chesapeake bay weekend events

it is so hot here in the mid-atlantic, but it is finally breaking and cooler weather will prevail for the next few days...

so go check out a festival on the water this weekend...

Nanticoke Riverfest
it started thursday and continues through saturday, the nanticoke river festival in seaford features canoe and kayak races, a treasure hunt, live entertainment, a carnival and more. tonight, 4:30 - 11 p.m.; Sat. 7:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Blackbeard Festival
tall-ships head for hampton where re-enactments of blackbeard's sea battles, pirate folklore, pirate songs and music lively up the waters saturday 10am-11pm and sunday noon-6pm. argh: check it out!

Junior Olympics Sailing Festival
the rock hall yacht club hosts junior olympic sailing hopefuls from around the country for this competition in the upper bay.

Swim for Life
swim one, two, three, four or a five mile course on the chester river to raise money for HIV/AIDS research. registration begins at 7 a.m. and the swim starts at 9 a.m.


Taste of Cambridge
who will be top chef of Dorchester County? all will be revealed during the crab cook-off which is the highlight of the taste of cambridge annual street festival. there will also be a professional crab-picking contest, live entertainment and more.

Runoff Rundown
so far more than $13,000 has been raised to benefit the james river runoff rundown. the paddle starts tomorrow when volunteers traverse the entire 340-miles of the james river in one day as a benefit for the James River Association. join them!


Birthday Bash
celebrate alexandria's birthday in conjunction with america's! fireworks start at dusk and will be accompanied by the alexandria symphony orchestra. starts at 4 - 10pm


Leukemia Cup Regatta
head to deltaville for the leukemia cup regatta, a silent and live auction, a gala and two days of yacht racing. the fishing bay yacht club races start at 11am on saturday, and follow up with the auction and dinner beginning at 5:30 pm. races start on sunday @ 11 a.m.


Log Canoe Races
the chester river yacht club and the rock hall yacht club sponsor annual log canoe races in the chester river off langford creek: paddle up! saturday races begin at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; the sunday race starts at 10:30 a.m.


Watermen's Heritage Celebration
enjoy the workboat parade...pray as the fleet is blessed...secretly bet on your favorite workboat in the races...watch entertainment...buy arts and crafts...and eat lots of seafood at this annual celebration at the watermen's museum in yorktown, 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. July 11


Thomas Point LighthouseTours
check out the chesapeake bay's most infamous lighthouse at thomas point. reserve a seat through the annapolis maritime museum beginning at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. 

race results

the newport bermuda race 2010 awarded the winners their trophies saturday night. i am proud to report my brother in law and 12-year old nephew were crew members on the winning one-of-a-kind-state-of-the-art 90' sloop genuine risk: nice job, boys!

chesapeake bay weekend events

like you need something to do on the bay this weekend...

June 25-27 
Smithfield Olden Days    
This festival kicked off last night with a classic car show, but enjoy concerts, the Pagan River raft race, a parade, barbecue cook-off, petting zoo, military re-enactments and ghost walks at this annual weekend event in Smithfield, Va. saturday 9-8 and sunday 10-6
www.smithfield-virginia.com

June 25-27 
Hampton Jazz Festival   
Celebrating its 43rd year, you missed gladys knight and keith sweat on friday, but charlie wilson  will headline saturday night bolstered by the still funky teena marie...do not miss maze on sunday! all @ Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Va. Sat. 7 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m. www.hamptonjazzfestival.com

June 25-27 
Leukemia Cup Poker Run 
the Chesapeake Bay Power Boat Association raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with their annual poker run: join them and register on line at www.cbpba.com

June 26 
Flounder Bowl    
win $5,000 at the flounder bowl flounder tournament. boats are allowed to fish from any port, but must bring fish back to dare marina for weigh-in. www.pswsfa.com

June 26 
Kilmarnock Farmer's Market  
Find fresh local produce, flowers and more at this Main Street farmer's market plus the second annual wine festival: be there! Kilmarnock, Va. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.www.lancasterva.com

