CSR Northeast Flotilla 2018 (Heading to Chesapeake Bay)

Button Beach (we always called it Belly Button, but it is marked on charts as Button Beach) is a cove in between Worton and Fairlee. Great beach, but exposed to open Bay so not a great place to spend the night. Awesome sunsets from beach though!

We don't mind staying overnight. It's really quiet and not much rocking from the channel. Great sunsets! Definitely not where you want to be in weather. Good mud and sandy bottom that holds really well.
 
OK here we go. And before anyone yells at me for giving away the cherished local knowledge that keeps this place serene, please note that this chart is direct from Navionics Sonar, and is publicly available!

....

To give yourself the best chance of success, go at a slack high. The current around that corner can make you look foolish, even if you have a plan and you know what you're doing! It looks like on July 29, the high high at Worton Creek is at 9:50AM. Add about 45-50 minutes for Still Pond, so it should be around 10:30AM. Low tide at Worton is at 4:54, so figure you'll have a falling tide all day until 5:30. Not ideal.

But don't be intimidated, there's a guy that rocks on up in there in a 65' Berty like a boss.

Thank you so much for this awesome intel - looks like a sweet spot to spend a couple of days after having been on the run for 3 days!!

The timing on Sunday will likely be an issue. The plan as it is now is to leave the NJ coast Sunday AM.
 
OK here we go. And before anyone yells at me for giving away the cherished local knowledge that keeps this place serene, please note that this chart is direct from Navionics Sonar, and is publicly available!

So basically, follow the red line. Everything is marked (although narrow) up until you get to the turn to starboard. Despite my prior hyperbole, you don't actually want to get close enough to the trees to touch them but you do want to get pretty close. Maybe 20-25'. Don't hold me to it, as I have never measured. The trick is to turn hard to starboard and as quickly as possible get to the line that is about 30' off the end of the row of private docks. The shallowest part is just after you turn (shown on the chart here), so what I like to do is get myself turned toward the docks, give it a toot of forward and drift over the shallow spot. If you drift to far to port you WILL touch down.

After that, proceed to the end of the last private dock, go a little further and turn to port out to deeper water. To maximize the experience, you want to get in a position where your props are in 7' of water but you can stand behind the boat. Boat should be oriented so the stern is facing NW. Beautiful hard sand. No Chesapeake muck here. I don't know how to explain how to position the boat other than it is trial and error. We sometimes use a depth spotter on the swim platform with a boat hook. Put the bow anchor down and start backing up. Have the stern anchor ready. We usually get set with bow and stern anchor, kill the engines and adjust manually (assuming you've left your self enough scope/slack).

There is plenty of room for a big raft there. We had a CSR raft up there a million years ago with at least 20 boats.

There is a ton of current that goes through here at full rip, as such:MAKE SURE YOU USE ENOUGH BOW AND STERN ANCHORS FOR YOUR RAFT. Alex, check with your fleet and make sure you have at least one per every three boats. I'm always shocked by how few people carry one, but then again, anchoring is my thing so I have at least two. Also, make sure you've got enough fenders (again shocked that I even need to say this, but you never know).

Also, anchoring with stern anchor is the only option here unless you go further out into the creek. You will see, this is what everyone does. Arriving on a Sunday is nice because you should be able to scope out the ideal spots as people leave.

To give yourself the best chance of success, go at a slack high. The current around that corner can make you look foolish, even if you have a plan and you know what you're doing! It looks like on July 29, the high high at Worton Creek is at 9:50AM. Add about 45-50 minutes for Still Pond, so it should be around 10:30AM. Low tide at Worton is at 4:54, so figure you'll have a falling tide all day until 5:30. Not ideal.

But don't be intimidated, there's a guy that rocks on up in there in a 65' Berty like a boss.

Tim,

Thanks a lot for helping out. This is very informative post. I'm taking notes and will study the charts. I'm sure I'll have questions, which I'll post later.
 
Keep in mind that a raft-up on the "outside" of Still Pond, near the mouth of Churn Creek, is almost as good as going inside and the navigation is as easy as it gets; go in, anchor (bow and stern). It can get a little frat-house-like (not that that's a bad thing but it is what it is) on weekends, but if you're showing up on a Sunday, you should be able to get spots on the sandbar--- there is one there too--- as people leave, and it should be pretty well cleared out by Sunday evening. Earlier caveats re: weather apply. Not a show stopper, just maintain situational awareness.
 
