Bay Creek Marina and Resort
Our world class marina, located in the protected harbor of King's Creek, provides deepwater access with a seven feet MLW channel. It is the perfect port for exploring the Intracoastal Waterway, the blue-green waters of the Chesapeake Bay and the open seas of the Atlantic Ocean. The Marina is a state-of-the-art facility boasting 224 slips (upon completion, currently has 120), two restaurants, Aqua and Cabana Bar, on property, a marine store (The Complete Angler) and a full time harbormaster. All of this is arranged in a pedestrian friendly village complete with the Village Merchants shops and so much more.
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Little Creek Marina
4801 Pretty Lake Ave. - P: 757-362-3600 - www.littlecreekmarina.com Direct access from Bay
No bridges to navigate
120 Wet Slips (all with floating docks)
Share power at 30 or 50 amps
Fully stocked Ship's Store
On site bath/shower and laundry facilities
Fuel (diesel/gas) and Pump out
Full service repair shop
Wi-Fi
Bay Point Marina
9500 30th Bay Ave. - P: 757-362-8432 - www.littlecreekmarina.com
Direct access from Bay
314 Wet Slips (all with floating docks)
No bridges to navigate
Dockside utilities include water, cable TV, telephone and electrical
Restaurant, pool, showers and laundry
Fuel (diesel/gas) and Pump out
Paved parking area
Wi-Fi
Sailtime Sailing Center at Willoughby Harbor Marina
1525 Bayville Street - P: 757-480-7245 - www.norfolksailing.com - Get Directions
Discover Sails
Refresher Sail Training
American Sailing Association Certified Lessons
Captained Sails
Corporate Teamwork Sails
Fractional Sailing Membership
Affordable Yacht Ownership program
Willoughby Harbor Marina
1525 Bayville Street - P: 757-583-4150 - www.willoughbyharbormarina.com - Get Directions
To reach the marina office, call 757-583-4150. To reach the SailTime office, call 757-480-SAIL.
Willoughby Harbor Marina is the home of SailTime Sailing Center! Located at the east end of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, our marina is very convenient to all of the Greater Tidewater area, as well as Williamsburg, the Northern Neck, and Richmond.
Willoughby Harbor Marina (WHM) a 271 slip marina is centered in the most popular recreational boating area in Virginia at the mouth of the James River on the lower Chesapeake Bay adjacent to Bayville Street. Norfolk's Ocean View Beach, home of WHM, offers a spectacular seven-mile stretch of glittering sandy beaches. The bay's calm surface and gentle surf make the beach the perfect place for sunbathers, swimmers, and families with children.
Description:
On-site pump-out service; fuel available at adjacent facility
Full utilities: power, water, CATV, telephone, Wi-Fi
Ample parking
Sunset Grill Restaurant
Bathroom and showers
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Vinings Landing Marine Center
8166 Shore Drive - P: 757-587-8000 - www.taylorslanding.com - Get Directions
Direct access from Bay
Dockside utilities include water, cable TV, telephone and electrical
Restaurant, pool, locker room, showers and laundry
No bridges to navigate
Fuel (diesel/gas) and Pump out
Paved parking area
Fish cleaning stations
Dolphin Ship Store
Waterside Marina
333 Waterside Dr # 106 - P: 757-625-3625 - www.watersidemarina.com - Get Directions
Showers
Laundry
Floating docks
20-Foot Depth
Athletic club
Ice
Mobile Mechanical Service
Grocery Van Service
Wi-Fi
Winter Storage
No Wake Zone
Discount Diesel Fuel arranged off sit
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Cape Henry Light
The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse was built in 1792. It started to crack in 1870 and was replaced with the new Cape Henry Lighthouse only 357 feet away, which is an active aid to navigation and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse is maintained by the APVA and is a National Historic Landmark, serving as the official symbol for the City of Virginia Beach.
This light is important to SailTime members because it marks eastern boundary of travel.
