I am now living in Williamsport and Haverford Pa. Long Island is just too inconvenient.
Specific Suggestions on best places to keep the boat?
NJ shore? Chesapeake?
I checked Neshemy State Park but thats way up the Delaware above Philadelphia.
Quote from: crieders on April 26, 2018, 06:18:25 AM
I am now living in Williamsport and Haverford Pa. Long Island is just too inconvenient.
Specific Suggestions on best places to keep the boat?
NJ shore? Chesapeake?
I checked Neshemy State Park but thats way up the Delaware above Philadelphia.
how would you define "best"? Mine is currently in Barnegat, NJ, but other members here are in Philly, Chesapeake, and the Raritan river
You're closer to two wonderful international waterways with lotsa opportunities for trips to NY Pa OH ONT etc.
Weekend traffic might be a consideration. On the Chesapeake, Rock Hal, the Sassafrass, and Havre de Grace are popular ports with sailors from Phily. My yacht club - Chesapeake Yacht Club - has some great incentive offers to at track new members, but it's a ways from Phily on the West River south of Annapolis.
Looks like you are going to be a drive from where ever you decide. Consider one of the Great Lakes. No hurricanes, salt-free, and no sharks.
I'm just saying its worth a thought.
Jim
We're just 2 seasons in on our boat. The first season was on the Barnegat Bay in New Jersey where we bought her. In June of our second season, we moved her down to Worton Creek on the Chesapeake and we absolutely love it. About the closest point on the Upper Chessy for you is Havre De Grace. Still have lots of destinations however, I think you'd be looking at a bit of motoring between deep water and the marina each way. Check the charts.
Wow do we actually have members in Philly? I would love to chat with those folks. My son works for Tow Boat US Phila and is not crazy about the river for a 34 foot sailboat.
The advantage of the Eastern Shore of Maryland is that from Phily, you only have to be on 95 for a short period, which mean less traffic issues. The traffic thru Delaware on 301 is not usually too bad since it does not go to the beaches. But I lived in Phily quite a few years ago, so things may have changed.
We are in Rock Hall, MD.... MANY boat owners at our marina (and on the Chesapeake in general) are from PA. If you live outside of Philly, the eastern shore is where you need to be :thumb:
Roc what marina are you in? I have a deep fin keel. Will that work in your area?
do we actually have members in Phila on the Delaware?
Looks like we cant search by location unfortunately
I live outside Philly (Phoenixville). I raced J27s with Liberty Sailing Club on the Delaware for several years before buying my 34. Its a fine river for getting comfortable with the boat, but I think you'll get bored very quickly... you can go north, your can go south, you can go north, you can go south.... Not many places to go and strong currents that need to be figured into any trip.
I have the boat on the Chesapeake (Maryland Marina, Middle River) now and am very happy with it. Right now there are 3 C34's at the marina, and a couple others nearby. Rock Hall, Baltimore, and Annapolis are all easy weekend trips, and Middle River's south of the sometimes restricted waters around Aberdeen, and the shallows of Havere de Grace. Up to a 6' draft is very doable for the upper Chesapeake. Frankly I think you'd have more trouble on the Delaware - all the marinas silt in from the river and have to be dredged every couple years... a big expense they all seem to avoid paying until boats start leaving.
I don't think traffic is too bad driving to Middle River, but I would go Eastern shore before I considered moving to the south side of Baltimore. Rock Hall is a great town, and I love visiting, but I like the slip fees where I am.
Alex
I live in Swarthmore, and have direct experience with many of the possibilities you mention.
In 10 days we'll start our third season on our C34MkII. We keep her in Rock Hall (different marina than Roc), and winter on the hard in Essington on the Delaware. It's a two-day trip between the two, but I really like having her 12 minutes from home during the winter.
Everyone is different, and your deep draft may affect your choices somewhat. The eastern shore of the Chesapeake is dominated by people from the Philly suburbs. Half the people in my marina live <20 minutes from me (total coincidence - I didn't know any of them before we moved down there). We like Rock Hall because you can go North, South, West, or East (into Chester River) depending on the wind. Also, there are literally hundreds of destinations within easy reach - we haven't even scratched the surface yet. Havre de Grace is closer, but a long motor, and directionally constrained. We haven't been into Middle River, but we've heard about marinas with more reasonable prices there. (Rock Hall is definitely pricey.) Bohemia River is pretty area and lower cost, but with your draft it's probably a no-go. Sassafras River is beautiful, but another long motor before you're sailing.
