Reviews from Scott A Westwood (22)

Marina Review for Columbia Marina

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood , Aphrodisiac, on Jul 10, 2024
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 3

Nice "small" town. Slip had 10.5ft with 7.5ft least we saw coming in. Wide finger slips that come "about" 15ft out to our midships (32ft boat) so had to step over lifelines but wasn't an issue for us. Could have backed in for easier on/off. Expect to dock yourself. Power/water/pumpout available. Single clean bath house close by. Docks located right downtown next to check-in. Called on cell. Most businesses closed on Monday. Restaurants are minimal so don't expect fine dining. Example: one BBQ place was only open 11-3 on the days they were open (Tue-Sun). Advertisement for eateries is not readily available. More eating places are "in the works" but they could not give dates. Free town wifi but did not reach our slip, had to be in office. Library few blocks away for rainy day wifi but we did not test it. Overall nice and friendly place if you like the simple life. Part of the Albermarle loop so first 2 nights dockage are free. Worth the stop for quiet free dockage but, if eating out is your thing, don't expect much.

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Marina Review for Washington Waterfront Docks

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood , Aphrodisiac, on Apr 16, 2024
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 5

Read the other reviews. Worth the trip. long bulkhead and first 2 nights free. After that .75 cents per foot per night. Free (boater only) showers. Laundry too but we never used/needed. No power/water but powered slips are available. Not sure of fees? Check ahead for local events and check out the local theatre. Free pair of bikes to borrow. Easy biking to Grocery, Tractor Supply, Auto parts and fast food (if that's your thing). Library 2-3 blocks away for rainy days (Good wifi there). Dock wifi was very little use even docked right next to antenna. Good Ice cream and restaurants easy walk.

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Anchorage Review for Georgetown - Steelmill Channel

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on Nov 4, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

First time. Very glad we stopped. We draw 4.5ft and came in near low tide and didn't see less that 7ft. Wind was light and NE so no reported smell from steel plant. Great waterfront town. Front street has free nautical museum and places to eat and shop. Pigly wigly 1.5m and Food Lion about 2m. This Sat 12-3 about restaurants on Front st. are all doing fund raiser on sidewalk with food samples. Buy tickets and walk along sampling as you go. We will be back.

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Marina Review for Parks Marina

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood , Aphrodisiac, on May 5, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 2

Did not stop. Two things going against us. First was 1-2 kt current making slips difficult at best. Slips are bulkhead with 3 pilings on each side. If you have a sailboat with davits (and dinghy) you can't back in. That means bow in and getting off boat at pulpit. Not easy for us old folks. There is a small square "dock" but it was full and can only take maybe 3 large boats or 4-6 small ones? Suggest sailboats take ferry from Chrisfield. .IMHO

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Anchorage Review for Crisfield - Somers Cove

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on May 5, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Anchor came up slick mud but holding great. Need good washdown. Anchored in front/side of boat ramp leaving enough room. tied dinghy up in shallow west side of ramp. has bathrooms (daytime). Took bikes for ride around town. Too early in season for everything to be open but enough to eat out. Went to Linton's seafood (2miles) for the best flounder sandwich. Also try the Smith Island cake almost any restaurant. Takes a long time to get here but nice place. If you have time, suggest taking ferry to Tangier Island. The docks there are not good for sailboats. See review there for details.

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Free Dock Review for Cambridge Creek Dock

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on May 2, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 4

I agree with everything Janthina said. I would add that there is a Walmart supercenter 2.4 miles away and almost anything you need in between. Food Lion Groceries, Tractor Supply and other hardware stores, Pharmacies, dollar stores, auto parts, (many Fast foods if you are in to it) and on... We ate at Portside just over the draw bridge (2 block walk) for fresh scallops the size of golf balls. Also agree that Black Water is the place for breakfast (had scrapple on menu). Nice library a block away (great place to do on line stuff in bad weather-like we had for 2 days here.) Don't let the concrete bulkhead scare you. Well worth the visit.