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Chisman Creek
(Paraphrased from "Cruising the Chesapeake", William Shellenberger) Chisman Creek, on the North shore of the Poquoson, offers relatively safe water and three marinas, non of which advertise slips for transients. The best anchorage is in the main creek, just passed the mouth of Goose Creek and the two marinas on the south shore. Stay out of Goose Creek and the inviting coves near the entrance, they don't have much water. |
Fleet 30
Hampton Roads Fleet 30 is a sailing club offering members the opportunity to join fellow sailors on scheduled cruises, local nautical events, and races. Cruise destinations cover the lower and upper Chesapeake Bay. Fleet 30 offers group sailing events with emphasis on boating together for safety and fun! Cruises and events are scheduled around navigating the different tributaries and waterways of the great Chesapeake Bay. Fleet 30 participates in local events in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton and Smithfield. If you're interested in joining us for "Cruising for Fun" please complete the printable membership form and mail it back to us or fill in an online application here.
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Hampton
SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR SAILTIME MEMBERS: $1.00 per foot for overnight at the Hampton Public Dockinstead of 1.25. Ask for Dockmaster Renie when you arrive. 757-727-1276
Glide through the warm waters of the Chesapeake Bay, visit the $32 million dollar Virginia Air and Space Center, or take a ride on a 1920 carousel located on the downtown waterfront. Or how about a pleasant, Sunday outdoor concert, or children's theater, or an exhibit on waterfowl paintings. And, for jazz, pop and rhythm and blues, the Hampton Jazz Festival features some of the finest acts in the business.
Be sure to ask about the goings on on Queen Street.
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Hobie Fleet 32 - Virginia Beach
Hobie Fleet 32's History
The colorful catamaran sails that paint the Virginia Beach coastline on a warm summer weekend are as identified with this resort city today as the Bridge-Tunnel, the Boardwalk, and the old Cavalier Hotel. But when did this catamaran craze get started, where did all these hundreds of boats come from, and what has kept them as a fixture on this oceanfront for over twenty-five years? The answer is simple; the explanation, however, is more difficult.
It was the late 1960s. For most young men, and a few adventurous women who lived in Virginia Beach, surfing was the major summertime recreational activity. The growing popularity of the sport had spawned an entire new industry in the resort city... Surf Shops. It began with west coast surfing pioneers like Hobie Alter coming to the east coast to promote their sport and their products. The first store in Virginia Beach, and at that time on the entire coast, that Hobie approached to sell his boards was Fuel Feed & Building Supplies Corp., the current day Taylor's Do-it centers. The local Western Auto store sold surfboards from Hobie's competitor Dewey Weber and Virginia Beach Hardware sold boards by Don Hanson.
Back on the west coast Hobie Alter had gone back to the drawing board. He had sold his surfboard business, and his attention was now focused on developing an affordable, off-the-beach catamaran. One that was durable, could be easily rigged and sailed, and was light enough that it could be launched by one person. Larger, heavier catamarans had shown their speed and excitement in the waters off southern California for years. Now, Hobie looked to take the foam and fiberglass techniques he learned in building surfboards, and put them together with a host of other new materials to bring this excitement to an entire new and larger audience.
Building The First Boat
The year was 1967. Hobie and a man named Art Hendrickson, an advisor to Hobie in the sale of his surfboard company, each put $5000 into a bank account, and Coast Catamaran was born. Non-sailor Art would run the business end and Hobie would run the manufacturing end of the new venture. Work began in a Quonset hut (formerly home to Hobie's motorcycles) in an alley behind a hardware store near Capistrano Beach. The shop was conveniently close to Wayne Schafer's beach home, where Hobie and his first employee, Sandy Banks, would test their prototype 14-footers.
At first they used a competitor's boat as a trial horse, but soon advanced far beyond the competition. Shaping two different hulls on each boat, sailing the boats, trading them and sailing again, comparing features all the while, resulted in the refined product called the Hobie Cat 14. By the following summer, six boats were ready to race. Hobie, Sandy, Wayne and three companions held their first regatta on July 4, 1968. Unfortunately for this momentous occasion, someone neglected to invite the wind.
Soon Hobie, Sandy and a handful of employees were producing Hobie 14s out of the Quonset hut. As they ran out of room they would rent more space. By 1969, they were growing, but not fast, selling boats largely by word of mouth. Hobie and Art traveled to boat dealers who were painfully unimpressed with the cats. So, they went to boat shows instead, selling directly to the public. It was during this time that Hobie and crew hit on the idea of the decade, when they traded surfing movie producer Dick Barrymore and Bill Amberg a couple of cats in return for a 20 minute movie showing the guys on the beach designing a boat in the sand, then building it, and finally sailing it and having a great time. Ordinary people who had never been on a boat came to the boat shows, saw the movie and were conquered by the Cat.
