Alma’s Only is “up” for a post-gathering trip to St. Michaels, or something in that direction. We’ll have to pull from the western shore sometime Monday, June 9, but heading to St. Michaels on Sunday afternoon would work fine.
We’ll do most of our leisurely cruising on the front end of the gathering this time, and to avoid the long drive loop around the Chester River, are planning on launching Monday afternoon, June 2, at Chesapeake Beach, on the western shore, about 20 miles south of Annapolis, as the crow flies. There’s a marina there (Rod & Reel, Marina West, 3840 Gordon Stinnette Ave., Chesapeake Beach MD 301/855-3572) that charges a $10 launch fee, and $5/day to park the tow rig. We’ll spend the first night on a mooring ball at Annapolis, where the water taxi takes you to the heart of the city, and a free hot shower! The next morning, we’ll begin a clockwise loop into the northern Chesapeake, arriving at the C-Brat gathering on Friday, where we’ll be ready for more showering. A post gathering trip to St. Michaels would allow us to spend more time with C-Brats, and return to Chesapeake Beach by a direct crossing of the Chesapeake, south of St. Michaels.
Books which we’ve found useful for this type of boating are: Cruising the Chesapeake – A Gunkholer’s Guide, William H. Shellenberger, McGraw-Hill, and A Cruising Guide To The Chesapeake, Stone and Blanchard, Dood Mead & Co. The second is relatively obscure, but the first is available at any West Marine, and well worth the price. It is easy to reference, identifies just about every “gunkhole”, and includes chart references, history, etc. Probably the nearest thing to a “bible” for the Chesapeake, and it’s tributary rivers.
Larry and Tracy on Dragonfly, we’re looking forward to seeing you both (and the rest of the NC delegation). If you’re going to drive up I-95, you might want to consider a launch at Chesapeake Beach, and if the drive will be up the DelMarVa, take a look at the Easton/St. Michaels area. I can give you routes and tracks to use in your chartplotter, and you’ll spend a lot more time boating, and less driving, either way. The route from Easton/St. Michaels to the gathering is very protected from weather, and it looks like the post-gathering activities are heading that direction anyway. Same offer for routes and tracks holds for anyone else interested in launching other than at the gathering. And, anyone interested in all or part of the clockwise tour of the northern Chesapeake is welcome to join us.
Looking forward to June 6th!
David & Dayna
Alma’s Only