Welcome to Mumfest

New Bern, North Carolina, hosts Mumfest on October 8-9, a fantastic fall destination for Mid-Atlantic cruisers filled with the vivid colors of the season and family activities. The festival includes street performers, ticketed and free music, children’s entertainment, crafts, rides, and delectable food in the beautifully restored downtown and waterfront. This year’s entertainment includes the Xpogo team—a stunt team on next generation pogo sticks. Their stunts reach incredible heights, and they hold 15 world records and several Guinness records. The Tryon Palace Gardens are free and open to the public during the weekend with country music artists performing on the South Lawn. Galley Marina has more than 400 feet of day dockage and 400 feet of transient dockage with 25 slips for boats up to 100 feet. If you arrive ahead of the festival, take part in the Eastern North Carolina Boat Show hosted by the New Bern Grand Marina Yacht Club and Hatteras Yachts on October 1-2. mumfest.com

Chestertown docking
Historic Chestertown, Maryland, on the banks of the Chester River plans to revitalize its town-owned marina right after Downrigging Weekend in late October. Money for the first phase of the two-year project comes from a real estate sale to Washington College and from the state’s Waterway Improvement Fund. The work will focus on the bulkhead and boat ramp. A second phase, scheduled for the fall and winter of 2017-18, includes demolishing the existing marina store and replacing it with high tide flooding mitigation in partnership with the Fish Whistle restaurant. The town has applied for a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is also asking $1.5 million from Governor Hogan’s capital budget.

Rally to the Cup
Registration is now open for Offshore Passage Opportunities’ Rally to the Cup, which departs from multiple east coast ports including Annapolis on June 7, 2017. This allows enough time for arrival in Bermuda before the June 17^thstart of the 35^th America’s Cup finals. The rally will provide dockage at St. George’s Dinghy and Sports Club for the first 20 to 25 boats registered and a designated anchorage area (with launch service) or a berth along the wall in St. George’s. The rally fee includes planning and logistics, three socials, weather forecasting by WRI, Radio Net, and help with customs and immigration as well as logistics in Bermuda, a rally burgee and T-shirts for the crew. sailopo.com

Take the Wheel in Annapolis
City Dock in Annapolis will transform into a gigantic boat extravaganza with the annual sailboat show October 6-10 followed by the powerboat show October 13-16. Among many attractions at the sailboat show is an on-and-off the water learning opportunity entitled Take the Wheel Interactive Workshop designed to fast-track boating knowledge and to narrow boat search lists. During the afternoon on-the-water part of the program, registrants can sail aboard mono and multihulls and get a stem-to-stern look with wind in the sails. There’s also the opportunity to try before you buy at the powerboat show’s Demo Dock. usboat.com

By Christopher Knauss, Southern Boating Magazine October 2016

Fishing Tournament Raises Money For Cancer Research

Women looking to get in on the fishing opportunities in the Virginia Beach area can join the fun at this year’s Wine, Women and Fishing tournament August 15-16 at Southside Marina. Hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Wine Classic Foundation, the fundraiser has raised more than $300,000 for breast cancer research at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. Women of all levels of fishing expertise are welcome.

Registration and a captain’s meeting will be held from 5:30PM to 7:30PM Saturday with the fishing on Sunday beginning at 8:30AM. Scales open at 5PM, while the dock bash begins with an awards ceremony, music and dinner from 7PM to 10PM.

The event includes a variety of wine seminars and bourbon tastings. You can also shop for artwork, jewelry and accessories from the Bling Lady. cbwc.org

Art on the waterfront
The 34th New World Festival of the Arts is set for August 12-13 on the waterfront in downtown Manteo on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The show will exhibit original works from 75 East Coast artists including more than a dozen new artists who will present watercolors, oil and acrylic, graphics, drawings, photography, jewelry, sculpture, and pottery. The show runs from 10AM to 5PM Wednesday, and 10AM to 4:30PM Thursday. darearts.org

Manteo offers plenty of transient dockage at its waterfront marina, and the walkable historic town flaunts restaurants, museum, historical attractions, and shops with nautical flair. Shallowbag Bay Marina provides a modern full-service marina with transient dockage for boats up to 65 feet.

CBPBA cruise
The Chesapeake Bay Power Boat Association’s destination cruise to Lowe’s Wharf on the Eastern Shore of Maryland’s Bay Hundred peninsula is August 22-23.Lowe’s Wharf is located between St. Michaels and Tilghman Island and offers waterfront guest rooms, a restaurant, patio bar, ship’s store, marina, and activities such as charter fishing, sunset cruises, crabbing, kayaking, bicycling, bonfires, volleyball, cornhole toss, and billiards. Alternately, just relax on the private beach and watch the sunset.