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Middle Ground Light
In 1871, the United States government established a light station to mark the underwater L-shaped shoal in the middle of the Hampton Roads shipping lanes. This caisson lighthouse was completed and first lighted in 1891 at a cost of $50,000. The lighthouse was fitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens.
The over all structure is 56 feet tall and has a three story keeper's quarters.
The original fog signal was a bell, which was struck a double blow every 15 seconds by a Stevens machine. In 1954, the signal was changed to one blow every 15 seconds.
The current light is on a pole out side the lantern room. The light was automated in 1954 and the two keepers removed. In 1979 a ship hit the lighthouse and caused water to leak into the lower part of the caisson.
The lighthouse is located in about 15 feet of water, on the west end of Newport News Middle Ground, Hampton Roads, and Newport News, Virginia.
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Mobjack Bay
(Taken from The Waterway Guide 2006) Four rivers - the East, North, Ware and Severn - feed this 10-mile expanse of Mobjack Bay. This cruising ground has its own special charm - and its own particular chop when wind and tide are in opposition. This wide tributary is distictly salty, with pelicans wheeling overhead and dolphins chasing mullet into airborne flashes of silver. Its creeks are remote by land, so all is quiet and rural. If you need marinas and nightlife, go elsewhere, but if you seek sheltered anchorages and honking geese in October instead of honking cars, this is the place to be. In late summer, the marshy creeks can be hot and breathless, and jellyfish and mosquitoes are present in great numbers, |
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New Point Comfort Light
Commissioned in 1804 to mark the north side of Mobjack Bay and the York River, this is the third oldest lighthouse on the Bay, Despite it's name, it has no relation to the Old Point Comfort light apart from the fact that both were built by Elzy Burroughs (who later served as keeper here).
The octagonal whitewashed sandstone tower stands 58 feet tall and the fourth order Fresnel lens, installed in 1865, gave it a visibility of 13 miles. The light was partially automated in 1919 and the keepers house was torn down at that time. It was completely automated in 1930. In 1933 a hurricane swept away the peninsula's link to the mainland leaving the light on its current small rocky island, accessible only by small boat.
An offshore light took over the tower's duties in 1963 and in 1968 the Coast Guard discontinued maintenance. It is now owned by Mathews County and has undergone several renovations. Vandalism continues to be a problem.
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Old Point Comfort - Mill Creek
On the west side of the Hampton Roads Entrance - across from Willoughby Bay
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Onancock on the Eastern Shore
A small, rural, waterfront village centrally located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with a history that begins with the discovery by John Smith in 1608 of the site that is now Onancock, Virginia. We are proud of our history and the historic character of Our Town. Born and sustained from the Chesapeake Bay for centuries, today we treasure the quiet access to the water and the wildlife and marine life it contains. Our waterfront provides a pleasant place to launch your small boat, dock as you visit from the Chesapeake Bay and enjoy the amenities of our residential and business assets. It is easy to walk through Our Town and there is much to do in and around Onancock.
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Laffin' Gull Restaurant
757-362-3455 SailTime members, students, and guests receive 15% off food and non-alcohol drinks!
On Little Creek at Bay Point Marina. Accessible by water on Little Creek.
PDX Grille @ Bay Point
Bay Point Marina
9500 30th Bay Ave
Norfolk, VA 23518
The Paradox of Paradocks
Several years ago the founders of Paradocks saw the need for a neighborhood restaurant reminiscent of The Outer Banks where you'd feel like you were on vacation every time you would stop by for a refreshing beverage or something great to eat. They wanted it to be bright and airy, appeal to men, women and families alike. Also, no matter where you would sit in our resaurant you'd be able to enjoy your favorite sporting event, soap, news or just about any type of television program from one or more of several dozen TV's throughout Paradocks. For those of you who would want to do more than just relax while at Paradocks, we wanted to offer popular and challenging games like NTN to keep you coming back again and again.
Our ultimate goal is to make Laffin' Gull the neighborhood place where you can relax and enjoy yourself on a regular basis. You're always on vacations when you come to Paradocks just like our mascot Willie T. always says, "shake your tail feathers and enjoy life!'
