marine warnings

marine warnings abound on the potomac river and chesapeake bay in the wake of a month's worth of rain fall...i think its all clear tomorrow.

sailing aircraft

a rich captain commissioned this flying boat, called 'the sailing aircraft'...we will see if it makes it to production...

pirate adventure weekend

attention hippy freaks: the renaissance fair is live and local. i hate that festival...except for the turkey legs: i need to remember a sippy hat filled with mayonaisse this time...apparently, this weekend is pirate adventure weekend at the festival...which doesnt coincide with talk like a pirate day...but anyway, people: it's on.

trawler fest

im going to baltimore to check out the

trawler fest today thru sunday.

skipjack tale

i have seen the chesapeake bay skipjack claud w. somers many times at the reedville fisherman's museum...most recently two weeks ago at the antique and classic boat show held there: the plaque on the 99 year old virginia-made work boat explains the sign painter accidently left the 'e' off of 'claude' when painting the skipjack's name...that is about all it said in addition to a little info on the builders...then today i ran across this article about a storm story that took the captain and his oyster crew of five's lives in a spring squall back in 1977.

yikes: it might have ghosts!

another fishkill

the dailytimes.com reports of yet another fishkill in the chesapeake bay...this time in cobbs creek in mathews county, virginia. they think the tens of thousands of dead menhaden and other small species were in this tributary of the piankatank river to escape the hungry bite of the rock fish...tide got low+no oxygen= aphixiated fish. so sad... this year had the most large kills of any previously recorded year...i love that they only commentor on the post lives on the creek and wanted to know how to prevent this cuz it stunk: really?

delmarva-lious motorcycle rally

delmarva bike weekend was great: tons of bikes...tons of rides! ocean city did a great job of welcoming riders...and the weather couldnt be beat. i did not go fishing...instead i attended a midget wrestling event at a bar: good times!

off shore fishing

i am in ocean city for bike week, but the off shore bill fishing sounds fantastic: maybe i can convince my brother to take us out tomorrow for some serious catch and release?

weekend water events

    

if you missed the show in reedville last weekend, head to jersey for this antique and classic boat society-judged show. there will be marine vendors, artists, custom cars, radio-controlled boats, and lots of antique and classic boats to check out at the New Jersey Museum of Boating in Point Pleasant, New Jersey from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

fishing in the potomac river

i did not catch a bull shark while fishing in the potomac...i did not catch anything.

antique & classic boat show

this weekend was the reedville antique & classic boat show..there were some sweet rides there. 

this turquoise one was my favorite...love the wings...

the annual event and parade is held at and around the reedville fisherman's museum.

they have some beautiful chesapeake bay wooden workboats there...

 

the skip jack claude w. somers is listed in the national register of historic places.

we missed the parade.

chesapeake bay weekend events calendar

we have had stellar weather for many days...now the weekend begins...

september 10-12 

•though classic hatteras yacht owners will meet up in cambridge this weekend to show off their beautiful boats,  everyone is invited to celebrate the hatteras  style by attending  the yacht open house saturday at the cambridge yacht club.

•mathews market days    

mathews county's fall festival will feature an art show, crafts demonstrations, live entertainment with outdoor dancing, children's activities and more. 

•maryland seafood festival    

sandy point state park hosts the annual seafood festival again. besides seafood, there will  be arts and crafts vendors, wine tastings, beer tastings, a crabcake eating contest, a crab-picking contest as well as a crab soup cook-off: delicious! Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. 

•hampton bay days    

celebrate the chesapeake bay at hampton bay days with an indoor juried art show, arts and crafts vendors, two carnivals, live music and fireworks. educate yourself at the exhibits and display workboats and research vessels, sat. 10 a.m.-11 p.m.; sun. noon-6 p.m.


