today's problem: boat or bike?

decisions! decisions! sometimes it is so hard to decide whether to take the boat out or the bike for a spin, but the new harley boat makes life so simple: i can do both! well, 15 feet is a bit small for the rough waters of the chesapeake, but i could whip around some coves on a nice flat day. the harley mini speed boat is a custom from st.martin's. it sports a harley v-twin engine and promises tons of fun. more here on the kneeslider.

parade of lights

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas! get in the mood with a holiday boat parade, starting this weekend. here are the locations, times and links.

via chesapeake boating magazine

                                                                        
MARYLAND
Baltimore
Dec. 3, Inner Harbor to Fells Point. 484-553-9932;
www.fpyc.net.

Potomac River
Dec. 3, Herring Creek to Piney Point gas docks,
Tall Timbers, Md. 301-994-1508.

Rock Hall
Dec. 3, Rock Hall harbor. 410-639-7611;
www.rockhallmd.com.

Solomons
Dec. 3, Patuxent River, Solomons, Md.
410-326-2042;
www.solomonsmaryland.com.

VIRGINIA
Alexandria

Dec. 3, Torpedo Factory to the 

Washington Channel, Alexandria, Va. 4 p.m. 703-838-5005; visitalexandriava.com.

Colonial Beach

Dec. 3, Potomac River, Colonial Beach, Va. 804-224-7691; www.colonialbeach.org.

Hampton River

Dec. 3, Hampton, Va. 7:15 p.m. 757-727-1271;

www.downtownhampton.com.

Yorktown

Dec. 3, Yorktown, Va. 6-8 p.m. 757-890-4970;
www.yorkcounty.gov.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Dec. 3, Potomac River, Georgetown's Washington Harbor. 7:30-8:30 p.m. 703-838-5005;
visitalexandriava.com.

white shark

did you see the video of the great white shark circling the fishing boat off the north carolina coast?

now you have!

boats for sale

i found a great website today: deadrise4sale.com. they broker chesapeake bay style boats.

stripers

the weekend fishing for stripers was excellent! i met up with john at point lookout and we cruised southward to below the great wicomico. we caught our limit, made it home by sunset and ate rock fish for dinner!

Cape Charles Oyster Roast

i have been to cape charles before, but oysters roasting had nothing to do with it. i might return to try some at the cape charles museum's annual oyster roast tomorrow.

today's problem: the weather

muddy waters...high winds...choppy water...driving rain: must be rockfish time!

Rockfish Tournament

meet at smith point marina saturday for another rockfish challenge. i might enter: the fishing has been around here lately!

MSSA Fall Tournament

captain's meeting started last night for maryland's biggest rockfish tournament. more than 200 boats will jockey for the winning fish this weekend at the 19th annual chesapeake bay fall classic tournament put on by the maryland saltwater sportfishermen's association.

weekend fishing

i fished saturday afternoon at the mouth of the bay...caught this nice 20" rockfish for dinner.

Waterfowl Festival

the waterfowl festival in easton started yesterday and runs through tomorrow. fun if you've never been...

happy veteran's day

thank you for your service.

oyster festival

it's that time of the year to celebrate the chesapeake bay oyster!

it doesnt matter what side of the bay you are on: you are covered. the urbanna oyster festival begins today and tomorrow marks the start of oyster fest at the chesapeake bay maritime museum in st. michael's. 

whatever floats your boat

i love to hotdog around in my boat, but not this much! the creativity of boat builders appears to be limitless!

world record striped bass

certified yesterday as the new world record striped bass catch is this 81.88-pounder caught in atlantic waters: monstrous!

happy halloween!

need a last minute halloween costume? what about using your toilet seat to become an oyster? no? other ideas for a chesapeake bay halloween are here.

monster rockfish tournament

get your boat to the bay for the biggest rockfish tournament of the season: you could call it a monster tournament, even! the fishing starts today, but the celebration runs all weekend in hollywood.

Barcolana Regatta 2011

that's a lot of boats!

the 22nd barcolana regatta ran a couple of weekends ago with 2000+ boats in the water.

how to catch a rockfish

apparently it is as easy as dropping my line...this week! after a long, hot summer, the fall striper action has been sweet. now these arent trophy fish, more eating fish. i cut out the filets and the wife grilled them with olive oil and salt and pepper: delicious!
(that's a blue above, which were also running heavy.)

today's problem: sinking ship

this chinese-built $2.5 million yacht sank its first time out on the river!

cross that item off my christmas list!

boats in my hood

this cool chris craft has not seen the water in years!

happy hagfish day!

let's all celebrate the hagfish today!

how to make a cocktail

now that's upcycling!

today's problem: how to count rockfish

thankfully, counting the rockfish in the chesapeake bay is not my problem: its v.i.m.s.

united states powerboat show

the united states powerboat show began yesterday.

boats in my hood

this boat sat covered all summer.

clearly a georgetown alumnus.

house boat

i don't live on calm waters, so this floating scenario is an impossibility, but, wow, looks pretty nice!

san francisco marina

 on a recent visit to san francisco the wife and i visited the marina.

 it was a beautiful day and rather late so all the working boats were in.

do they call them skipjacks on the west coast?

 we watched as a class of middle schoolers boarded this 1886 square-rigged ship for the weekend.

the steam tug, hercules, built in 1907 was awesome!

great wooden steam powered paddle tug boat.

fishing report

the weekend fishing report from the chesapeake bay appears to be good! the wife grilled rockfish filets with olive oil, salt and pepper: delicious!