June 26 
Cardboard Boat Races    
the annual cardboard boatbuilding and racing spectacle held to benefit Special Olympics of Maryland is today at The Strand, Oxford, Md. Inspection at 9 a.m., races at 11 a.m. www.somd.org

June 26 
Tilghman Island Summer Seafood Festival    
gorge yourself on blue crabs...taste test balsamic vinegars...cheer for your favorite crab at the races and participate in the parade at the tilghman island summer seafood festival in Tilghman, Md. 11 a.m-6-ish www.tilghmanmd.com

June 26 
Eastport-a-Rockin'    
the 14th annual music festival in eastport seeks to promote local musicians with this one-day event. 27-bands on three-stages, plus  food, drink, crafts, etc, =fun...or hell if you live there. 723 Second Street, Eastport, Annapolis. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.  www.eastportarockin.com

June 26 
Tim's Not-on-the-4th-of-July Fireworks    
not sure why its early, but its virginia, so get the jump on the fourth of july pyrotechnics at Tim's Rivershore Restaurant and Crabhouse. the skies light up in Dumfries, Virginia @ 9p.m, although it really isnt dark yet...more info @ www.timsrivershore.com


June 26 
Summertime Blues Festival  
get the blues at this annual outdoor event in the upper bay at Steppingstone Museum, Havre de Grace, Md. 2-8 p.m.steppingstonemuseum.org

June 26 
Canal Day    
commemorate the founding of the C&D Canal with  Arts, crafts, food and entertainment galore. Chesapeake City, Md. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. www.chesapeakecity.com

June 26 
Gwynn's Island Festival   
the 61st annual festival at gwynn's island features food, music, arts and crafts, lawnmower races and the farmer's market...there is also a wetland wonders and a full moon tour...runs 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m. www.visitmathews.com

June 26-27
Log Canoe Races
Head to the shores of St. Michaels to watch the first log canoe series of the summer at miles river in St. Michaels, Md. Sat. race 2 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. this link is not working for me, but... www.milesriveryc.com

68 foot viking convertible for sale

saw this pretty boat on yachttrader.com. nice.

52nd Annual Big Rock Fishing Tournament

seems a shame to have killed this huge old fish weighing 883 pounds...you cant eat it because its filled with mercury: what's the point? and the idiots didnt have a valid license so they did not win the million $ prize either!

hot day on the bay

ridiculously hot in the shade with

crazy storms rolling through...no fishing today.

could the gulf oil spill reach the chesapeake bay?

oil from the deepwater gulf spill probably wont reach virginia waters, but what is happening in the regions that are affected has lessons for us all.

how NOT to park a jetski

ahhh...the jetskiers...

fishing blues

the blues are biting...both in the ocean and in the bay! captain ike headed out of the indian river inlet and into a school of large bluefish. i like to grill 'em with sea salt, pepper and olive oil: not greasy, just good.

maryland fishing challenge

i wish i could find
diamond jim:

he is out there somewhere.

where to catch tiger musky

a know a lot people who like to fish in the upper potomac and/or tidal basin for trout...i never heard of a muskellunge up there, but here is a dnr biologist with 36" tiger musky last week! i always thought they were a mid-western/great lakes type of fish, but apparently dnr stocked these sterile hybrids back on 2006. 

coastal atlas

apparently tuesday was world ocean day, which i missed cuz i couldnt see through my tears after watching a minute of the news about the oil spill in the gulf....but, hey: world ocean day should be everyday...really. in honor of it, maryland governor martin o'malley launched a new 'coastal atlas mapping tool' on the dnr website. after reading through it twice, i still have no idea what its for or how i can use it: hmmm....must schedule a third look at some point.

how to fish for cow nosed ray

fly fishing captain wilkinson reports that cow nosed rays provide great fishing action! i havent seen any of them in my creek this year, but i have seen a few stingrays.

i couldn't catch anything in
last sunday's 3 foot chop:
maybe i will look for a ray if i get bored again.

kayak festival and expo

saturday is the northern neck kayak festival and expo in kilmarnock...i might take a paddle there to check it out.

paddle quickly

managed to get a good paddle in before the storms hit. wish i had my rod cuz the fish were jumpin!