•its a star spangled banner weekend!

commemorate the writing of our national anthem in baltimore at fort mchenry, where visiting ships, military re-enactments, concerts and a symbolic naval bombardment complete with fireworks will round out the weekend. Sat. 10 a.m.-10 p.m., concert 6 p.m., fireworks at dusk. sun. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 

•september 12 

watermen's rodeo
taylors island works it out with a  workboat docking contest hosted by the local volunteer fire departments. there will also be an after party with live entertainment, food and games. 

shark in the potomac

yeah...i knew they were here...just not so close to home! a pound net caught this 8 foot bull shark in the potomac about a mile from me, then the fisherman killed it: that seems rather unneccessary: sharks are misunderstood creatures: much like myself.

here comes earl!

batten down the hatches: hear comes earl. tonight i need to make a run to virginia to secure the premises for when hurricane earl hits friday...with at least a three foot storm surge predicted, i need to move the boat, the sea kayaks, the lawn mower and relocate the generator. five years ago, tropical depression ernesto left millions of dollars worth of damage in the neighborhood, so im not taking any chances this time.

diamond jim: still on the loose

you have less than a week to catch diamond jim or one of his 599 tagged impersonators, so get out there to the fishing hot spots and catch something! diamond jim is worth $25,000 and the imposters are worth $500 a piece. if you dont catch the big money ones, at least you will have dinner.

weekend catch

my nephew pat caught this nice fish over the weekend near the hambone...jack & bob think its an amberjack... dennis says its a false albacore: i think he might be right...maybe a bonito?

catching cobia

jetski brian said the cobia are biting in the bay: nice fish!

you are invited to join the club: not

wow...looks like the 'right' kind of boat is a requirement for entry into this yacht club...but maybe with the economy, my little boat might suffice...nice design...a bit too far to cruise to this weekend, though...

sharks in the chesapeake!

yes, there are sharks in the chesapeake bay! in fact, tidal fish has reported bull sharks as part of the fishing mix the past few weeks in the lower bay: not a fan! actually, there are several varieties of shark (including hammerheads) in the bay that fisherman all the way up at pax river may see...i did not know that.

more massive fishkill

omega protein-a texas based company operating from reedville, virginia-ripped a net while hoisting 75,000 pounds of menhaden near hampton beach this past week: 20,000 pounds of dead fish washed up a few days later...omega protein reported the fishkill spill and cleaned up the dead things. i wonder if a similar unreported incident caused the huge-but-not-as-large-as-this-fishkill along the eastern seaboard last week....hmmm....

massive fish kill

red tide was not the cause of the tens of thousands of dead fish washing up on the beaches in massachussetts, the jersey shore and in the delaware bay: they were suffocated. most of the fish were menhaden, an important little fish for all of the bigger ones. if there is no oxygen in the ocean, how much can there be in the bay?

marine police are looking for you

i HAVE noticed more marine police on the water this year!  i have also heard of lots of boats getting boarded, so make sure you have your safety gear accessible...always want to stay on the right side of the law.

it's red tide time!

i had been attributing my lack of catching keepers this season to the sun...and the rain...those two factors have combined with pollution to produce huge algal blooms (again)-some 200 feet long-which block light and oxygen to everything below, and can sicken fish, people and dogs. i really hadnt noticed any this year-last year red tide was in the creek- but had been reading on various fishing forums that these nasty growths were responsible for the lack of flounder, blue, mackeral, etc. in the chesapeake bay. then yesterday, i saw them in my water. helping the bay is easy and depends on individual citizens, not big government.

fishing with my bff

the dog and i headed up to the nice bridge to see if we could catch something.

we didnt and the ride home was hellacious. 

weekend water events

65th annual annapolis rotary crab feast
you are late, so hurry to annapolis for the rotary club's annual crab fest and feast!  3,000 people will join you to eat steamed crabs, crab soup, corn-on-the-cob and barbecue til 8 tonight.

free fridays at the calvert marine musuem
it's a free evening at the museum! 

August 6-7 st. mary's college of maryland governor's cup yacht race
St. Mary's College of Maryland hosts the oldest overnight sailing race on the chesapeake bay. this annual 70-mile overnight race starts in annapolis and ends in st. mary's city. there is an  all-day celebration to honor the racers as they cross the finish line on saturday. the race begins friday at 6 p.m., and continues saturday with festivities starting at 10 a.m.

betterton day
kent county claims to be nettle-free for the betterton day held at betterton beach today 10-5. dont miss the parade at 10:30 a.m.

leonardtown's beach party 

it's an annual thing, 4-9 p.m

gadsby's tavern day
meet and greet george washington, thomas jefferson and the marquis de lafayette at the historic gadsby's tavern in old town alexandria. its free and there will be costumed tour guides, period music and light refreshments 1-5 pm

national lighthouse day
there are many lighthouses to celebrate during national lighthouse day. join the calvert marine museum to rally 'round the cove point and drum point lighthouses with special activities, crafts, music and a special sale at the museum store from 10-4 p.m.

