06/02 - 06/04 - Lankford Bay Marina, Eastern Shore

Pat, Fred, Charlie,

You are hereby named as members, ex officio, of the Lankford Bay C'Dory Gathering Committee. Thanks for your offers.

Charlie, as soon as we get started on 2006 i will be in touch. I think we are going to have a crowd.

Also, Charlie, i will want to talk to you about a trip i am making in October..and a possible stop at your place...

to all D Dory people...have a great holiday...I'm still boating..Plan to take the family out for a Christmas lunch on the 24th is things are calm.

I slept on board last week..outside temp was 21 F. Wallas worked fine...when at dock, i supplemented with a small ceramic heater...and the bow was cozy in the bag...

tom, terraplane
 
Et All;
Is there another vessel interested in cruising from the Lower Ches. Bay area ; i.e., Norfolk, Portsmouth or Virginia Beach, to the gathering? OR meeting enroute?

I have just got out my charts and have started the plotting of possible routes from the Ches. Bay ADC Chart Book. It will be a nice navigation exercise.

I do not have any 'local' knowledge of the best route(s) up the Bay. Best layovers spots? Fuel stops? Anticipated typical June WX? How much time to set aside for round trip, plus any side trips with the 'gang' [2 weeks?]?

Any thoughts or suggestions? Sure want to be there and meet some of you fine folks.

Sea Angel
 
Sea Angel,

June weather can be variable...from sweltering to cool, calm to the typical blowout thundrstorm...
Coming up the bay is a breeze...I'd stay on the Eastern Shore, more scenic, more rustic...So many places to stay over...Pocomoke City, Crisfield, Deal Island, Tilghman....
Others will chime in, i'm sure, but you 'll find a trip up the Chesapeake a good experience.

tom..terraplane
 
To celebrate the end of 2005 I'm taking Sallly's Sister out tomorrow..(rain, 50F. wind 5-10 nw. ) and going down toward St. Michael's, on Miles River..to a very tiny cove. It is supposed to blow all day Friday, and i have boods, music, Wallas, fresh rockfish, and some crabmeat...and wine..wine..
Coming back on Saturday morning...that will be our New Year's celebration...two and a half glorious days on the boat...

Happy New Year to all of you.
terraplane tom
 
Tom;
Thanks for the suggestions. I will look at the route/plot from Lynnhaven/ VA Beach. This will give me time to start training my wife to handle to bigger waters should the autopilot go to sleep.

Along this side of the Bay we experience mostly a SW winds, less the storms that arrive now and again, but the Bay moderates our WX a great deal. NE storms are usually brutal. Anything above Richmond seems to be a different climate, as does the Upper Ches. Bay.

I have found that the Garmin 2006 has a lot more info than I realized. I have it home on the table to add new waypoints and routes. Love that ac pwr adaptor.

Be careful and have a healthy & safe New Years 'Party' and cruise.

Sea Angel
 
Art

I am cruising from Ocean Marine in Portsmouth. I am not as far ahead in the planning stage as you, but I did bring my boat down from Cutter last April, on a single handed two day run. I did stop at Harrington Harbor during a driving rain storm on that trip. I was thinking about either Crisfield or Tangier Island for this trip.

Let's keep in touch and maybe we can run together for part, or all of the trip.

Steve
 
Steve;
That sounds like a great idea. My wife is very nervous to do this with just us doing such a long run. I don't have any other issue with the run.... but the first mate does need to be considered. I think it would be great to have a 'flotilla' of CDs travel north from the lower Ches. Bay area, for safety and company.

I hope to take 2wks vacation to cover the time up and back. Memorial Day weekend as a jump-off time may not be the best, but it fits if WX is an issue and gives more time to see 'things' along the way.

Sea Angel
 
Well, good news, bad news. My husband's daughter has set the date for her wedding that will take place on the Oregon Coast the first week in June. That is the wonderful news. The down side, I won't be able to make the gathering. Dang. So, I will have to plan for the 3rd annual gathering in June of 2007. Tom, too early to sign up? Robbi
 
Terraplane Tom, time to get rockin". When is the marina going to be ready to take reservations? I'll start the list based on the signups so far and post it.

Charlie
 
Happy New Year everybody! Just over at Cutter yesterday checking on C's the Day and saw the new TomCat. Didn't get the chance to crawl all over her, but will look forward to doing that at the Baltimore boat show! Anyhow, we can't wait for the next C-Dory gathering, so you can count us in. We've also been out twice on our friend's C-Dory (Melsway) since the new year. The winter weather can be great for us on the Chesapeake-- the whole bay is ours, with odd tug, CG cutter or freighter keeping us company. Can't wait to get back out there again soon. See you all in June or hopefully before.

Cheers!
 
Sea Angel

Tom: Last year, we trailered from Richmond, via I95. It's a long haul, and we might be interested in joining up with you around Norfolk, and heading up the eastern shore by boat. I've done most of it before, and have routes and tracks which I'll be glad to share. All are in Garmin's format.

So, let's consider Alma's Only a possible at this point.

Let's stay in touch.