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there goes a flying gefilte fish

the flying gefilte fish is a great name...seen 'em in the deli...looked creepy...never tasted one

memorable memorial day

i did a lot of boating this memorial day weekend...a little fishing...and too much socializing. here we are at smith point marina picking up friends: winding your way into this marina is a trick! we headed out of the narrow and splashy smith point jetty-which was filled with boaters hooking rock, crappy, skate and croaker- and headed toward smith point light, where we took a sharp right toward the great wicomico river. i drove up the river, past cockrell's creek and tifanny yachts, under the 200 bridge and past all the boathouses and big houses around the bend. we turned around and headed toward horn harbor for a late lunch. after dropping everybody back at sunnybank, the wife and i raced back to heathsville, quickly got cleaned up and headed to crazy crab for dinner with andi and mike. oh, i didnt catch anything this weekend: i think it was too hot for the fish.

annapolis nautical flea market

if you can take the traffic, head to annapolis for the huge nautical flea market at the navy marine corp's stadium. you might find something you need.

too hot to fish

it's too hot to fish right now, damn it!

it's too hot to be outside: sorry, fish!

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playing hook-y

a lot of people called in sick, or took off or didnt show up today because i counted about 60 boats out there on the horizon...you cant really make them out from my photo from the crappy iphone camera, but trust me: they are there, between point lookout and smith point...wish i were too.

how to catch a stingray

i dont know how to catch a stingray...i think it just happens. my neighbor with the mohawk caught one yesterday. that is not his above, but one that was caught near us, also yesterday.

oil drilling in virginia is stalled

oil drilling off of the virginia coast appears to be stalled while governor mcdonnell is forced to rethink his idea of mixing the big rigs with weapons testing...the pentagon says three-quarters of mcdonnell's proposed oil and gas lease sites are off limits to corporate greed due to military training, weapons testing, gunnery exercises and naval manuevers run mostly out of oceana. existing commercial shipping traffic in the tidewater and up the bay in baltimore also played a role in the minerals management service's postponement of hearings on the virginia lease sales. i wander if bob has the balls to decide between the d.o.d. remaining in virginia or his oily campaign contributers making record profits off of our waters. 

wooden car boat

if boats can fly, cars can certainly float...boat builder jeff bridges has hit the nail on the head with a series of custom carpentered car-boats: it's hard to beat a floating ferrari!

ghost gill nets

a lot of people never think about the effects abandoned fishing equipment has on their environment: it can be devastating...and sad. the ghost crab pot program in the chesapeake bay has helped out, but ghost gill nets are a bigger problem. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration is studying the effects of lost nets in a variety of waters, including the chesapeake bay. they found 190 different species-thousands and thousands of animals, birds and fish- caught in old salmon gill nets in pugent sound. so, watch your lines!

another fishing world championship

i have been in myrtle beach at the remnants of their bike week: looking forward to fishing soon. tidal fish's hyper angler, julie ball, reports that despite this weekend's eastern shore fourth annual black drum world championship, these fish are few and far between lately. some drums have been hooked at quinby, near hog island, in the shallows off the eastern shore barrier islands, and near buoy 13 on chowder and clams. a few fish are over 46 inches and action will pick up soon, she reports.

jamestown day

today is jamestown day, the 403rd anniversary of the first permanent english colony in america, jamestowne. there is a lot going on at the celebration-family type fun-but i am going to see the replica sailing ships that brought the settlers ashore. the 2006 version of the godspeed is shown above-not in the james river, btw-, and the susan constant is shown below, moored in the james river.

okoumefest

the 12th annual small-boat festival, okoumefest, starts today through saturday in annapolis. all small boats are welcome, but the festival showcases light weight wooden boats made from okoume marine grade plywood, the finest plywood now available for boat construction. those are some beautiful boats!

