On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:11:59 -0400, DSK wrote:

Your area of North Carolina is nice but Maine is absolutely the best
cruising on the east coast for my money. The only possible exception
is the Bahamian out islands but it's a bit of a stretch to call that
the east coast.


Hey, if you call the Great Lakes part of the east coast, why
be picky?

Ahem, we were talking about the Hudson River, not the Great Lakes.
You can get there however if you keep on going. Been there, done
that, interesting trip.

Big rocks & big tides make me nervous, but it has always
been very appealing up there. The bugs are worse than down here.

We had no issues with bugs, none at all. The tides are managable with
most marinas having floating docks. The rocks have all been there a
loooong time and are charted with a high degree of precision, unlike
the shifty channel entrances further south.

We were in Maine for 5 weeks last summer and might have stayed longer
except that it was starting to get cold at night in early September.


Wuss.

In all honesty, I might not stick around even that late. It
would be nice to get to the other side of the overcrowded
part of New England for the season, then teleport back when
the weather began to turn.

Once you get south of Cape Cod, September weather can be quite
enjoyable, often the best of the season. Last October was a bit
drafty however until we cleared the Jersey coast and Chesapeake Bay.
We came down through NY Harbor on the first Saturday in October when
it was blowing 35 to 40 out of the south. The next day was 25 to 30
out of the north all the way down the Jersey coast, and the following
week was gale force all throughout the northeast. We were in
Baltimore inner harbor that week and heard a few "interesting" storys
from people who had limped in. There was a howling nor'wester in the
Chesapeake the following Sunday and everyone who had gone out for a
weekend cruise was scurrying for cover as we went south to Solomons
Island from St Michaels.

Hey, if you call the Great Lakes part of the east coast, why
be picky?


Wayne.B wrote:
Ahem, we were talking about the Hudson River, not the Great Lakes.
You can get there however if you keep on going. Been there, done
that, interesting trip.


I hope so, we plan on going that way next year.


Big rocks & big tides make me nervous, but it has always
been very appealing up there. The bugs are worse than down here.


We had no issues with bugs, none at all.

Well, we don't either. Good screens, citronella candles, and
one of these
http://www.magent.com/electronicbugzapper.htm
quickly and easily chars any ones that get in. The bigger
horseflies take two hits.

My experience with New England biting insects is that their
season is short but ferocious. I guess being careful where
you anchor also helps a lot (as it does down here).



.... The rocks have all been there a
loooong time and are charted with a high degree of precision, unlike
the shifty channel entrances further south.


Had an interesting conversation with a Canadian who was
doing the Great Loop, this spring. He started by indignantly
saying that our charts are all wrong. This is one of the
great challenges of cruising, to learn & adapt to different
prevailing conditions & local hazards that wouldn't occur
'back home.'




Once you get south of Cape Cod, September weather can be quite
enjoyable, often the best of the season.

Harbors are a lot less crowded, too. Couple years back, a
boat I was on stopped in Cuttyhunk in August.... mob
scene... than again a few weeks later in mid September...
empty. The only downside to th elater visit was that the
bakery was closed for the season.


... Last October was a bit
drafty however until we cleared the Jersey coast and Chesapeake Bay.
We came down through NY Harbor on the first Saturday in October when
it was blowing 35 to 40 out of the south. The next day was 25 to 30
out of the north all the way down the Jersey coast, and the following
week was gale force all throughout the northeast. We were in
Baltimore inner harbor that week and heard a few "interesting" storys
from people who had limped in. There was a howling nor'wester in the
Chesapeake the following Sunday and everyone who had gone out for a
weekend cruise was scurrying for cover as we went south to Solomons
Island from St Michaels.


Yowzah!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:10:36 -0400, DSK wrote:

Harbors are a lot less crowded, too. Couple years back, a
boat I was on stopped in Cuttyhunk in August.... mob
scene...

It's incredible how popular Cuttyhunk has become. We started going
there in the 70s when you could still find room to anchor in the inner
basin and no one of dreamed of anchoring in the outer harbor unless
they were on an 80 footer.

In addition to the bakery, the other don't miss culinary opportunity
in the fresh seafood store on the main dock. They have fresh caught
striped bass many days and it is fantastic. They will also cook
lobsters to order at a half way reasonable price.

Some of my most enduring memories of Cuttyhunk are being overflown by
the seaplane while I was in the dinghy, and having a 3 pound steak
stolen from the barbeque by a seagull.

In article ,
DSK wrote:

Since the advent of extremely cheap seafood flown in from Asia, we've
had far less of a crab pot & net problem, cruising around here. But a
summer cruise up your way sounds like would be great fun.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

If I remember correctly that you're on the Chesapeake, it's because the
crabbers overfished for about a decade. There just aren't many crabs to
be had, so many have gotten out of the biz.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

DSK wrote:
Since the advent of extremely cheap seafood flown in from Asia, we've
had far less of a crab pot & net problem, cruising around here. But a
summer cruise up your way sounds like would be great fun.


Jere Lull wrote:
If I remember correctly that you're on the Chesapeake, it's because the
crabbers overfished for about a decade. There just aren't many crabs to
be had, so many have gotten out of the biz.


No, we're a bit further south but the crabs here are just as
good. The NC sounds have suffered a bit more degradation but
not been quite as heavily overfished. Frankly (and I say
this looking over my shoulder to make sure no fishermen are
listening) it's darn good thing to let the crabs & fish
alone for a few generations to recover.

Virginia & Marylands answer to the decline in catch has been
to increase the licenses... IIRC there are about 10X as many
licensed crab traps as there were three or four years ago...
and probably the fiscal pressure has led to many people
setting increased numbers of unlicensed traps. So it's a
relief to hear that many are leaving the business.

It's a shame that people have to give up a long honored way
of life, but hey times change. I can't expect to make a
living the way grandfather did, so I'm not too sympathetic
to the plea 'my daddy was a fisherman and so wuzz his daddy.'

Besides, the bays & rivers are a public resource... I own
just as much of it as they do, and they don't pay me a penny
for taking valuable stuff out of my share.

Regards
Doug King

In article ,
DSK wrote:

Jere Lull wrote:
If I remember correctly that you're on the Chesapeake, it's because the
crabbers overfished for about a decade. There just aren't many crabs to
be had, so many have gotten out of the biz.


No, we're a bit further south but the crabs here are just as
good. The NC sounds have suffered a bit more degradation but
not been quite as heavily overfished. Frankly (and I say
this looking over my shoulder to make sure no fishermen are
listening) it's darn good thing to let the crabs & fish
alone for a few generations to recover.

Now, one thing I've heard is that the catch was real good late last year
-- I'm thinking September -- so there's hope that the population will
increase fairly rapidly.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/