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Anchorage Review for Urbanna Harbor

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on Apr 24, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Not much wind so can't talk about holding. We were early in season AND a Monday so most of town closed. Spoke to some locals and sounds like most of town is normally closed Mon-Tue. Think it would be nice Mayberry like town on summer weekends. Nice walking and IGA close by. Osprey flying overhead. Seems protected. In summer worth 13 miles up river. IMHO

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Anchorage Review for Piankatank River - Fishing Bay

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on Apr 24, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Osprey snagged fish 20ft off stern while enjoying wine sundowner at anchor. Doesn't get much better. Marina open 7 days a week. Deep 17-19ft all around but plenty of room.

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Free Dock Review for Deep Creek Bulkhead (Chesapeake, VA)

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on Apr 21, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 4

Get here early enough before the bridge opening to run to Food Lion grocery a block away. Never reached anybody at bridge/lock by phone. Ch13 radio as we approached. Very friendly and helpful once in contact.
Great place to stay at night for first opening but expect car noise until later in evening.

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Free Dock Review for Douglas Landing

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on Apr 21, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 4

Nice place to stop. About 100 ft dock. Maybe room for 2 boats? Adequate bathrooms(2). Great place to walk or ride bikes on wide paved trail. Don't be surprised if people stop and talk. The bathroom is a stopping point for many of the walkers. It is remote but never got a scary vibe. Remote enough to shower off back of boat if needed.

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Free Dock Review for Mariners' Wharf, Elizabeth City

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on Apr 18, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 4

I agree with everything "Do It Now" said in previous review. Nice place worth the stop. Be sure to watch for the size/width of the slips. They are not all the same. The widths are written on the bulkhead of each slip.

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Marina Review for Edenton Harbor

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood , Aphrodisiac, on Apr 28, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 1

Called and was told slips are closed and NOT operational at this time. No ETR. Suggest calling first. Only slips in Edenton (According to person on this number) is the Edenton Marina. NOT Edenton Harbor. ???? Good Luck.

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Free Dock Review for Edenton Harbor

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on Apr 28, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 1

Called and was told slips are closed and NOT operational at this time. No ETR. Suggest calling first. Only slips in Edenton (According to person on this number) is the Edenton Marina. NOT Edenton Harbor. ???? Good Luck.

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Free Dock Review for Mariners' Wharf, Elizabeth City

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood, Aphrodisiac, on Apr 27, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 4

Fourteen (14) free dock slips and some/limited bulkhead in the middle of downtown. No power or water but free "decent" wifi. Water is listed but did not see, or look for, any. Slips are first come first serve and you have to dock yourself. (Quote from staff: " Do it yourself, by yourself.") Slips have small finger docks and vary from 13 to 18 ft wide. Each width is listed on the bulkhead so suggest buzz by and pick best/smallest width you are comfortable with. We did not know there were different sizes and took up one of the largest ones by chance. This is a common staging area for large cruisers headed up Dismal Swamp and some were not happy we took up a large slip. If you go bow in expect to step off your bow to the dock. There is another "free" bulkhead on the other side of the bascule bridge called "Dock and Dine" that wants/requires you to eat at their restaurant but we could not find the place. Did not try hard though.
Free, close, clean "public" bathrooms are available from 8-5. Showers are $5/person. Showers are not top notch/fancy but clean and plenty of hot water. (No sink, just a shower, in shower room). Food Lion, fast food, and Lowes Home Improvement 1.8 miles.
Free Albermarle Museum (ask for donations) is a block away. Worth a stroll through IMHO. Also one of the places you can pay for the showers.
Docks are in the middle of a free park with benches and a parking lot. Depending on your feelings for meeting all types of locals coming to watch the boats, it is a nice area. We visited during the week so can't say what the weekends are like.

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Free Dock Review for Rock Hall Harbor

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood on Apr 26, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.2'

Rating: 3

Great place to stop. 8ft of water along the dock when we docked. Went down to 7ft. Did not see it lower. Entrance was about 8ft. Stepped/paced off about 130 ft of "low" dock along the bulkhead (Along the left/west side) and 4 steps up to the parking lot level. If your deck is higher there is more bulkhead at the parking lot level to the right. It is said to NOT dock any farther than marker 14 to allow locals to offload. It is early in the season and almost nothing going on. Very quiet. No other boats while we were there. Plenty of room for several boats. Maybe half mile or less to grocery and main street with some boutiques? Mostly marinas near by. Bikes are better but nice place to walk around. There was a nautical consignment but it was only open Fri and Sat (Seasonal?) No power or water. Just a bulkhead around working docks. There are some coffee shops and restaurants near by but maybe half a mile walk. Some marina restaurants closer.