Hard to believe the trip is a little over 2 weeks away!
Really looking forward to it as I’m ordering spare filters,impellers etc...
 
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Ladies & Gentlemen,

Unfortunately GT II will not be making the trip. GT is getting pulled 7/17 as we will be having exhaust manifolds & all water side exchanges and After coolers pulled as our EGT climbs up to 1,000 degrees. We have confirmed manifold leakage and intend to follow Cummins newest changes to reworking the system as well as torque pattern with extended studs and increased washers.

Hopefully this work along with new Boat paint, Prop Glide applied to all running gear, tabs and exhaust ports as well as wheel pitch & cup modifications can put this all behavior nd us.

Have a safe enjoyable trip & please post daily pictures so the rest of us can follow along. Anyone making it down to KW this winter looks us up as we will be at Stock Island Village Marina again !
 
That is unfortunate, good luck with the repairs.

Looking forward to getting down there, time is getting closer and closer yet we still have so much to do to get ready!

After fighting with my E120 (that had radar attached) all last year we thought we resolved the issues, so instead of doing the upgrade we had planned last year we decided to hold off. Well the issues came back with a vengeance early this year so I just completed a full upgrade package. Would have rather have done this in the spring as I could have done it on the many rainy cold days we had, but its done!

Now we can enjoy a nice weekend in Martha's Vineyard this weekend and then prep the following weekend before we head off on Thursday to meet the group in NYC on Friday!
 
John, it’s unfortunate you can’t make it good luck with all the work being done, I’d like to reach out to you later and pick your brain on the gasket repairs.
 
John,
Sorry to hear about those unexpected repairs. But, I'm sure once all done, she'll be better than ever.

As we're going through research process on things to do and see, we could definitely use some help of local knowledge. Looking at the ports we're visiting:

Chesapeake City
Still Pond
Baltimore
St. Michaels
Annapolis
Rock Hall
Fairlee Creek
Havre de Grace
Cape May

...do you guys have recommendations on "must see/do", places explore by dinghies, place to explore by bikes, places to eat (as a group of 20-25 people).

Also, what are the cheap places to get fuel in the area?
 
Weather looks like it's going to be a real PITA for the trip, unfortunately. Still hoping to meet up with everyone if ya'll come down, though.
 
After fighting with my E120 (that had radar attached) all last year we thought we resolved the issues, so instead of doing the upgrade we had planned last year we decided to hold off. Well the issues came back with a vengeance early this year so I just completed a full upgrade package. Would have rather have done this in the spring as I could have done it on the many rainy cold days we had, but its done!

Now we can enjoy a nice weekend in Martha's Vineyard this weekend and then prep the following weekend before we head off on Thursday to meet the group in NYC on Friday!

Scott, I hope I get a chance to see your electronics upgrade on the trip, as this is going to be my Fall/Winter project...
 
looks like 1 boat is heading out today making the trek south we'll have 4 boats behind the Statue of Liberty friday night and head out Sat morning to meet up with Alex. keeping a close eye on the weather..
 
We are aiming to leave tomorrow AM, we decided against running into 6-8' seas on day 1 for the first 3-4 hours!

If tomorrow goes well we may get to Atlantic City Saturday night, but that would be a stretch.
 
Our goal has been to meet up with the group somewhere for at least a couple of days in the bay where it worked.

We finished the move the bay a week or so ago. Took 9-10 days longer than expected - electrical problem then trying to source parts over the holidays.

Left the boat last week, back home now - looks like we will finally have resolution on our AC issue - so that opens the door to head back to the bay.

Will be following the activities, seeing if any connection can work out.

Been my dream for a couple of years to meet up with this flotilla sometime.

This is going to be a great trip for the group.

Mark
 
Safe travels guys .wish we had the time to join you .we're heading the other direction for a week!
 
ron, you too i hear talk you have a flotilla of your own, you guys all have a great time and be safe.. talk soon.
 
Weather looks like it's going to be a real PITA for the trip, unfortunately. Still hoping to meet up with everyone if ya'll come down, though.

Can't do much about the weather. But, we're coming.....:)
 

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