Sag Harbor to Reedville part one

On Aug 12, my Father, Father-in -Law, and Mother -in-Law left Reedville at 3:00 in the morning in route to Sag Harbor, NY to bring the new boat home.  The trip north was uneventful, and quicker than I expected, we arrived at John F's house by 2:00 that afternoon.  From there, we went straight to the boat and loaded our tools and supplies for the long trip that we had ahead of us.

After getting loaded, we went out for a short cruise out of the harbor to get a feel for the boat and to plan our route.  After our short boat ride, we returned to John's home where we had dinner and went straight to bed.  The next morning, everyone woke up early and went down to the dock.  We got underway by 8:00 & went by the lighthouse marking the entrance to Sag Harbor by 8:30.

 

 

 

                                     Within an hour, we had gone between Plum Point and Orient Point and then entered Long Island Sound.

 

 We had a great ride for the next few hours.  Long Island Sound is a beautiful stretch of water, with Connecticut on one side of us and Long Island NY on the other. During our trip down the sound, the water was like a sheet of steel, and other than a couple small rain showers the weather was great.

 Within a few hours, the skyline of New York City was coming into view, and by lunch time we were entering the East River.

  We were lucky enough to fall in behind a tugboat pushing a barge through the City so we were able to pay attention to some of the sites, rather than being focused strictly on navigating our way through the river.

 I have to say that New York City is a neat place, but I sure am glad that we were just passing through.

 After passing through Hells Gate, we went around the south end of Manhattan and into New York Harbor where we had to dodge between all of the commuter ferries.

 

We were within a mile of the Statue of Liberty, when our first bit of fun happened.

  Since we were an  unfamiliar vessel to this area, one of the numerous Coast Guard patrol vessels picked us out and boarded us. The two young men in the boarding party were very professional during their inspection, and luckily they did not find any infractions.

 

 

 

 

 

  After 30 minutes or so, we were free to continue our trip.  From there, we continued around Sandy Hook and then South to our first stop in Manesquan NJ.

 

 

We arrived at Crystal Point Yacht Club Marina by 6:30 that evening, where we had dinner and turned in early.

 The next day was going to be the longest part of our trip in open ocean between Manesquan and Cape May, needless to say I was a little nervous.

Sag Harbor to Reedville Part Three

On Thursday morning, once we were sure that the motor was in good shape, we took the lines in and left Chesapeake City, Maryland and crossed the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal to Schaffer’s Marina where we fueled up.  After topping off, we headed west out of the canal and at last into the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay. 

Once we passed the range light marking the west entrance to the canal I felt my blood pressure drop tremendously.  We had been on a long trip so far, and we still had a lot of water ahead of us, but at least I was on my home water of the Chesapeake Bay.  The weather was absolutely beautiful that day, and I couldn’t help but think that we really deserved it after all that we had been through over the past few days.  Luckily, we left at the beginning of ebb tide which helped push us down the bay that much faster. 

                                    

 As we went past all of the flats in the upper part of the bay, I couldn’t help but think about all of the stories that I read when I was younger about the market hunters and all of the ducks that populated this area in the past, but that will be a post for another time. 

Pretty soon, we were going past many of the areas including Aberdeen, Baltimore and the Magothy River that were familiar to me, but had never seen by water. 

Before long, we were approaching Kent Narrows and then under the Bay Bridge.  We passed by Annapolis and Thomas Point Light, then on to Tilghman Island, Chesapeake Beach, Calvert Cliffs, Patuxent River and Hooper’s Island.  Finally, things were starting to look more and more familiar.

 

 

 

 

 

Once we passed Point No Point Light I knew that we were within a couple hours of tying up in Reedville.  

We continued south past Point Lookout, across the mouth of the Potomac River, past Smith Point Light and then finally we made the turn into the Great Wicomico River. 

My Wife, three Sons and Mother were at the end of Fleeton Point waving to us as we went by.  My wife and I had been texting and talking the entire time since we left Sag Harbor, and needless to say she and the boys were as excited for us to be home as I was to get there. 

 

 

We continued into Cockrell’s Creek, past the fish factory, around the stack, past the Crazy Crab Restaurant at the end of Reedville, then up the creek to our dock.  When we got to the dock, my immediate family, Mother, Uncle Dudley, and Mother -in-Law were there waiting for us. 

 

 

 

 Once we were tied up to our dock in Fairport, Virginia my blood pressure was finally back to normal.  I knew that the long trip was over, we made it home safe and my new boat was back where she belonged.   I need to thank my Father for being the Chief Navigator and Consultant on this trip.  Without him being on the boat, I can’t imagine that this trip would have gone nearly as smooth as it did.  I also need to thank my Father -in-Law for being the Cook, Bartender, Photographer and Historian on this trip. 

 Over the next few weeks, the appearance of a new boat in the creek stirred a lot of interest.  I received many emails, texts and calls from people who remembered the boat when she was in the area ten years ago. Many people indicated that they were glad to have the boat home and wishing me the best in my new endeavor.  Needless to say, I was glad to hear the compliments and well wishes, they helped to make me feel much better about the big step that I have taken. 

Now that the boat is here, documented, name changed to Three Sons, and permits purchased it is time to go fishing! 

Luckily, I have been able to book a good number of trips for this fall Rock Fish season so far, but I still do have some great weekend dates available.  If you are looking to have a great day out on the Chesapeake Bay between now and December 31^st, please consider fishing with Southern Tide Guide Service.  I would love to have the opportunity to fish with you. 

Thank you for taking time to read this post.  Please return often, we will have many more posts coming soon.

Take care,
Joe