[CLOSECALL]

We've been using a marina on the Potomac for a few years now and enjoy sailing the river and the bay. Day sails up the St Mary's are always nice and the college offers activities such as concerts in the summer. The anchorage at Breton Bay offers access to Leonardtown for festivals and restaurants in walking distance of the town dock. Sailing on the river offers an alternative for when conditions are rough on the bay.

Easy access to the bay makes trips to Onancock, Crisfield, and Tangier doable in a day as well as the creeks south of Smith Point. The Patuxent is handy to the north and we have made our way as far as Cambridge. This summer we hope to perhaps make it as far as Baltimore.

So with all these sailing opportunities available to us now, I wonder if people sailing the Rappahannock can offer anything that might tempt me to relocate.

 

[chuck53]

The Rappahannock is a pretty narrow river. Of course Deltaville is right on the bay, which opens up a lot of water to you.
Me, I'm on the Yeocomico and have no desire to go anywhere else.

 

[CLOSECALL]

Well, Chuck, it doesn't seem as though folks on the Rappahannock have anything to offer. I'll be glad to stay put and enjoy the Potomac as my home base.

BTW, I'm over on Smith Creek and the Yeocomico is the place we head to for a sunset sail.

 

[chuck53]

BTW, I'm over on Smith Creek and the Yeocomico is the place we head to for a sunset sail.

Been to Pt. Lookout several time and Corinthian once. most likely will be back at CYC again next summer.

 

[kd3pc]

2nd vote for the Potomac, I am on Mill creek off the Birthday Cake and enjoy being able to go almost anywhere and everywhere.

We were in Deltaville, for a year back in the late 1990's - mostly to see what was so great... nice, but quite a bit more expensive across the board than our Northern Neck home slip. The channel in/out of the high side of deltaville, was a pain.

Either is better than land locked. But I prefer off the Potomac.

 

[chuck53]

We have a fairly new docker at our marina that came from Deltaville. He said his old marina was just dead, hardly anyone ever there even though there were a fair number of boats tied up. His slip fee is almost half of what he paid in Deltaville.

 

[Sabreman]

What I don't like about the Potomac is that it takes several hours from our dock to get into the Bay itself. Other than that, it's fine when it's not angry. St. Mary's is beautiful and we've had many great evenings at Pt. Lookout marina and on the creek. And of course, Olverson's is the happiest marina on the Bay.

The Rappahannock is ok, but I think that it's narrow and still takes too long to get to the Bay itself, especially if headed north. But it does have a West Marine so that's something.

Between the two is The Great Wicomico and Reedville. It's deep and the Bay is less than an hour from the dock. Mill Creek is great and so are the upper reaches of the Great Wicomico near Still Pond. But it really takes a long time to get there from home.

So I basically said that they all have pros and cons. But it's the Bay and that's pure magic wherever you are.

 

[Ajax_MD]

Pffft...
The answer is "neither".

The West and Rhode Rivers offer inexpensive dockage in well protected hurricane holes, that are 10 minutes away from "raise sails" and 30-40 minutes from being in the bay.
Being squarely in the "middle bay" puts you in striking distance of practically everywhere.

I have a buddy with a boat in Prince Georges Creek, and while it is beautiful sailing on the mouth of the Potomac, it is very lonely. Hardly ever another boat to be seen, and usually very distant.

 

[CLOSECALL]

That's what some of us like about it.

 

[Jiminri]

Pffft...
The answer is "neither".

The West and Rhode Rivers offer inexpensive dockage in well protected hurricane holes, that are 10 minutes away from "raise sails" and 30-40 minutes from being in the bay.
Being squarely in the "middle bay" puts you in striking distance of practically everywhere.

Just requires running through a mile or two of crab traps that booby trap the mouth of the West and Rhode Rivers like a mine field. Yup, I know there are (supposedly) float free channels, but if the wind doesn't cooperate on that course or the traps have migrated...

I love the West River and have no desire to ever leave. But some days I do miss how easy it was to get from Back Creek in Annapolis out to the bay.

 

[Sabreman]

That's what some of us like about it.

Too crowded up north, IMO. I'm not one of the people that hates to see other people, quite the contrary. But jeez, the powerboat wakes up there kill a nice day's sailing. Solomons south to Norfolk is a gem. Open water and good wind.

 

[travlin-easy]

If Smith Creek wasn't a three hour drive for me, I would move my boat there in a heartbeat. I fished that area of the bay for 50 years, I know every inch of water there, and for an avid sailor, the lower Potomac and adjacent bay waters cannot be beat. There's always a good sailing wind, the bay conditions are rarely so bad that you cannot get out, and there are loads of neat place to sail to.

Good luck,

Gary

 

[Ajax_MD]

You guys know that I was just teasing, right?

Any place on the bay has its tradeoffs. I do agree that the stinkpotters can turn my region into a washing machine on a light, summer day, making sailing a frustrating experience. That's when sailing down south is better.

Conversely, when spring and fall occur, it drives the powerboats out, the breeze is fresh and all the sailboats come out to play in my region. It's a beautiful spectacle.

There really isn't a "bad" place on the bay.