Cruising Chesapeake Bay in the winter.

[RunningCool]

So, next March taking off from Florida Keys. Heading to Chesapeake.
Have a great dock offer in Kent Island.
But, its a year lease. So, being a liveaboard and not familiar with the Bay.
How hard is it to deal with winter there.

Or, crusie up and down the Bay. Thats my big question.

Crusie or have home port and then explore from there.

Well equipped Rafiki double-ender.
Thx, looking for all ideas.

[thomm225]

If you are from Florida especially the Keys, you will find the weather here quite cold in Winter.

This time of year is perfect though.

You'll be more interested in how to keep warm living on your boat especially in January and February.

The Sun reaches a low of around 30 degrees in December so things really start to cool off after that.

I returned here in March 2009 wearing my Pensacola clothes and liked to froze. I'm from here (ESVA) but had been gone for many years.

I soon got some long underwear, toboggans, heavier boots, and clothes and then I was fine.

We got 9 inches of snow in November of that year.

There are lots of shallow spots also especially up that way where you will be.

Hope you have a shallow draft else you'll be in the channels a lot.

I draw 4' and can get way up into the back bays, creeks, and rivers.

[MGRodems]

The cruising in the Chesapeake in winter is difficult since most marinas shut off their water at the docks and many places you would want to visit would be closed. It can get cold. I remember ice skating around my moored sailboat one winter in Annapolis - Spa Creek. That was in the eighties before global warming. On the other hand they race most of the winter "Frostbiting" if the weather is OK. Many owners winterize their eigines and water systems for the winter.

A heater and insulation is a must. Snow is possible/probable. Saw several feet in a snowfall on a few occasions. Docks can get slippery.

[RunningCool]

Ouch. The more I break my brain. I am starting to lean into just cruising the Bay from April to Oct. Want to see the boat show. Never been.

Then start back to Boot Key Harbor in Marathon.

Closer I get I will start to ask questions on the area from you Chesapeake guys.
Thx

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by RunningCool

Heading to Chesapeake.
Have a great dock offer in Kent Island.
But, its a year lease. So, being a liveaboard and not familiar with the Bay.
How hard is it to deal with winter there.

Or, crusie up and down the Bay. Thats my big question.

Crusie or have home port and then explore from there.

Originally Posted by RunningCool

Ouch. The more I break my brain. I am starting to lean into just cruising the Bay from April to Oct. Want to see the boat show. Never been.

Then start back to Boot Key Harbor in Marathon.

Closer I get I will start to ask questions on the area from you Chesapeake guys.

Folks usually winterize up here, generally from circa 1 Dec through 31 March... although you can sometimes push both of those limits a bit.

But as mentioned, marinas often shut off dockwater, so that's something to deal with. As is pump-outs.

Ours puts us on notice for 15 Nov, but then they let it slide a bit if weather permits. And then they also have a couple indoor bibs and some folks periodically run a long (!!!!) hose from there to fill tanks. (And then I think they resort to using shore-side head only.)

Kent Island, maybe in the Narrows someplace? Good semi-central location, so cruising anywhere from Solomons (south) to Havre d'Grace and Chesapeake City (north) gives you boat loads of destination options. And for anchorages, you'll benefit from a copy of "Cruising the Chesapeake, a Gunkholer's Guide" by Bill Shellenberger.

I's suggest you consider spending your arrival and departure trips for stops along the lower Bay, i.e., south of Solomons. And then April-ish through November-ish you can do your thing up here.

-Chris

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by RunningCool

Ouch. The more I break my brain. I am starting to lean into just cruising the Bay from April to Oct. Want to see the boat show. Never been.

Then start back to Boot Key Harbor in Marathon.

Closer I get I will start to ask questions on the area from you Chesapeake guys.
Thx

That's a perfect time to be up here and also to avoid the hurricane season in Florida. We have been lucky over the past few years with only a weakened Hurricane Dorian giving us 65 knot winds in 2019 I think it was.

You will have 150 miles plus of Bay to explore.

There's free anchoring near the wharf in Onancock, VA on the Eastern Shore with 8' depth all the way in.

Cape Charles, VA is also another small town you might like to visit with plenty of docking space.

[marcjsmith]

Wellif youa re keeping the insides of the boat heated, you won't likley need to winterize anything. keep in mind that if you are using a heat pump, you may need to supplement with some electric heat. as once the water temps get into the 30's not much in the way of heating... maybe you get 60's out of the vents.

some of the little towns/shops that are active in the summer go dormant in the winter, especially so it would not be uncommon for some place to have thurs-sun reduced hours.

shouldn't have any trouble finding transient slips...or finding free space at local town docks. just be mindfull of when the wind blows out of the north for several days it takes the water with it. so if you go too far up some of the creeks, you may find yourself trapped.

[thomm225]

North wind down here at my dock on the very Southern end of the Bay gives us really high tides, and we are usually a few degrees warmer.

[marcjsmith]

Originally Posted by thomm225

North wind down here at my dock on the very Southern end of the Bay gives us really high tides, and we are usually a few degrees warmer.