thunder on the narrows
watch the wild ride of the hydroplanes and jersey skiff boats as they race at speeds over 100 mph in kent narrows, 10-5...if you cant make it, check it out on ustream like me, on my Iphone.

market day in yorktown
market day in yorktown will feature local produce, fresh seafood, baked goods, as well as live entertainment and local artwork at riverwalk landing, 8-noon.

how clean is your beach?

the natural resources defense council has published their annual list of cleanest...and dirtiest beaches...maryland has the seventh cleanest beaches and virginia is ranked number 4: where does your beach rank?

skishing

since i havent been catching any stripers lately (im blaming it solidly on the heat) im reading everything i can to get a leg, or rather a fin,  up. in todays wall street journal they cover an insane fishing style called skishing, invented by a biker from new york. the video above gives a great overview of the craziness of it all, but this non-embedding trailer on the skisherman is more revealing as to what motivates this guy to fish offshore in a wet (dry?) suit. wonder if i can still squeeze into mine. pretty wild.

see food

i fished sunday as long as i could stand the heat near the channel marker...for the second time this month, i almost got thrown in the water by a cabin cruiser flying by about 20 feet from me...i guess he just wanted to put his wake in my boat: it was about 5 foot high, btw. what a jerk. i didnt catch any fish, either. so i headed to captain faunce's for my fill.

big fish

i saw this photo on the weather channels' site while checking radar. yes: this is a big fish to catch with a fly rod, but am i mistaken or is there something swimming up behind him?

chesapeake bay weekend events

•Cambridge Classic Hydroplane Regatta   

the 100th annual high-speed hydroplane regatta series is the american powerboat association's world championships for inboard hydroplanes and jersey skiffs,  11 a.m.-5 p.m, saturday and sunday

•Cruise for Kids   

easter seals combines boaters with special needs kids for a day on the water at harborview marina  in baltimore, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m

•groovin in the park

groove in the park at groovin in the park at holly point nature park in deltaville with music on the waterfront from 6-8 p.m. 

•Bumper BASH

hook up at the bumper bash on dobbins island on the magothy river, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. 

•Kilmarnock Farmer's Market   

local growers will sell their produce and goods on main street in kilmarnock, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. 

•Mari*Fest    

this annual festival at the havre de grace maritime museum has maritime activities for the whole family, including a crab and bull roast and the upper bay soup challenge, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 

hydroplane races

   The 100th annual cambridge classic regatta series started today and flies through sunday, 11-5. held at great marsh park, this event is the American Powerboat Association's World Championships for inboard hydroplanes and Jersey skiffs: looks wild!

dolphins in the potomac river

i fished near point lookout the other day: caught a couple croakers...a few blues...didnt keep anything. on the way pack in to my dock, i saw dolphins! i have seen them here before,  but not in a while. they come in to the potomac river to feed and have been doing so for a long time: back in july 1884 it is reported some dolphins made their way up to the tidal basin. people freaked out and shot at them for days...word has it, they escaped alive and unscathed. we all should be so lucky!

jellyfish sandwich

i am sure i am not the only one who noticed all of the mini jellyfish everywhere in the bay and the big ones on the beaches this past hot, hot weekend. i was just thinking how i had not seen any since earlier in the spring- but then i remembered i wasnt in or on the water very much the last few weekends because of heat and/or storms.

no swimming for a while, but maybe a jellyfish sandwich is in order.

weekend boating events

it's the dog days, people: enjoy it while it lasts!

saturday    

•watch fresh-built boats race and eat fried stuff at the wright skiff race and fish fry in deltaville, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

•the wooden boat festival on tom's river in new jersey starts at 9 today. wooden boats,  nautical vendors, marine artists, and boat rides accompany many boatbuilding activities.

•the lower eastern shore antique and classic boat show is hosted by the wicomico yacht club and features antique and classic boats, a barbecue, a boat parade and live music.

sunday   

•solomon's puts on the screwpile regatta challenge sunday through tuesday.

time for fishing

it is supposed to be stormy a little later, so i am headed out looking for rock...

or spanish mackerel.

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.