Before buying our current boat, we sailed our C250 on the Delaware River for 6 seasons. We kept her in Essington, where the water was plenty deep. I would tell people "it doesn't suck as much as people think." Our kids were younger then and we did almost exclusively daysailing, so we wanted to have the boat near home all year round. It was a great boat for the Delaware. Unless the wind was blowing north-south (rare), we would tack every 10 minutes, but the C250 had the genoa winches on either side of the companionway hatch, so my wife would just sit there with a winch at each shoulder and easily tack the jib. Or, if I was singlehanded, I'd use a wireless autopilot remote and auto-tack from the same position. From Essington, we had a few overnight destinations, including Penns Landing Marina to the north (our favorite from there), Delaware City to the south. We even took her through the canal to Chesapeake City, Bohemia, Rock Hall, Sassafras, and Baltimore on several cruises, and also down to Cohansey River. So it's not all bad, but I do think a C34 is constrained in those waters. You should keep her somewhere that you can stretch out. The downtown Philly marinas are mostly dumps with lots of shady characters around, aside from Penns Landing (but they lack most basic services, so best only for a few days visit.) Upriver, Winters Sailing Center is a very nice marina (Catalina dealer), with a surprising number of big sailboats - much more than I would expect from the narrowness of the river there and the shallowness of Dredge Harbor.
There are lots of choices, but it's hard to beat the Chesapeake for a sailboat. We use it as our vacation home, and head down almost every weekend regardless of the weather forecast. (Central air helps a lot with that, since we can just stay in the slip if it's one of those infamous sticky Chesapeake nights.)
Also, road improvements have made weekend traffic to the eastern shore much less of a problem. The new interchange from I-95 onto Delaware Route 1 (there is traffic, but it keeps moving), and they're building new a bypass past Middletown that will shave another 10-15 minutes off the trip. We make it to Rock Hall in 1:45.
We are at Haven Harbour in Swan Creek. There are many large boats in our area, that I will guess have deep drafts. Channel is around 6'. I'm guessing that Rock Hall harbor may have a deeper channel. There are marinas there also (My marina, Haven Harbour bought Sailing Emporium and now named it Haven Harbour South. They are doing extensive work to upgrade it, so you might want to check that out.). If you contact Haven Harbour, tell them I gave you the reference and I can get a coupon to put towards free service! :clap
We've been at Rock Hall since 2001. Have enjoyed every minute of it. Lots of destinations and adventures to discover. The Chesapeake is like Disney World for Sailing! :thumb:
Great information
Thanks everyone
I will check these places out
Looks like no JS
During the season I keep my boat at Rock Hall Landing in the main harbor. We still do a fair amount of daysailing, and it's closer to the Bay so it eliminates the 25 minute motor each way out of/into Swan Creek. It's also a little less pricey than Haven Harbour, and has a decent pool for cooling off. It also gets a nice breeze most evenings, coming right over the breakwater from the prevailing southwesterly direction. On the downside, it can get a little noisy on Saturday nights with the nearby restaurants. Usually we're anchored out somewhere on Saturdays.
We've chartered out of Haven Harbour, and it is a beautiful property, and might have more things of interest to young children if that concerns you. Like Rock Hall Landing, Haven Harbour South (formerly Sailing Emporium) is close to the noisy restaurants. It is bound to be spruced up (and prices raised) by the new owners. The major downside is that it's much more remote from the town by road. We like walking into town from the marina, which makes Rock Hall Landing, North Point (another one worth considering), or Haven Harbour better located than Haven Harbour South IMO. It's still an easy drive into town, or you can take bicycles (available from most marinas) or the town tram.
I personally like the motor from Swan Creek into the open bay. It takes 30 minutes max. Not a big deal. The main reason I don't mind is that it gets the diesel working hard. The worse thing for the engine is short time motoring.