I don't envy the warmer temps...

had the wind blow the water out of rockhold creek in deale enough that i was stuck in the mud at the dock.... doesn't happen happen often, but seems more frequent in the colder months...

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by RunningCool

So, next March taking off from Florida Keys. Heading to Chesapeake.
Have a great dock offer in Kent Island.
But, its a year lease. So, being a liveaboard and not familiar with the Bay.
How hard is it to deal with winter there.

Or, crusie up and down the Bay. Thats my big question.

Crusie or have home port and then explore from there.

Well equipped Rafiki double-ender.
Thx, looking for all ideas.

Traveling north in March will be a challenge. Weather can be ugly. Also, despite global warming, as recently as 5 years ago significant parts of the open Chesapeake froze solid. One of the popular items in chandlers this time of year is a slip de-icer. Can be done, but it will be an adventure!

[Pandor]

It is quite normal in the Chesapeake to pay a year’s lease but only keep your boat there six or seven months. The other five months are spent further south or on the hard.

With the lower cost in the Chesapeake, you still make out compared to anything in Florida.

If you leave it in the water year round, common practice is to winterize it making live-aboard difficult. Yes, I know there are plenty that still manage.

[Rohan]

This thread is titled "Cruising Chesapeake Bay in the winter"

You won't find many people cruising in the winter. Like over 95% of sailboats won't be on the water during Dec-Feb. You will see some fishermen, and commercial shipping, and that's about it. The upside is you will have the water pretty much to yourself. Downside is it's cold and the trees are bare so the scenery isn't as pretty.

If you are living aboard then you don't need to worry about winterizing, as long as you keep a minimum amount of heat inside. Now having said that, honestly, you need a sustained freeze to damage boats, and the past two winters haven't been cold enough. I winterized my boat, but I could have gotten away with skipping it. Can't guarantee that streak next year though.

Also keep in mind that many marinas turn off their water AND pump-out stations during the winter, and there's no part of the Chesapeake Bay where it's legal to dump your holding tanks. So if that's the case in your marina, you need to make other arrangements or be elsewhere during that period.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Rohan

This thread is titled "Cruising Chesapeake Bay in the winter"

You won't find many people cruising in the winter. Like over 95% of sailboats won't be on the water during Dec-Feb. You will see some fishermen, and commercial shipping, and that's about it. The upside is you will have the water pretty much to yourself. Downside is it's cold and the trees are bare so the scenery isn't as pretty.

If you are living aboard then you don't need to worry about winterizing, as long as you keep a minimum amount of heat inside. Now having said that, honestly, you need a sustained freeze to damage boats, and the past two winters haven't been cold enough. I winterized my boat, but I could have gotten away with skipping it. Can't guarantee that streak next year though.

Also keep in mind that many marinas turn off their water AND pump-out stations during the winter, and there's no part of the Chesapeake Bay where it's legal to dump your holding tanks. So if that's the case in your marina, you need to make other arrangements or be elsewhere during that period.

Most folks down this end of the Chesapeake Bay do not have their boats hauled in Winter.

Most just Winterize.

One guy actually asked me if I had Winterized my outboard yet one year.

I said no, it's an outboard.

I do run it once every two weeks or so though all Winter.

Last year my boat was in the yard from Nov-Feb, so I was sanding and painting during that period.

[X Fernandez]

I’ve essentially lived aboard in Annapolis for four winters. If you have reverse cycle heat you’ll be able to use it for all but a couple of weeks in the winter. One or two $100 caframo heaters will suffice during that time and augment during the rest of the winter. Reverse cycle is nice because it keeps the boat dry. A bare light bulb in the engine compartment will protect your engine or you can spend some money and get an automatic engine compartment heater (about $300). Water can be brought to the boat by hand if no winter water or you can buy a couple hundred feet of cheap hose to get to the nearest hose bib. Your biggest concern is reliable electrical power in this scenario and making sure it’s adequate to the heater loads.
The very best source of heat is a diesel heater. You can get a cheap version from China for a few hundred dollars or spend more if you like. Cheap, dry, reliable source of heat.
Not much cruising in the dead of winter, but I winterized the boat the first winter and regretted it. Plenty of beautiful, moderate temperature days and weekends to sail.

I’ve done all of the above, except the diesel heater, with comfortable results. The diesel heater will likely be the addition for this year.

Best of luck.

[SofaKingFishy]

I lived aboard on the bay for 4 years. You WILL run aground- especially up Kent Island way. It’s soft mud so it’s rare any damage is done, but its black & sticky, so you will need towing.

It does get cold here, but doesn’t last more than 3 months. I have a diesel heater and a dehumidifier & it’s nice & comfy.

A bubbler is nice but not necessary as the water is brackish, and ice jacking is rare.

Most marinas have a frost proof spigot on land when the dock water is shut off in November. You’ll need a long hose.

Icy docks are dangerous! 3 dock mates went into the bay over my time here & 1 lived to laugh about it.

Fleecy with undergear is the call- get some slip on UGG style boots for the walk to the head.

Put Old Bay on everything and you’ll fit right in.