flying boat

i could have used this crazy flying boat this weekend with all the chop on the bay...then again, the 45kph winds might have taken it in a completely new direction: down!

oyster poacher busted

although oyster season closed march 31, poaching in maryland waters continues...as do the arrests.  a waterman was charged april 28 with poaching oysters, nearly a month after the March 31 close of the maryland season.

ben harrison marshall, 34 of newcomb was charged by maryland natural resources police (nrp) with taking oysters during closed season and operating a power dredge in an area reserved for hand tongs.

marshall was  observed by an nrp office on a commercial work boat power dredging for oysters in the ted avon river, near the bellevue public landing in talbot county. when marshall was questioned by the officer after coming to shore, he stated that he had been perch fishing, although no fish or fishing poles were found on the vessel.  upon inspection, the officer found five and a half bushels of oysters hidden under clothing in the cabin of the boat.

marshall's charges carry a fine of $320 for operating a power dredge in an area reserved for handtongs and $125 for taking oysters for commercial purposes during closed season.that's a pretty light-weight fine: he is lucky!

MSSA Spring Rockfish Tournament

i was a little under the weather this weekend and did not take the boat out or go fishing...hopefully, this weekend.  i could see all of the boats fishing out on the bay, though... there were a lot of sailboats, too, as it was really breezy. still no word on who won the 27th annual mssa spring rockfish tournament: guess they're waiting for certifications. this thirty pounder was caught early friday morning of the competition.

seafood+oil=disaster, eventually

as winds push the british petroleum deepwater horizon oil spill toward land, countless wildlfe, sealife and industry will be covered in it's toxic sludge and will die, thanks to a failed flow shut-off mechanism...that is in addition to the 11 missing oil rig workers lost in the huge explosion. yesterday, louisiana officials shut down all fishing and seafood harvesting indefinately, further stressing an all-ready ailing region. but, who wants to eat oysters or fish filled with crude oil? well, i am sure the profits of the third largest oil company-who have a horrendous safety and environmental record, btw-are more important than the folks and critters who inhabit the gulf of mexico. great job, assholes.

harbor seal spotted in chesapeake bay

my pal jetski brian shot this photo of a harbor seal chilling near the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel islands recently...looks like brian woke him up! i didnt know any seals were around here: very cool!

rock fishing

i dont think im going to enter the largest rockfish tournament in the country on friday. the weather  is supposed to be great though, so i do hope to drop the boat in at some point. great photo of fresh fish from governmentality's photostream on flickr.

the jellyfish are here!

little rain and above average temperatures have brought in an early crop of jellies. fresh water creates a natural barrier against the gelatinous sea creatures, so i hope it rains a lot on days i am not fishing.

supersonic earth day

today is earth day and the navy introduced  a partially bio-fueled version of it's gas hog f/a-18 super hornet called the green hornet. the twin engine jet made its test flight to break the sound barrier today from pax river naval air station filled with 50% bio fuel derived from crushed seeds. the hornet could see my house from there.

trolling for rockfish

i usually troll for rock by myself early in the morning, or late in the afternoon. but this weekend-opening weekend for trophy rock and flounder-the water and the wind were brutal! i put my boat in where the potomac feeds into the bay, and 40 mile an hour wind gusts combined with a high tide to produce relentless 3 foot surf. i was worried about getting back  in on the boat ramp, so i took the kayak out...it was a tough paddle. 

largest rockfish tournament in the country

the 27th annual championship on the chesapeake- april 30-may 2, is the largest rockfish tournament in the country: did not know that. last year 560 boats carried 3,000 anglers, the trophy fish weighed 47.2 pounds, and over $180,000 in prize money was handed out: this year the total payout will be $200,000! you can register on line and attend one of many captain's meetings held at various spots throughout the maryland bay. last year, i caught a 54"-the haters say it was 44"...wonder how much it weighed?

pollen and spore count

i went out to hook up the truck to the boat trailer and found everything enshrouded in a thick layer of pollen...maybe i should get a mask.