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Marina Review for Tidewater Marina

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood on Apr 21, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.2'

Rating: 5

Would stay again. Getting into slips is tight but doable. Good cell coverage and wifi. Great town to visit. Can easily walk it but bikes make it much easier to see more (of course). If nothing else, walk the main streets. Music is playing from speakers mounted in poles throughout downtown. Find your way to the waterfront walkway on the south side of town. No laundry or clubhouse but busy marina with all you need. Nice individual head/showers. Grocery is about 3 miles (According to a local). In order to take a pic, my wife was standing in one of those slanted parking spaces you find in many small town main streets. A young person subtly "urged" my wife to move so she could park her car. We walked down the street a short distance and somebody came up and apologized saying that the driver should have waited to let you finish because: "That is just not how we roll in this town."

Well worth the trip up here. You have to want to get here. Very nice town to spend a couple of days. Lots of antique stores.

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Anchorage Review for Solomons Island Basin

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood on Apr 21, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.2'

Solomons Island is a nice place. More marinas than restaurants I think. They have a nice walkway along the river but not much else. Only saw 3-4 restaurants. We did not take the bikes and it was late so we didn’t go farther. For live/loud music you have to find the Tiki Bar. Can’t really miss it. Party central with outside live music. Near Naval base and Oceanography operations. Food is not bad. Not high end but an OK ½ pound burger/fries for $12. Canned beer only, plus mixed drinks of course. There are higher end eateries at some of the marinas. Only spent one night. Not many places to anchor inside but you can manage if you don’t mind tight places in calm weather. Several branches to anchor in. Worth a visit. Fuel was cheaper here.

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Anchorage Review for Great Wicomico River - Sandy Point

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood on Apr 21, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.2'

All I can say is nice and wide place to stay. It was a calm night so holding no problem. Verizon cell coverage was good. No other boats and little/no traffic. Good protection from South and you can go right across river for protection from North.

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Anchorage Review for Piankatank River - Fishing Bay

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood on Apr 21, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.2'

Great anchorage. Pulled in to sit out NW winds on our way north. Well protected mud bottom. Lots of room. Dinghied into Fishing Bay Marina. Very nice stop. Normally $5 dinghy dock fee. They offered full use of their facilities for $20 (Courtesy car, pool, bath house) but not sure if that is just off-season or all year?
NOTE: The depth is about 18ft almost everywhere in the bay.

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Free Dock Review for High Street Landing

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood on Apr 21, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.2'

Rating: 3

Nice place to stay. If you come at high tide (Only high) you will have to tie up and walk across 4-5 inches of water to get ashore. The rest of the time it is dry. It is in the center of town so you can get to many things like NASA Museum. Can't say anything about safety in downtown at night? Had us concerned but we did have a "moat" late in the evening to help protect us. Mostly military around so probably very safe?? It is small so look from outside as much as possible to see if it is full. Only had 2 other boats when we arrived.

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Anchorage Review for Mill Creek-Phoebus

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood on Apr 21, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.2'

Free Dinghy dock next to a Catholic school. Dinghy dock is North toward Phoebus. Go under the short bridge. You can't really see it until you are just up to the bridge. Nice dock and we rode our bike over to Hampton. Best walk is to your left but Phoebus is small and not much we saw except some nice old homes. Did not venture much in Phoebus (went to Hampton) so can't say more. If you stop here you have to go see Ft Monroe and walk along the waterfront and go inside the free fort. Walk up on the walls and see the moat. Nice day trip or just the afternoon.

Anchor held fine but we got slimy mud so have a good washdown. Same mud we got all over Chesapeake so far.

Good Verizon cell coverage.

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Marina Review for Dowry Creek Marina

Reviewed by: Scott A Westwood on Jun 27, 2020
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 32'
Draft: 4.3'

Rating: 5

Great place to stop. Pool, Grills, new docks, well stocked store, ... it has it all. Really it does. Pump out within/along the slips (No need to move to pump out). You can sit on the protected docks and still watch boats going along the ICW. Enough to do and still quiet.

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