2 month itinerary from Chesapeake north?

[Tracyandkimo]

Looking for suggestions for 2 months cruise from the Chesapeake heading north. Would prefer to avoid big metro areas. Also, any cruising guides for the NE?
Thanks

[pjShap]

From the Chesapeake go straight to Maine. Best cruising on the east coast, except for the lobster pots. You can cruise Penobscot Bay and surroundings for a month or more, easily. Fabulous, and essential, cruising guide is "Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast".

If you want to sample the rest of the northeast, you could go up the East River in NYC, and out Long Island Sound, then up Buzzards Bay. But Maine is SO much nicer.

[Time2Go]

Originally Posted by pjShap

From the Chesapeake go straight to Maine. Best cruising on the east coast, except for the lobster pots. You can cruise Penobscot Bay and surroundings for a month or more, easily. Fabulous, and essential, cruising guide is "Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast".

If you want to sample the rest of the northeast, you could go up the East River in NYC, and out Long Island Sound, then up Buzzards Bay. But Maine is SO much nicer.

There is nothing like
Sailing past the Statue of Liberty
and then up the East River to
Long Island Sound.
Nice anchorage behind Sandy Hook
Time Hellgate to go thru at slack
Pick up an Eldridge and have fun
The upper and lower bays of NYC
are a trip
The Race on eastern Long Island Sound
is fun s also, just be sure to go with the tide
It will spit you out all the way to Block Island
Cheers
Neil

[earnric]

My husband and I are also thinking of sailing from Annapolis to Maine this June/July...

This will be our first trip out of the Chesapeake with our Jeanneau 42DS. The initial though is to go via the CD canal, down the Delaware Bay to Cape May then either to Sandy Hook or directly to Block Island... From there through Buzzards bay and the Cape Canal to P-town... Then maybe Boston and up to Portland.

Any suggestions? Should I make these stops on the way up or on the way back? Better places to go?

Thanks for any advice!?

[MicHughV]

I think you got it.

I did this trip some years ago.....short hops to Cape Cod, and straight for Maine from there.
So much to see and do. I'd budget two-three weeks to get to Cape Cod, and a month (min) for Maine, leaving you a week or so to get back. Or something along those lines. You never know about the weather, so always good to have a plan B.

What can I say about Maine....stunning....but oh lordy...those lobster traps are so densely distributed, you can practically walk ashore on them. They are everywhere, one place more densely packed than the next.
Those durn traps can be found way offshore too..usually marked with a radar reflector.

Anchoring among them can be a nightmare. I often bit the bullet and found some dock space somewhere for peace of mind and a good night's sleep. Might be a good idea to find a marina for a week and rent a car.

Sooner or later, you are going to encounter one wrapped around your keel....rudder...prop..that is pretty much a 100% given.
You'll need a wetsuit (water is quite cold, even in summer), snorkel, fins and a sharp knife. Sometimes, you can untangle them, but if they are wrapped around your prop........not good....

There are so many traps there, I found it simpler to just motor from one place to another so I could dodge them.

If the traps aren't bad enough.....you'll also have to contend with fog. It can get quite thick, but usually burns off by noon.

The lobster traps got the better of me after a while, like an annoying fly buzzing around your head..maybe someone else can give you better advice...

[MicHughV]

There are some 3,000,000 lobster pots in Maine...according to Google...

I thought the crap traps in the Chesapeake were a nuisance, when I cruised there....ha.....walk in the park compared to Maine...

'jes sayin'....

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by earnric

My husband and I are also thinking of sailing from Annapolis to Maine this June/July...

This will be our first trip out of the Chesapeake with our Jeanneau 42DS. The initial though is to go via the CD canal, down the Delaware Bay to Cape May then either to Sandy Hook or directly to Block Island... From there through Buzzards bay and the Cape Canal to P-town... Then maybe Boston and up to Portland.

Any suggestions? Should I make these stops on the way up or on the way back? Better places to go?

Thanks for any advice!?

I second the advice to pick up Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast

Provincetown is definitely a great place to see... on the way to Maine.

Rather than P-town-Boston-Maine, you might want to take the hop from P-town to Gloucester or Rockport, or just straight to Portland and beyond.

On your way back you can stop in Boston... Just an idea.

PM me if you want more info... And yes, watch the pots. In particular, the ones with the flag attached to a buoy attached to a line attached to the actual lobster pot buoy. They're common closer to Cape Cod, I've found.

That line is perfectly sized to hook the bulb or wing of a 6.5 ' keel (ask me how I know.) Definitely want to have an eye out...

