Best time for extended cruising around the Chesapeake

Best time for an extended cruise.
Weather's nice
Lots of food on board
Fuel tanks full
Water tank full
holding tank empty.

As much as we grumble about the brutal heat & humidity in July and August, the weather for most of this past week has been absolutely perfect!

Having kept a boat in Rock Hall for 10 years, my selection would be September and October. Additionally, many years we enjoyed Thanksgiving on the boat as well. The traffic is gone and the fall foliage is beautiful. there are an unlimited number of creeks, gunkholes, anchorages and towns to explore. Bring your bicycles and enjoy the special culture of the bay shore inhabitants. In ten years, I was not able to see it all.

Aquabelle said:

Some time in 2020, we hope to have 12-16 weeks to spend on and around the Chesapeake. Apart from the on-water experiences, seems like there are great landside trips and sights as well.

If your timing was un-constrained, what is the optimal window you would shoot for having regard to weather conditions? Note though....we don't do really cold weather!

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Mid Sept thru Oct is nice most everywhere.

It occurs to me... since we've had 42 (or maybe 43, now) days of temps in the 90°sF... with most of August still left to go...

That maybe it's also useful to mention that AC (aircon) fixes things, at least for "indoor" activities... and mornings and evenings outdoors can be decent anyway...

We haven't found ourselves not doing boating activities, just because of the heat. We don't usually anchor out in July or August -- unless conditions are more benign than usual -- but that doesn't at all mean we can't be onboard and going places whenever we feel like it.

-Chris

Hopping over to the coast give some relief.
This summer I an in Myrtle Beach area and there is no comparison to the cooler sea breeze off Maryland, Delaware and Jersey Atlantic shores.

We used to live in Arnold (next to Annapolis) and one of the great ironies of the Chesapeake is that you have one of the greatest boating areas, with one of the shortest enjoyable boating seasons. I think we only boated a lot about three months out of the year. The rest of the time, it was too hot, or (mostly) too cold. You do see the "Frostbite Sailors" out all winter, but I couldn't do it!

For you locals, how are the nettles this summer? How far up are they?

We found them a drawback a few times when we wanted to dive off the boat for a quick dip.

caltexflanc said:

For you locals, how are the nettles this summer? How far up are they?

We found them a drawback a few times when we wanted to dive off the boat for a quick dip.

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I have not seen any so far this season. Last time I was on the water was Sunday, August 4th on Herring Bay.

Group9 said:

We used to live in Arnold (next to Annapolis) and one of the great ironies of the Chesapeake is that you have one of the greatest boating areas, with one of the shortest enjoyable boating seasons. I think we only boated a lot about three months out of the year. The rest of the time, it was too hot, or (mostly) too cold. You do see the "Frostbite Sailors" out all winter, but I couldn't do it!

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Really? When we stick around here for a whole year, we run from (usually mid-) March through (usually mid-) November. Latter mostly because holiday travel starts to interfere...

But then again, we've got two ACs and a genset... and I'm not afraid to use 'em.

caltexflanc said:

For you locals, how are the nettles this summer? How far up are they?

We found them a drawback a few times when we wanted to dive off the boat for a quick dip.

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Haven't seen any nettles here near Annapolis yet this year.

Our cockpit shower has been an occasional solution in the past.

-Chris

Best time to cruise in Socal? Most of the year! As I write this it's about 77 In the afternoon but with a breeze. I have a/c but don't really need it. Owning a boat in San Diego is pure joy except for one thing....the best destination, Catalina Island, is 70 miles away! The wildlife we encounter, however, just outside the bay is incredible. Sea lions, dolphins, whales, etc. makes a short offshore cruise (2 hours) very enjoyable.

No nettles to be seen this year. It may be due to lower salinity levels in the bay this year.

caltexflanc said:

For you locals, how are the nettles this summer? How far up are they?

We found them a drawback a few times when we wanted to dive off the boat for a quick dip.

Click to expand...