Discover four Southern Chesapeake Bay cruising destinations.
In September 2025, SpinSheet Century Club member Tim Dull took a long solo cruise north from Norfolk, VA, in the Southern Chesapeake Bay, aboard his Tartan 34 Skymark. As a retired Navy Captain, commodore of the Tartan 34 Classic Association, racing captain of Norfolk Sailing Association, and entry coordinator for the BBSA Leo Wardrup Memorial Cape Charles Cup, Tim is a serious Southern Bay sailor and volunteer. Below he shares his truncated log of the trip, focusing on four of his favorite Southern Bay cruising destinations.
Dawn in Cape Charles
I awakened to a glorious but foreboding dawn. The weather was going to turn again within 48 hours. After a fine breakfast of homemade fried eggs on toast, I walked over to the marina office to check in for two nights. Cape Charles Harbor is a very fine place with excellent facilities. I arranged for our club’s major cruising event to be held there again next Fourth of July.
Once I had the foc’sle cleared of the anchoring gear and cleaned, I planned my day ashore. I wanted to pick up my annual supply of teak oil; however, the General Store which had been here for decades has been closed and is up for sale. The closest hardware-style store is now well up the road even beyond bicycle range. I stopped into the Cape Charles Coffee House for one of their ever-great chicken salad sandwiches. Sitting outside and people watching is another nice aspect of this town. And it was thriving with visitors.
My next stop was the Wine and Cheese Shop and its perfect mixture of excellent table wines, cheeses, homemade breads, and all the extras one would wish for. They carry Brown Dog Ice-cream just in case you are in town when Brown Dog is closed, which happens often in the off-seasons. Sadly, the ice cream there is only sold in pint containers, and with no freezer onboard Skymark, I was forced to eat the whole thing in one sitting!
I did find a brand-new K-Coast Surf Shop, owned and operated by my good friend Spencer, who was the previous dockmaster at Cape Charles Harbor. For a good price, I found a spring surfing outfit to dive on my boat when it is a little cooler out.
Across the Bay to Deltaville
With winds at 14 to 17 knots out of the east, I raised the main while I was in the harbor and was soon motor-sailing along at about five knots into the northbound current. With the winds on the beam, I unfurled the genoa and quickly came up to five and a half knots, building to seven. I contemplated sailing all the way to the Solomons, but after calculating an arrival at 10 p.m., I thought better of it and settled in for a nice easy five-hour trip across to Deltaville.
As I passed Wolf Trap Light and angled to the west along my track north, the winds from the east stayed steady and while the waves were building, the course angle along Gwynn’s Island kept them from getting too unpleasant. I was soon sailing into the entrance of the Piankatank River and turning toward my old waypoint for the Jackson Creek channel. By 3:30 p.m., I was at the entrance to Jackson Creek and lowering my sails to motor in. Twenty-five nm in three and a half hours! What a ride! Soon, I was anchored back in Jackson Creek in my favorite spot in what was now 12 feet of water instead of the usual nine. Quite a tidal surge.
Jackson Creek Marina is now the new name for the marina side of what used to be Deltaville Marina and Boatyard. I usually drop by in the dinghy and take their daily charge of $10 to use the showers and facilities. Nice lounge there that is open 24/7 with books and TV and WiFi. The pool is great when in season. The great addition a few years ago is the Deltaville Tap and Raw Bar which is right on the end of the marina docks. They have great seafood and stay busy with locals and travelers.
Sailing into Solomons
After sailing at five and a half to six knots, surprisingly good boat speed despite an ebb tide that should have affected me, and some rain, I turned up the Patuxent.
I slowly threaded my way into the Solomons entrance at 5 p.m., something I had done numerous times before. Leaving the triangle dump ground island to port and passing the fuel docks to port I wound my way sharply starboard into Mill Creek, where I could see a couple of catamarans anchored already. I made my way between the two yachts, finding a spot well enough clear that they would not mind my anchoring there.
The next morning felt like the first day of vacation! No plans, nowhere to be until next weekend and a nice day for a few boat chores, ahhh! After a slow rise with an easy breakfast of fried eggs and potatoes with cheese and a pot of hot coffee, I got underway for the Spring Cove Fuel docks, where I topped off my fuel tank and bought a block of ice. I motored over to Safe Harbor Zahniser’s Yachting Center and picked up my favorite mooring ball, “G.”
After inflating and launching the dinghy I rowed ashore to check in with the dockmaster and get a nice shower in their modern bathhouse with individual bathrooms for each guest. I spent the afternoon biking out to West Marine to pick up a running light bulb and installing it. I wandered around Main Street and sampled the ice cream along the boardwalk; nice to see things here do not change much. That evening, I had a great meal of Norfolk Seafood Sampler at Coast to Coast (previously Kingfisher Bar and Grill), sitting inside, as the evening breeze on their back patio was a bit brisk and damp.
South to Reedville
Once at Smith Point and back into Virginia waters, I adjusted “auto” a couple of degrees to compensate for the currents there and continued to the Great Wicomico entrance buoy. The tides had finally shifted, and Skymark was back to making closer to six knots good for the first time in a while. I rounded the new channel marker Red “WR 4” for the entrance to the Great Wicomico River, and by 3 p.m. I arrived at our friends’ dock on Buzzard Point in Reedville.
I continued past their dock and around the creek behind it to the Buzzard Point Marina. The marina has pure gasoline, which my Atomic 4 loves, and has shoveled bags of ice for 20 pounds for $3, a great deal anywhere on the Bay. By 4 p.m. I was snuggled into the slip in front of my friends’ house, all ready for a cold beer after an eight-hour trip. That evening, I joined Ray and Linda for a seafood feast in the crab house around the corner from their home; about four miles away by car but a short hop of about 500 yards by boat.
Up early in the morning, with fresh coffee in hand, we were off to a Coffee and Car gathering in Reedville. One never knows what treats are in store in each port you visit! Reedville also has a very well-established Maritime Museum, focused on the seafood industry that is ever present still.
Next stop: Onancock!
By Tim Dull, edited by Molly Winans
