Rendezvous Info:

CHESAPEAKE FLEET TO ENJOY 3 MORE CRUISES
Spring | Summer | Fall

At the Groundhog Day Extravaganza, several ideas were discussed.

1. Plan cruises during cooler weather (the Earth is warming!)
2. Have 3 weeklong cruises, each beginning on a Friday, one each during spring, early summer and fall.
3. Spend the first 1-3 days, when possible, in one area allowing others to catch up (if they can't get away on Friday or if they are too far away.)
4. Have the awards dinners on Thursdays, instead of Friday or Saturday;
   • Restaurants are glad for the mid-week business and are more accommodating, less demanding.
   • This allows a long weekend for those whose homeport is far away.

Itinerary:

CDSOA Chesapeake Fleet Spring Cruise 2003:
Little Choptank & Choptank Rivers, May16-22

Date

5/16

We'll begin the weekend by thoroughly exploring the Little Choptank River, with plans to visit Old Trinity Church (built between 1670 and 1680) and the Spocott Windmill. When the wind is right, we'll head north to the little village of Sherwood on Harris Creek, where there are friendly folks and an antiques dealer. Then a 12 mile run down the Choptank to Island Creek for another raft up. Crossing the Choptank, we'll explore Lecompte Bay (or go into the Creek if rough weather). Finally, we'll have the awards dinner in the Oxford area, the restaurant to be determined.

Attending the Spring Cruise? Please notify Bud Menchey by May 1st. You can contact Bud at 717-854-9919 or email him at smenchey@blazenet.net.

More information regarding this event.

Web Site Info for Spring Cruise:

• The Little Choptank River, courtesy of John's Sailing Web, John Stevenson.
• Oxford and Choptank River, courtesy of John's Sailing Web, John Stevenson.
• Neck District Tour-Spocott Windmill, courtesy of Dorchester County Public Library
• Little Choptank River, Taylors Island, Slaughter Creek (all tide charts courtesy of HarborTides.com)

CDSOA Chesapeake Fleet Summer Cruise 2003:
Lower Eastern Shore and Rappahannock Rivers, June 20-26

Our summer cruise is a bit more ambitions and should appeal to our southern members. After anchoring in the Solomons area on Friday, we'll plan to go to Chance, on Deal Island (We'll be arriving on a rising tide.). Expect to see skipjacks, other work boats and to enjoy soft shell crabs in this working harbor. On Sunday, we'll head south to Crisfield with its larger, state-owned mooring. Depending on the weather, we may stay more than one day. With good weather, the next port is Onancock, VA. We'll finish this southern Bay cruise by crossing back to the western shore, probably to Fishing Bay in the Piankatank River. The final leg of our cruise will be in the Rappahannock River with an awards dinner tentatively planned for the Carter Creek area.

Attending the Summer Cruise? Please notify Bud Menchey by June 1st. You can contact Bud at 717-854-9919 or email him at smenchey@blazenet.net.

More information regarding this event.

Web Site Info for Summer Cruise:

• Solomons Island, courtesy of Solomons Business Association; and Solomons Island, MD, courtesy of NET Connection, Inc.
• Deal Island WMA, courtesy of Maryland Division of Natural Resources
• Crisfield, Maryland, courtesy of Goldsborough's Marine Inc.; and The City of Crisfield, MD Official Home Page
• Onancock, Virginia; and The Town of Onancock
• Deltaville, Virginia, courtesy of the Deltaville Community Association, Inc.
• Fishing Bay Local Links, courtesy of Fishing Bay Harbor Marina
• Rappahannock River River, courtesy of John's Sailing Web, John Stevenson.
• Carter Creek, courtesy of John's Sailing Web, John Stevenson.

CDSOA Chesapeake Fleet Fall Cruise 2003:
Fall Cruise- Rock Hall and Miles River, Sept. 26-Oct. 2

Having survived the cold, wet weather of the Spring Cruise and the long runs of our ambitious Summer Cruise, we have yet another treat in store for you.

The daily runs are short, 14nm is the longest one, so there is plenty of time for sailing on your own, sleeping late, or whatever. Each day is an anchorage, but we’re never very far from a marina. If you need water, fuel, etc., we’ll be passing through Kent Narrows on the 3rd day, and we’ll be sailing by St. Michaels on the 5th day.

Some of the creeks will be new to some of us, but I’ve been to all of them and can attest to their beauty. And, yet, there will be some shallow water – after all, this is the Chesapeake Bay – but unlike our summer cruise, there shouldn’t be a serious grounding problem. (Maggie Rose almost ended up on a rock jetty coming into Deal Island and that was most unfortunate, but I had never been there and had been assured there would be no problem (obviously my local knowledge source was wrong!))

During recent cruises we’ve had many enjoyable raft ups but we’ve also had a few incidents of rough weather causing us to break up the raft. Also, our happy hours have tended to be on the same boats each time and have lasted for several hours, which is usually nice and fun, but leads to a lot of hor d’ourves and very few evening “meals” for which we all provision. So, borrowing our idea from other sailing clubs, we’d like to try something different on this cruise. Unless there is rough weather, we’ll have a happy hour each day and we will or will not raftup, but Happy Hour will be held on a different boat (s) and will last for no more than 2 hours. At this point it is recommended that the rafting boats leave the anchor boat and anchor individually, unless previous arrangements have been made with the anchor boat. This will give the crew of the anchor boat time to clean up, have a real meal, and enjoy some privacy if they desire.

So, when you notify Bud of your participation for this cruise, please state the following:

1. Date you plan to join the cruise and whether you will continue through the awards dinner
2. Whether you would be willing to host a happy hour on your boat

Note: If we have a large turnout, I’ll arrange for more than one anchor boat each evening.

Attending the Fall Cruise? Please notify Bud Menchey by September 1st. You can contact Bud at 717-854-9919 or email him at smenchey@blazenet.net.

More information regarding this event.

Web Site Info for Fall Cruise:

• Rock Hall, MD, courtesy of the Town of Rock Hall and Chesapeake Bay Internet Associates.
• Queenstown, MD, courtesy of Historic Sites Consortium of Queen Anne's County.

Cape Dory owners are invited to join the flotillas anywhere along the routes. Sail with us the whole way or just for a couple of days -- whatever suits your schedule.

If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Cruise Captain Bud Menchey, 717-854-9919, e-mail at smenchey@blazenet.net.

Print a copy of the itinerary (PDF, 14KB).

Can't bring your boat? If you'd like to crew on one of the participating Cape Dorys, please let us know and we'll try to find a berth for you.

Please check this page often as we will include more information as it becomes available.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING POLICY CHANGE IN EFFECT THIS YEAR FOR RESERVATIONS, DEPOSITS AND DEADLINES!!!!!

There will be no reservations form, no deposit for meals, etc. However, we must know the number of persons who are planning to attend the awards dinners. Please notify Bud Menchey by the stated deadlines for each cruise. You can contact Bud at 717-854-9919 or email him at smenchey@blazenet.net.

Deadlines:

• Spring Cruise: May 1, 2003 for cruise beginning 5/16
• Summer Cruise: June 1, 2003 for cruise beginning 6/20
• Fall Cruise: September 1, 2003 for cruise beginning 9/26