We're Lake Ontario sailors too and you get used to the depth sounder reading in hundreds of feet! Not so in the chesepeake! its REALLY shallow! freaked me out constantly when we chartered there this summer.

Welcome to the Chesapeake. An old proverb[sic] 'One is a lair if one hasn't run aground at least once in the Bay..'

 

Josh, Jeff, and BubbleheadMd,

Thanks so much for all of your responses. –Will definitely look into getting jacklines, tethers, and harnesses. It's so frustrating to think sailing is over when it's just really beginning in the Fall. It's such a beautiful time of the year to be out on the water. This weekend, particularly Saturday, looks to be a great day on the Bay! I will show bf your responses and hopefully he will agree .

 

Sailing is definitely not over.
A trip to Bacon Sails, and a Saturday of drilling and epoxy will get you setup with jacklines and tethers.

 

Sailing is no where near over.

Looks like the fall winds kick in at least Saturday. From a distance a rocking ride for us down the Bay....Maybe to Rhode...or is it still full of the cruisers?

If not maybe to the Narrows then through them to the Wye

 

Rhode was packed last weekend thats for sure.

We opted to anchor in the cove on the west side not far from the entrance due to the forest of masts in the more popular anchorage further up the River. Really a very pretty anchorage but a bit exposed for this weekends forecast.

 

This weekend looks good for sailing, probably going to head over to the Chester or Wye. Yippee

 

We're new to the Chesapeake too, thanks for the information. Used to sail in northwest Lake Michigan: nice winds but...season that started Memorial Day, ended in October at the latest. This is better.