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Portsmouth
Portsmouth is a great place to stop and rest along the Intracoastal Waterway at Mile Marker Zero. With the deepest natural harbor, boaters have easy access to the ocean and Chesapeake Bay.
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Salt Ponds Marina and Resort
SailTime Member Discount: 25 cents per foot off docking. Does not include holidays.
Salt Ponds Marina Resort is a full service
marina located just off the Chesapeake
Bay. Drop in for a day, for a few nights
or stay a while. Spend the day lounging
by either of our two pools, play a game
or two of tennis, or borrow a bike and
explore the area. The beach is just steps
awayif you would rather have the surf
and sand. After a full day of play, you should
be ready to enjoy a great dinner on the deck
of our second story restaurant. The Beacon at Salt Ponds. If you prefer
to cook your own you can make use of one of our charcoal grill by the picnic area.
Whatever you choose there are plenty of options available at Salt Ponds Marina Resort.
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Schooner Alliance
(800) 979-3370
Join the Alliance and step back into history aboard this 105 foot gaff-rigged schooner. The Alliance sails from Yorktown, Virginia in the summer months and Caribbean Islands in the winter months. This is your opportunity to explore the Chesapeake Bay tidewaters for a few hours, or for the more adventurous soul, explore the emerald waters of the Caribbean on a 7 day cruise.
Alliance sails 3 times daily from Riverwalk Landing Pier in historic Yorktown from May thru October.
For those who love history, yearn for romance, or have dreamed of experiencing a true sailing adventure, your ship has just come in!
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Severn River Marina
Full service marina at the west end of the Mobjack Bay - Severn River - southwest branch
804-642-6969
Welcome to Severn River Marina - our forty acre yachting complex situated just off Mobjack Bay, approximately 6 miles to the Chesapeake and 25 miles to the Atlantic. Largely undeveloped and extraordinarily picturesque, this region of the Chesapeake provides tranquil cruising grounds and safe anchorages - yet is located within 30 minutes of three international airports, extraordinary golfing facilities, white sand beaches and charming historical areas.
We offer all the amenities and comforts you'd expect from any first-class marina, but with a special feeling you'll only find here. A friendly, laid-back home for you and your boat where you'll be known by name, not by a slip number.
Come and experience the warmth and congeniality of the community of families, friends and neighbors we call Severn River Marina. Coupled with our state of the art yachting facilities and unsurpassed dedication to customer service, we think its paradise.
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Slightly Up The Creek Restaurant
757-846-7200 / slightlyupthecreek@hotmail.com
Nice Restaurant on Deep Creek, just of the north side of the James.
663 Deep Creek Road * Newport News, VA * 23606
Located 1.7 miles down Deep Creek Road off of Warwick Blvd.
(at the James River Marina)
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Smithfield Station
The Marina at Smithfield Station is designed with boaters in mind. All our piers are floating docks and free high speed wireless internet is also available. Most of our slips connect directly to cable television so you can catch the game Saturday afternoon.
We can accomodate boats up to 130 feet in length. Prior reservations are recommended from May to September. Hot showers are available. Full service hotel and restaurant on premises. The Marina monitors VHF Radio on Channel 16. Transient rates are $1.75 per foot and include electric.
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Spirit of Independence Schooner Cruises
757-971-1865 Portsmouth, VA waterfront.
The Spirit of Independence Schooner
To offer you the most exciting, memorable stay aboard a traditional schooner with all of the amenities of modern safety blended with exquisitely designed features both above and below deck for your comfort and enjoyment. Captain J.C. Waters and the Spirit of Independence crew is dedicated to making your stay aboard a stand out experience.
Our sailboat charter company is prepared to serve up a unique vacation option.
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Sunset Grill at Willoughby
(757) 588-1255
SailTime Members, Students and Guests receive 15% off Food and Non-alcoholic beverages.
Great seafoodand burgers!
Located at Willoughby Harbor Marina, 1525 Bayville St. Norfolk, VA. At the east end of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. Accessible by boat.
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Tangier Island
This is a tiny stretch of sand in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay (really a cluster of islands), just south of the Virginia - Maryland state line. Don't even try to look for it on a map (unless you've got a very detailed one); the main island is less than two miles long and half a mile wide, and it barely sticks out of the water.