united states sailboat show

the united states sailboat show started yesterday in eastport.

seafood

this is the last weekend to participate in the maryland sea food dine out festival. participating restaurants are located from philadelphia to northern virginia: if you dont catch your own, take a ride...

rock fish

although the river is still muddy and warm (about 70°) from september rains, the cooler weather has brought the fish back!

health of the bay

how healthy is the bay? i don't know....but v.i.m.s. does. catch a ride on the alliance to find out the facts.

oyster bar

oysters are making a come-back in the bay-i have seen their resurrection myself- so learn about oysters today and consider becoming an oyster farmer this summer.

got grass?

learn why seagrasses are so important to the bay on the schooner alliance today at 2:00pm.

boats in my hood

spotted this one underneath the weeds...hasnt been moved in a while.

jellyfishing with plankton

if you are a fan of spongebob-and i know you are- take a ride on the schooner 'alliance' to learn about jellyfish and zooplankton in the chesapeake: i'm ready!

fireworks schedule

here is a list of fireworks scheduled around the chesapeake bay starting tonight thru this weekend

MARYLAND

Annapolis, July 4, 410-263-7958; www.annapolis.gov/Government/

Departments/Recreation/CalendarEvents.aspx

Baltimore, Inner Harbor, July 4, 410-837-4636; http://bop.orgindex.cfm?page=events&id=42

Cambridge, July 4, 410-228-4020

Chesapeake Beach, Rod 'N' Reel Restaurant, July 3, 410-257-2230; www.chesapeakebeachresortspa.com
Chestertown, July 4, 410-778-0500; www.chestertown.com

Crisfield, July 3, 410-968-0925; www.crisfieldchamber.com/events.htm
Georgetown, July 4, 410-275-1200; www.kentcounty.comevents/kent4th/ctown4th.htm

Havre de Grace, July 3, 410-939-2100; www.hdgtourism.com

Herrington Harbour South, July 2, 301-855-8435
 
Middle River, Eastern Yacht Club, July 2, 410-687-1002

North East, July 3, 410-287-5801

Oxford, July 3, 410-226-5269; www.oxfordmd.net

Rock Hall, July 3, 410-778-0416;  www.rockhallmd.com

St. Michaels, July 2, 410-745-9511; www.stmichaelsmd.orgCM_events.html

Solomons, July 4, 410-326-1950; www.solomonsmaryland.com/solomons-calendar.html

 

VIRGINIA 

Cape Charles, July 3, 757-331-2304; capecharles.orgrec.htm

 

Colonial Beach, July 4, 804-224-7181
Deltaville, July 2, 804-776-6461; www.deltavilleva.com
Dumfries, Tim's Rivershore, June 25, 703-441-1375; www.timsrivershore.com
Fairview Beach, Tim's Rivershore II, July 9, 540-775-7500
Hampton, Fort Monroe, July 4, 757-788-3151
Irvington, Tides Inn, July 4, 804-438-5000; www.tidesinn.comactivities.asp
Mathews, July 3, 804-725-1488; www.visitmathews.com/CALENDAR/MONTHS/jul.htm
    
Newport News, July 4, 757-926-1400; www.newport-news.org
Norfolk/Portsmouth, July 4, 757-441-2345; www.norfolk.gov/Independence_Day/default.asp
www.virginia.orgsite/description.asp?attrid=51423
Poquoson, July 3, 757-868-3588
Reedville, July 1, 804-453-6529
Smithfield, July 3, 757-357-2291; www.smithfield-virginia.com
Urbanna, July 4, 804-758-0464; www.urbanna.com
Yorktown, July 4, 757-890-3500; www.yorkcounty.gov/Default.aspx?alias=www.yorkcounty.gov/fourth

Washington, D.C.

Washington Monument grounds, July 4, 202-619-7225

$300 million yacht

please take note: recently added to my birthday 'wish list'...

turtles for lunch

join the crew at v.i.m.s. every wednesday from now through the end of july aboard the schooner 'alliance' for some education on all things chesapeake bay. today's subject are the endangered sea turtles...maybe you'll get lucky and see one of the babies released by the national aquarium this past weekend.

biggest fish

it is an official record: the biggest catfish was caught in virginia last week...awesome, but what do you do with that much catfish? i know what my daddy told me, but here are some alternatives.

it's your birthday...

it is claud w. somers' birthday so we need to party. come visit me and claud (no, really: don't) in the northern neck and celebrate this infamous skipjack (in the water) at the reedville fisherman's museum...

it really is something to see!

waiting for the moon...

a little too windy for fishing by myself on the bay today, and i couldn't rouse the dog so i busied myself with the honey-do list. now it's sunset. tonight we have a full moon, and i really hope it improves the fishing situation...couldn't get worse!

bluefish derby

i have had zero luck so far this rockfish season, so maybe i will try my line for bluefish...the reedville bluefish derby starts tomorrow and there are 30 different fish classes with prizes totalling $25,000...i am sure i could catch a croaker if i tried: under pressure, i could pull one in.

boats in my hood

at the gas station i saw this hydroplane...not sure where the races were!

point lookout lighthouse

visit the historic point lookout lighthouse today (and every first saturday thru november). oh, yeah: it's haunted.

annapolis-newport regatta

the yachts left annapolis a bit ago and are headed to newport: i do not know if my brother in law is racing. when i find out, i can track him here. the sailors have great weather in the chesapeake today: hope the atlantic is as nice.