Circumnavigating The Delmarva

Stephen,

Just in this string I'm seeing five IP's showing interest in doing the DelMarVa in 2013:

Stephen (sbrock)
Chess + Karen - "Belle of Virginia"
Tom + Cheri Ward - IP420-35 "La Vida Dulce"
Tom Smith
Bob (spinaker75) - IP37-53 "Liberty"

Chess had mentioned getting together some time this winter to make plans for this. Since we're already knee-deep in the holiday season I'd like to propose organizing a meeting in January or February and try to make it in an area central to everyone. I'm thinking Rock Hall, Md. might be a good location since we have folks from New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. I talked to the folks at Gratitude Yachts and they said we could use their conference room or the lounge at the marina for a meeting. Saturday, January 19th is on a long weekend for some folks, might be a good time. I'm open to suggestions for other dates and locations, just trying to get things in motion. Anyone interested?

Tom Ward
IP420-35
"La Vida Dulce"

Everyone: Living in Atlanta makes it rather unlikely that I can attend any meetings the group holds but want to be kept in the loop. As of today, I have two friends who will join me for my circumnavigation. We are looking at sometime between June 6 and 29 with a two week time period in order to stop at several places and see the sights. While we have sailed on the Bay for 26+ years, we have never explored several southern Bay areas and want to do so on the trip. Also we are considering going counterclockwise. So I suspect that being part of a group doing this together is not likely. Nonetheless, plans constantly change so I would like to know what all of you are planning on doing so I can respond. Best holiday wishes to all of you. Stephen

January or February in Rock Hall works for me. Just give me a date.

Tom,

We're coming up on the January 19 date that I was shooting for and so far you and I are the only ones to have chimed in. Holidays are probably a bad time to be trying to make arrangements. Let's see if we can get any interest for a meeting in February or March.

In the mean time here's some things for you to chew over. The first is a write-up from 2003 describing one guy's trip. It's loaded with great information. The second is a map and itinerary from a sailing association that organized this trip back in 2010.






Let's keep in touch and see if interest grows after the holidays.

Tom Ward
IP420-35
"La Vida Dulce"

Tom: Thanks for all the information. Are you aware that there is a group trying to do this from June 15 - 22 in 2013. If you go to the website www.delmarvarally.com you can find their initial information. My crew has never done either blue water sailing nor sailed at night and I'm not sure they will want to do the night sailing. But as I study the charts it seems that one night in the Atlantic almost is mandated unless you want to try some very dicey inlets. Note that the group I mentioned is having some kind of a get together in Hampton Va on Feb 9th and in Annapolis on Feb 10. I am considering going to the Annapolis event if I can find more information about it and I have emailed them and asked. Meanwhile we can stay in touch as well. Have a great holiday. Stephen

Stephen,

Yes, I looked into this rally and it didn't appeal to me. I was interested in going solo or with a small group of IP's since we're all family. For your needs though, this rally may be perfect. No matter how you do it I'm sure it'll be a great experience. Keep us posted and provide details when you've completed it.

As it turns out I've signed on for the IP Bermuda rally in May '13. I plan to keep the DelMarVa run as a back up option in case the rally falls through. Since I'm still a working stiff I'm limited in how much time I can take off. I do still plan to be involved in any planning for the DelMarVa if we actually get a group together.

Tom Ward
IP 420-35
"La Vida Dulce"

Tom: I made a comment in another section of our website but wanted you to know that I appreciated our conversation regarding this adventure. As I noted in the other comment, it is looking increasingly like I will have to do some kind of abbreviated version so won't be doing the entire trip this coming summer. Hope you get to your raly. Best wishes and Happy New Year to you. Hope our paths may cross sometime. Stephen

Hi Tom,

I am sort of the new guy on the block. I just joined the IPYOA and stumbled upon your posts regarding a Delmarva circumnavigation.

I did that trip some years back, it took two tries in different boats but both times it was a trip worth doing. I might be interested in joining you if I get my new-old IP26 (hull #9) in shape by then. I would just tag along well behind because I couldn’t keep up with you larger boats.

I wanted to mention the Ocean City option if you want to avoid overnighting in the Atlantic. The inlet is straight forward and there are lots of places to tie up. Anchoring in there is almost impossible because of the crowded conditions but there are plenty of restaurants etc. – Just a thought.

This is my first post here so I don’t know if I can do it but I will try to attach a couple articles about our trips.

I would say you need to prepare and watch the weather but doing it in a small group makes more sense to me than a rally because of the logistics and the freedom of going where you want.

Best of luck on the trip.

John Callander

Hi Tom

Winterset is in Brunswick, Ga now but we're planning to bring her back to the bay this spring. We might be interested if the timing of our return works out.

We love sailing at night, particularly offshore. With the right weather we'd be willing to do it in one shot or a couple of long legs if there's interest.

Lamar Desmond

Tom, et. al: Everyone. Am I correct that even with a stopover at Ocean City, the run between Ocean City and Cape Charles would require an overnight sail. It's about 100+ miles by my calculation and using an average speed of 4 - 5 knts, it looks like it would require about 24 hours to make that leg. But if I am missing something, let me know. Thanks, Stephen

Stephen,

That sounds about right. John Callander's "First Try" out of Portsmouth, VA took 27 hours to Ocean City, MD. He also mentions that the Delaware Bay is another 25 miles to the north of OC. On his "Second Try" it took them 27 hours to go from Norfolk, VA to to get into the Delaware Bay and then another 6 hours to the entrance of the C+D Canal plus 2 more hours to cover the canal. I think they were making 8 knots over ground in the Delaware Bay with the tide in their favor.

Tom Ward
IP420-35
"La Vida Dulce"

Thanks Tom. You just confirmed one of my conclusions and it is one that I have to discuss with my crew in February. This factor is likely to result in my crew saying they don't want to do that kind of sailing so we may have to settle for just exploring more of the Bay as we haven't really gone south before beyond Solomons. Take care. Stephen