Rock Hall seems ideal but someone told me to check out Elk River area as closer to Phila
I did not see that as having any marinas.
Any knowledge on Elk river vacinity?
Does that someone own a sailboat? Elk River has strong currents and skinny water on both sides. There are a few marinas, but if you look at the charts you won't see enough water for a sailboat to get into them. I dropped my fishing boat in at Triton Marina about 25 years ago with my wife and two kids, and overheated the outboard on the way back to the trailer ramp because the motor sucked in so much silt. I had to jump in and push the boat back to the ramp, wading through 2 feet of muck up to my balls. Oh, and it was Father's Day. :cry4`
Prevailing wind is from the south in the summer, so be prepared to do a lot of motoring to where it opens up at Turkey Point, especially if you're against the current. And even once you get to Turkey Point, you'll still have to beat against the prevailing wind to the south.
Bohemia is off the Elk River. I mentioned it in my prior post. I used to love it in my C250. I tried to get my C34 in there a few weeks ago to anchor overnight while transiting the canal, and I ran aground. And in the fall, when winds turn northwest, it will blow all the water out of the Bohemia River.
Elk River is closer to Philadelphia. But the extra 15-30 minutes or so of driving to get further down the Bay will save hours of unnecessary motoring and open up many more cruising possibilities. I already mentioned Sassafras River, which is very picturesque and well protected. Next one down would be Worton Creek. We considered them all, and still decided to make the extra drive down to Rock Hall. Ultimately it's your choice. You should take a day and hit all of them in the car. Roam the docks, talk to sailboat owners, then make your own decision.
I took a drive down there today
Gratitude was nice but pretty exposed
Green Point on Wharton Creek seemed nice and close to the Bay. Know anything about that location
Were also 2 nice marinas in Rock Hall Harbor
Had a good talk with a Catalina 387 owner at Gratitude
He made the sailing down the Jersey coast sound easy
I'm starting my second season @ Worton Creek Marina after moving down from the Barnegat Bay in Jersey. The Admiral and I absolutely love it! We're still newbies as this is just the start of our third season with a non-trailerable boat.
I live in South Jersey just across the river from Philly and it takes us 1 hr 45 minutes, without traffic, to get there. A big slow down is driving through Middletown, DE however, they're building a highway around that I believe is supposed to open the end of this year that some say will shave 10+ minutes off the trip.
Worton Creek has 3 marinas with a very easy approach through the cut. Green Point Landing, Handy's Point Marina and Worton Creek Marina. Of the three marinas, Worton Creek Marina offers a few amenities the other two don't like fuel, well stocked marine store, a very nice small restaurant with excellent food, a pool and a full service marina. It's also 5+ minutes up the creek from Green Point Landing so, it offers more protection from inclement weather and Worton Creek is generally a very nice anchorage. I don't think you can go wrong at any of the three marinas. I will say, based on observation while going past Green Point Landing, you need to be careful which dock you select because the wind can bounce boats around a bit as its right at the cut. We can put up our sails 15 minutes away from the dock but, we usually wait 20+ to get past the fish pots to the bay proper (still newbies). Just outside the cut there's a great day anchorage on the North side of creek at the mouth of the bay with a small beach that is very popular.
-Bill
I'll add that the folks at Green Point are very nice, had a well-run, professional operation (at least 10 yrs ago anyway.). Had 2-3 interactions with them when delivering a C-42 Pullman I had brokered from Green Pt to Great Neck LI. And the seller had been very pleased having been there for many years.
-k
Quote from: KWKloeber on June 11, 2018, 06:49:24 PM
I'll add that the folks at Green Point are very nice, had a well-run, professional operation (at least 10 yrs ago anyway.). Had 2-3 interactions with them when delivering a C-42 Pullman I had brokered from Green Pt to Great Neck LI. And the seller had been very pleased having been there for many years.
-k
I'll second that. Very nice owners / family. I seriously considered going there. Especially knowing my brother-in-law stayed there with their sailboat with the same owners for many years and loved it. We were enticed away by a few more amenities.
Cliff what did you decide to do?