Tangier Island has been settled more than three hundred years ago by six or so fishermen families from Cornwall, England; they have been living there ever since, making their lives off the Bay. They have preserved their closeness to the sea, the slowly paced lifestyle, even this special melody of speech, not encountered anywhere else.
The islanders are also quite willing to let you have a glimpse of their life - and a bite of their food. And both are experiences well worth trying.
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Taylors Landing Marina - Surfrider Restaurant
Taylors Landing Marina, hom of the Surfrider Restaurant are to the right as you depart Bay Point Marina. We mention this because Surfrider Restaurant serves good food and the best Rum Runners on the planet.
Just 12 minutes from one of the best fishing areas in the Chesapeake Bay, we're located 3 miles West of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in very safe Little Creek Basin.
Water depth averages 8' to 9' at mean low tides. The harbor entrance is at Chesapeake Bay Buoy R2CL at 36M 57'N 76M 11'W.
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The Tiki Bar at Solomons Islands
Just north of the Chesapeake / Potomac River junction on the Patuxent.
81 CHARLES STREET, SOLOMONS, MARYLAND 20688
You've arrived. The band is playing your song - an island tune accompanied by a gentle island breeze. You've only just made the scene and there's already a drink in your hand. Our signature - the Mai Tai. Life is definitely good. From all around the world, people find their way to our "off-the-beaten-path" hideaway, in search of the signature drinks, the famous Tiki ambience, and the memories-in-the-making that are truly one-of-a-kind. Simply set a course for an island state of mind.
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Thimble Shoal Light
The first Thimble Shoal Lighthouse was a six sided screwpile light erected in 1872. This light was first lit on October 15, 1872. This light replaced the last lightship in the bay. The light was listed as 3 - miles east of Old Point Comfort at Willoughby's Spit and The Thimble entrance to Hampton Roads.
On October 30, 1880, a fire destroyed the wooden lighthouse leaving only the iron work and other un-burnable items. The Lazaretto depot in Baltimore just happened to have another screwpile light ready to be delivered to Bell's Rock, Virginia. This light was sent to Thimble Shoal instead to replace the light that had burned. This new light was lit for the first time on December 24, 1880.
In March 1891 the screwpile was rammed by a steamer and damaged. Then again in 1898 it was rammed by a coal barge. This time there was considerable damage and extensive rebuilding was required.
In December of 1909 the hexagonal cottage was completely destroyed by fire and the pile foundation destroyed when it was rammed by the schooner "Malcom Baxter, Jr.". This ship in tow hit the light so hard that it over turned the coal stove and the resultant fire completely destroyed the light. The two keepers were able to escape in their small boat and survived the snow and gale force winds that night on the bay.
Congress appropriated funds for a new lighthouse at this site in 1910, but this new caisson structure was not ready to be installed until 1914. It is three stories tall and stands 55 feet above the water. When it was first lit, the light had a fourth-order Fresnel lens that had a clockworks that rotated an eclipser that flashed the light one for one-second and off for one-second.
In 1964 this light was automated with the instillation of a power cable from shore with a battery back-up. In 1987 the electric cable was replaced by solar cells.
In 1988 the Coast Guard performed extensive restoration work the light including a new coat of paint. This light is the last to still have its' canopy over the first-level.
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Urbanna
Urbanna, located on the Rappahannock, and home of the Urbanna Oyster Festival, is one of the four remaining towns designated by the 1680 Act of Assembly as a port through which tobacco, then the currency of the colony, was shipped. Seven buildings in historic Urbanna have been in continuous use since, representing over three hundred years of history. The centermost portion of Urbanna has been designated a Historic Register in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Wolftrap Light
The Wolf Trap light is located in 16 feet of water on the eastern end of the Wolf Trap Spit south of where the Rappahannock River enters the Chesapeake Bay. It is a caisson tower with its light 52 feet above mean high water.
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e Diviney, base owner of SailTime Virginia Beach. My daughter and our Sails Manager, Kristen along with Capt. Lilly Cardenas, Coordinator of Base Operations, and I are here to make your sailing dreams a reality.
Photo Courtesy of SailTime VB Member Bob L. 