David
 
Hey, TJ! You've been kind of quiet around here! I don't know if you noticed, but there is a great shot of C's the Day in the 2005 C-Dory collage that I made up, it is on the right side about the middle, take a look in the 2006 SBSCBC album under Cruises and Events. Unfortunately, Da Nag had a hard time printing it, and Priority Mail for some reason took a week to get it from Cal to WA, so it did not get displayed at the Seattle Boat Show, but it did get put up at the Saturday night bash at the C-Dory factory. And Jeff Messmer now has the Photoshop file if he wants to print out some more for other boat shows or dealers. Except for the kicker, I have to look twice to make sure that that picture is not Daydream! We sure had a blast out here at the SBS - more than a few folks from the Eastern Shore Gathering last year were here - you and Jen should plan on it for next year!What about next year, Charlie????
 
Terraplane Tom's great banjo and harmonica playing at the Friday night Seattle Boat Show dinner was a great preview for the Chesapeake Gathering -- whata guy!! And great to see Charlie, Terry, Bill, and Byrdman there representing the right coast. Trust that there will be some left coasters at the Chesapeake bash like there were last year -- sorry to hear you won't make it Robbi, but for a fine reason.
 
Hi David;

It would be good to see any actual track, verses my desktop routes plotted on my dining room table. I haven't moved my files into Excell or Q-Pro, yet. As you may guess, I too have the Garmin planner program at home on my laptop. [Senior moment.. don't remember the program's title.]

As near as I can determine it is abt 176NMs from my dockage at VA Beach to Langford, MD going up the western shore line.

As a side note I have been trying to plan a trip to Smithfield Station, on the Pagan River, off the James River. It is a very pretty little town with good facilities. This would be a good test run for my first mate. Steve and I have tossed this around as a possible meeting place for an 'eye-ball' before the 'big' run. I have also plotted, this past week, a run up the James River to Richmond.

The WX looks great for this Saturday.... I hope to get the hull wet again... Boy, do I have the bug to get out there again on the bays... No ice, yet, expect it to be in the 60s. If it gets colder, my Wallas & First Mate will keep me warm.

73s
Sea Angel
 
David,
If you, or any other C-Brats, wants to leave their trailer at my home and make the run north, I can take 2 rigs on my lot. One rig beside the house and one in the front driveway. There are many good launch ramps here at reasonable rates.

My home is abt 12 miles from the ramp areas and if I am here, I will be glad to do the taxi. You would have to suffer with a ride in an older 1997 Volvo.

73's
Sea Angel
 
Art on Sea Angel:

The offer of parking sounds great. Although I might be inclined to launch at Richmond if the water on the James were perfect, it still takes the better part of a day to motor on down to Norfolk, and if the water isn't cooperative, there can be a fair degree of pounding on the lower end.

I'll put together a transmittal of some routes and tracks which might be useful, and would like to get together sometime, either on the James, or at Smithfield. Smithfield is one of our favorite places. They are very friendly, and we've gone there on the water, and have even trailered and launched at the nearby state facility.

I'm "on the hard" for a little while doing some work on the boat. This winter the projects are redoing the fender cleats to a cam version, and replacing the impeller and resealing the lower unit. I'm approaching 600 hours (in 3 years), and have been getting a little water incursion. Everything should be back together in another week or so. Then, it's back to boating!
 
As a soon-to-be C-Dory owner in the DC area, I am interested in knowing more about this gathering. Although we will be taking the boat up to MA in mid-June, we are buying from Cutter and will have it here until then. What is this gathering like? Do people cruise around during the day and anchor some place together in the evening? How does food and drink work? Appropriate for an 8 year old? It sounds like fun but I'd like to know more.
 
Welcome "soon to be". You might want to check the posts and photos regarding last year's trip to get a little flavor, and I'll leave it to others to let you know their particular recollections. Mine are of a leisurely gathering with great people who took pleasure in each other's company and boats. We overnighted at the Langford marina, and took informal day trips up and down the Chester, over to the Corsica, and pretty much everywhere in between. An 8 year old would fit in fine, and have lots of fun. One boat anchored at the marina, and the rest got slips.

I'm looking forward to meeting other C-Dory owners in the Norfolk area, and cruising north with them. Art, assuming you notice this post, I will plan on taking you up on the offer of parking and launch assistance. I've put together a package of Garmin routes, with a main route from your area up to Langford, and detours for places we might want to stop at, or might need to seek refuge in, depending on weather. I've included major rivers on each side of the Chesapeake, Tangier and Smith Islands, Chrisfield, Annapolis, etc. I'll send them along to you and anyone else who is interested.

Since there might be several of us traveling this route, I'm wondering what kind of itinerary you have in mind. Maybe we can kick something around, so we can make plans, and others can see if they're interested.
 
nscogin --

A picture says a thousand words, so if you wish to 'read' a few thousand words about the Chesepeake Gathering in '05 take a look at:

http://www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/eastshgath.htm

For a follow up on the cruising we did before and after the Gathering, check:

http://www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/2005.htm

Scroll down to May, and there are five more threads to follow that are pictures from the Gathering time.

Kids? Great time for and with them last year. They'll really enjoy it -- Terraplane Tom (and his banjo, harmonica, and 'dancing man') is a great entertainer -- and for us adults, a marvelous organizer.
 
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