[dlj]

Originally Posted by earnric

My husband and I are also thinking of sailing from Annapolis to Maine this June/July...

This will be our first trip out of the Chesapeake with our Jeanneau 42DS. The initial though is to go via the CD canal, down the Delaware Bay to Cape May then either to Sandy Hook or directly to Block Island... From there through Buzzards bay and the Cape Canal to P-town... Then maybe Boston and up to Portland.

Any suggestions? Should I make these stops on the way up or on the way back? Better places to go?

Thanks for any advice!?

I'm hoping to do the same, I'm up closer to Baltimore from Annapolis. The C&D canal is a nice trip over the the Delaware. I just came down from up that way this past October but really want to get up to Maine.

The trip from Cape May to Sandy Hook is just off the coast of Jersey with not much of interest. If you haven't gone through the New York Harbor, I quite agree with Time2Go. Do bear in mind the whole East River is done under motor. I guess you could get a lucky wind in the right direction to use sail, but likely you'll at a minimum be motor sailing. The east River is pretty cool to go up, you go by the United Nations building and lots more. You do this on a rising tide and hit Hells Gate at slack high tide. There is a lot of boat traffic in New York.

I'll probably go straight to Block Island on this trip but both ways are a good way to go. I think it depends upon how you feel on the trip from Cape May to Block Island. I believe it takes a couple days.

dj

[goodnumbers64]

Consider stopping in Cuttyhunk after Block Island. Great little place.
I second the lobster pot comments. I recommend you have a Marina put a cage around the prop. They are fairly common in Maine and well worth the cost and peace of mind.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by goodnumbers64

Consider stopping in Cuttyhunk after Block Island. Great little place.
I second the lobster pot comments. I recommend you have a Marina put a cage around the prop. They are fairly common in Maine and well worth the cost and peace of mind.

Agreed re: Cuttyhunk--it's a special place--though make sure you check your tide tables before you make your entry into the pond. It's shallow and narrow (ask me how I know)

[deblen]

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ts-223111.html

[MicHughV]

Maine is a remarkable place....you gotta do it at least once....lobster traps or not...you can go there by car off course, but going by boat gives you a better "Maine" experience.

Interestingly, while no-one can dispute that a freshly caught lobsters shmeared in butter is not delicious, in my opinion, the Chesapeake Bay blue crab tops it. If it weren't such a pain in the butt to open and clean a crab, it would be the king of cuisine.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Maine is a remarkable place....you gotta do it at least once....lobster traps or not...you can go there by car off course, but going by boat gives you a better "Maine" experience.

Interestingly, while no-one can dispute that a freshly caught lobsters shmeared in butter is not delicious, in my opinion, the Chesapeake Bay blue crab tops it. If it weren't such a pain in the butt to open and clean a crab, it would be the king of cuisine.

Which is why most folks especially those of us from here always order soft crabs ........(no shell) totally soft and can be eaten in a couple bites

We us to use "peeler" crabs back in the day as bait which is the blue crab between hard and soft as pictured.

About half the boys in my High School (Onancock) classes worked on crab boats with their Dad or a neighbor on the Bay back then

[MicHughV]

I was never one to eat crabs....

Anchored out at St. Michaels one day and was introduced to crab eating Chesapeake style...lordy...lordy....lordy.... I didn't know the first thing about them, but sat down next to this old gent, who showed me how to open and eat them.

I spent the 3-4 days there just so I could eat crabs every night..
came back two weeks later to do it all over again.

I've ate pretty much every kind of seafood.....but dem crabs are on top of the list.

Mind you, fresh Maine lobsters ain't bad either.....when I was there, lobsters were getting hard to find anymore....the one's I ate in area restaurants were quite small.

Off course, getting your own in the B'mas puts new meaning to "fresh"....

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I was never one to eat crabs....

Anchored out at St. Michaels one day and was introduced to crab eating Chesapeake style...lordy...lordy....lordy.... I didn't know the first thing about them, but sat down next to this old gent, who showed me how to open and eat them.

I spent the 3-4 days there just so I could eat crabs every night..
came back two weeks later to do it all over again.

I've ate pretty much every kind of seafood.....but dem crabs are on top of the list.

Mind you, fresh Maine lobsters ain't bad either.....when I was there, lobsters were getting hard to find anymore....the one's I ate in area restaurants were quite small.

Off course, getting your own in the B'mas puts new meaning to "fresh"....

Like I was saying the real delicacy is soft crabs.

You also don't need to be trained to eat them.

I haven't been up to the narrow Bay up North in a boat yet only in a car.