There is no problem with water quality in the Chesapeake, but swimming is iffy most of the summer due to sea nettles.

[quote=richie30;19916]

Another friend said go to the 1000 Islands and Bay of Quinte.

Rich[/quote]

A little off topic but,

Thousand Islands yes, very clear water. Thank you zebra mussels. Or maybe not given that clear water isn't the best for the fish population. But the Bay of Quinte is not much clearer than the Chesapeake, we certainly don't swim in it after late June. It does have a pretty healthy fish population though. All those rivers carrying all that "bypassed" sewage effluent and city/agricultural runoff into the BofQ do have an effect. We particularly dislike the yearly green algae explosions that turn the bay the colour of antifreeze and make the entire bay off limits for swimming. Water quality is the biggest reason we moved the boat further east closer to the lake.

I've been sailing the northern Chesapeake since about '87. At least in the northern Bay, you won't see your feet past knee deep. Due primarily to fertilizer run off from farms and people's nice green yards. I swim from about Memorial Day until Oct 1st, as I'm far enough north that nettles don't usually get here. I've never had any ill effects (though the 3rd arm I grew has come in handy :))While it would be nice to have nice clear water, it's not likely to happen anytime soon.

I've never been lucky enough to cruise anywhere else, but love the Bay and it's many, many anchorages and places to visit. I see boats from all over the world here, so many must agree. If you have a deep keel, you'll need to pay attention to the charts as you may be limited to where you can get into.

I have been sailing in the Annapolis area for 40 years. The water has been murky for all of these years, probably because of the many rivers that flow into it. I don't know what it would be like without farm run-off and other nutrients but I love it just the same. You won't be sorry to be here. There are lovely anchorages galore and many of them are short sails from where ever you happen to be. Within a one day sail of Annapolis are many small towns and one big city, all of which make great sailing destinations. My favorite is St Michael's with its friendly anchorage that is served by a water taxi, a maritime museum, lovely homes, charming shops and some excellent restaurants. Sailing into Baltimore is always a thrill for me as well. We swim until mid-July in most years and then the sea nettles make swimming impossible. I very much like these familiar waters.

Sorry to sound dumb, but what are sea nettles?

Clueless in California

Jellyfish (little)

Rich,

A few years ago, Ron Hill sent me a copy of a Chesapeake cruising guide.

I was really impressed. LOTS of places to go. LOTS. :cool:

It didn't mention water quality, but I've read on this and other sailing forums that the jellyfish DO affect swimming.

If you're heading that way anyway, I'm still not sure what your question really is.

[QUOTE=Allan R;19933]Jellyfish (little)[/QUOTE]

Little with long, long, stinging tentacles.

They actually make "pools" so you can swim in nettle infested waters. Basically a floating ring with a net that hangs down and keeps them out. guess you have to dive into the ring to swim, not sure you you get out.

Same sort of thing occasionally infests the Delaware Bay and New Jersey ocean beaches. Neither are fun to get stung by.

My wife and I just spent the month of October on the Cheaspeake on our C36 on our way to the Bahamas. The were a number of surprises, one of them the previously mentioned Nettles (jelly fish to everyone outside of the Chesapeake). We had some warm weather in late Sept and early Oct, with water temps in the mid 70's, but too many Nettles for swimming.

I knew the Chesapeake was shallow, but you don't realize just how shallow until you spend some time there. We are use to anchoring in 20 feet of water. In the Chesapeake we normally ranged around 6-8 feet. Many places it can be very shallow far off shore. We were constantly following long zig-zag channels to get to anchorages. You can't just go straight to anywhere.

The water is very murky I doubt I could ever see down more that two feet, the last rung on our stern ladder. Anchoring in 6 feet of water, you can not see the bottom. You have to trust your depth sounder is really working.

Mud
An anchor wash down is a must. Our boat spent it past life at Rock Hall in the summer and the PO had installed a wash down pump. Never had much need for it on Lake Champlain, but it has been getting a workout on the Cheaspeake. Often you can not see the anchor chain when pulling up the anchor, because it is encased in clay and mud. Looks like you are pulling up a very thick black rope.

Crab pots
The PO also had added spurs (for cutting rope that raps around your prop) to deal with crab pots. Another useless item on Lake Champlain, but I reconditioned them before we left. I don't think I hit any crab pot floats, but it was only dumb luck or the spurs that avoided problems. We like to sail at night, but there is no way I would do that in the Chesapeake.

On the other hand there are enough interesting anchorages, harbors, towns, museums, restaurants , etc to keep you busy for years.

The crab pot buoys are a problem. But I doubt there are a 1/4 of what there were just a few years ago, once again, they've fished them all out (human race is just so stupid). So while they're still a PITA, it's much better than it was. The trick is... if you're moving up or down the Bay, there is usually enough line on the buoy to let it move around your boat without incident. However, if you're sailing[I] across [/I]the Bay, and the tide is running, the line gets stretched out tight, and the buoy will go under the boat and straight to your prop. I don't have spurs, but sure wish I do.

Funny you mention having to zigzag all over to get anywhere. I guess because I'm familiar with the waters, I don't find that to be an issue, except where there are some sand bars. But I do have a wing keel, if I had the deep fin, it might be a different matter. I see a boat in winter storage each year that must draw 7+ feet. I don't know how he goes anywhere.

What, you don't like black, ooozy, stinky, black mud??? Come on....;)