Mooring balls and transient slips (4′ 5″ depth) are available. The marina offers gas and diesel, Wi-Fi, showers, and a pump-out station. cbpba.com

Music all week long
Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa on the western shore of the mid-Chesapeake offers live music daily this summer through September 24th—cover charge is from $5 to $59 depending on the band. Scheduled groups in August include Roger McDuffy, Memories of the King (an Elvis tribute), Great Train Robbery, and Sons of Pirates (a Jimmy Buffet tribute). Marina guests enjoy full privileges at the resort, which include showers and laundry facilities, use of the fitness center and sauna, a business center, spa, and a heated indoor pool. chesapeakebeachresortspa.com

By Christophy Knauss, Southern Boating, August 2015

Hyatt River Marsh Marina on Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

If Chesapeake is your destination, tie up at the Hyatt Regency Resort’s River Marsh Marina on the Choptank River.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the U.S. with hundreds of miles of shoreline to discover and explore. Located between Virginia and Maryland, its natural beauty makes it a famous vacation spot for cruisers and anglers alike.

River Marsh Marina has 150 slips for vessels up to 150 feet with water, electricity, cable TV, and wireless internet services. The Quarterdeck Store sells supplies, apparel and a variety of refreshments and alcoholic beverages. Overnight guests can utilize the Hyatt Regency’s many highly rated amenities via the complimentary shuttle to the hotel grounds.

If you opt to stay in one the Hyatt’s 400 cozy guestrooms, you’ll find a plethora of activities to keep you entertained. The most notable attractions are the 18-hole championship golf course, salon and spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis and volleyball courts, and game room. Watersports are also offered, as well as a nature trail to enjoy the local flora and fauna.

The Hyatt Regency has seven restaurants to appease your appetite, including the Blue Point Provision for succulent seafood and the Water’s Edge Grill for regional favorites. The hotel caters for special occasions using 35,000 square feet of event space.

Marina Features:

• 150 slips for vessels up to 150 feet
• Water, power, cable TV, and wireless internet services
• Convenience store
• Complimentary shuttle service

Additional Amenities:

• 400-room hotel
• Indoor and outdoor pools
• 18-hole golf course
• Tennis, volleyball, putt-putt, and Frisbee golf
• Watersport activities
• Seven restaurants
• Salon & spa
• Nine pet-friendly rooms and outdoor kennels
• Babysitting services
• Catering and event planning

Information:

Hyatt River Marsh Marina
100 Heron Boulevard
Cambridge MD 21613
Marina Office: (410) 901-6380
Hotel: (410) 901-1234
Email: John.Harper@hyatt.com or Hilary.Jones@hyatt.com
hyatt.com

By Daniel Wagner, Southern Exposure

“Tie One On” at Prospect Bay

Anglers interested in learning successful techniques and materials used in fly fishing have a unique opportunity to see some of the world’s best fly anglers and tiers at this year’s Lefty Kreh TieFest at the Prospect Bay Country Club in Grasonville, Maryland. Even if you’re not into fly fishing, you can see the patterns that work effectively for landing fish such as striped bass, perch and trout. The Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland sponsors the event. Among other accomplishments, the nonprofit was instrumental in bringing back the yellow perch population in Chesapeake tributaries. The event is March 7th and activities run from 10AM to 9PM. ccamd.org

Norfolk resident sets world record in a dinghy

A personal achievement became a family achievement for 51-year-old Norfolk, Virginia, resident Robert Suhay when he set the world record for the longest single-handed sail in a dinghy by a male. This past November, Guinness World Records confirmed he had sailed 283.5 nautical miles (326.24 miles) in a journey that ended on July 2nd. In a story published in the Christian Science Monitor, his wife Lisa wrote “While he didn’t set out to do this, this voyage emerged as a father’s route back to a meaningful relationship with his sons—Zoltan, 20, Ian, 19, Avery, 15, and Quin, age 10. And that’s the real feat my husband accomplished.”

Robert began sailing at 5:08AM on Sunday, June 28th in a 14’15” Laser. Eighty-six hours later and far up the Patuxent River, he accepted a tow to Calvert Marina unsure if he had accomplished his goal. Suhay sailed without a chase boat and rough conditions created by Hurricane Arthur forced him to zig-zag across the Chesapeake Bay in order to outrun the storm. Effects of the hurricane knocked out his communications early in the journey and later prompted the U.S.C.G. Mid-Atlantic Division to eventually stop his record attempt short of home. But data from a GPS in his life jacket pocket proved that he had sailed the record distance. A complete and, at times, gripping personal account of his journey is available at robertsuhay.com.

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Gulf Stream Fishing

Captain Ernie Foster will talk about the origins of Gulf Stream sport fishing off the North Carolina Coast during a presentation at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras April 7th. Foster made his first trip to the Gulf Stream in 1951, and his father, the late Captain Ernal Foster, had the first charter boat in North Carolina built specifically for deep-sea fishing. The free presentation will include vintage photographs and vintage fishing tackle along with historically accurate information from a true waterman. For more details, call the museum at (252) 986-2995 or visit ncmaritimemuseums.com.

Back Bay Project

A developer is moving forward with a proposed marina project near Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach. Doug Wilkins applied for the permit for the marina (64 members-only slips) and a boat ramp, which would be located off Sandpiper Road in Sandbridge, near the Baja Restaurant. However, the project faces challenges as biologists and supporters of the refuge believe the marina will be detrimental to the wildlife and vegetation that flourish in the area. The Army Corps of Engineers is currently working on an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project.

By Christopher Knauss, Southern Boating, March 2015