Lower Chesapeake Bay River Cruising – The York and Rappahannock: Great Loop Cruising

Are you ready for some cruising content!? Good, because our 2025 return to the Great Loop is well underway, and we have a lot of adventures to catch you up on.

We’ve come to say that boating is mostly awesome serene passages & anchorages, some fixing of things in exotic places mixed with moments of sheer terror. And this chapter has it all!

After leaving Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, VA – it was off to officially enter the Chesapeake Bay with all new adventures ahead of us. And of course, because we’re doing things the Slooper Way (slow Looping), we’re taking side trips and exploring places a bit off the beaten path.

This chapter covers April 25 – May 14, 2025 as we explore the York and Rappahannock Rivers in the lower Chesapeake.

If you want to also experience this in video, we’ve created that too:

Stop 1: Hospital Point Anchorage – Portsmouth, VA

For our first stop after leaving Atlantic Yacht Basin, we returned to a favorite anchorage off Hospital Point in Portsmouth. Just across the Elizabeth River from Waterside in Norfolk.

We just love this area – we somehow manage to keep super busy on each stop!

We ended up staying 4 delightful evenings. In that time we caught an opera world premiere of ‘Loving v Virginia’, the NATO Festival and viewed ‘Sinners’ at the classically restored Commodore Theater (wow!) in Portsmouth.

We used both the ferry from Portsmouth and took the dinghy across the river to tie up next to a battleship for our time across the Elizabeth River in Norfolk.

Somehow we also managed to relax a bit and decompress after several weeks of non-stop boat projects.

Ahhh.. back to cruising life!

Stop 2: Hampton River Anchorage – Hampton, VA

Our first new cruising destination of the season – just across the James River to Hampton, VA!

Home of Langley Air Force base, and their Air and Space museum.

There are multiple anchorage options up the Hampton River – we selected the one beyond the low bridge to leave options for our sailing friends.

Easy free dinghy dock access to get ashore, and see all the fun stuff!

We enjoyed the museum for sure, including catching an IMAX movie showcasing the Blue Angels training program (amazing!).

But by far our favorite about this stop is the lovingly restored 1920 wooden carousel! It used to be at the Buckroe Beach Amusement Park up until the 80s.. and it turns out, my parents used to take me there as a young kid (I was born in the area).

I confirmed with my mom, that we rode this very carousel back in the 70s!! How cool is that??

We loved it so much, that we went back for seconds. At just a buck a ride.. this was absolutely magical. The attendant was extremely knowledgable and passionate about sharing this gem. Don’t miss it!

Stop 3: Yorktown Mooring Balls – Yorktown, VA

Next stop – up the York River to Yorktown, VA! The site of the last major battle of the American Revolution in 1781 – where the British surrendered.

Leaving Hampton had us officially entering the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, and our cruise up the York River was calm and delightful.

The Riverwalk Landing Piers are right downtown, with six newly installed mooring balls (reviews of the old ones were pretty sketchy!). Per their website, moorings are free for 72-hours – however the dockmaster seemed to indicate they have plans to start charging again.

The new moorings are .. well.. quite robust. And we had not yet encountered this style of ‘double horn’ cleat on one, and couldn’t find any info about how to use a mooring without a pendant. We’re hoping we secured appropriately (we stayed secure, and no signs of chaffing) – so if you have tips to share, please do!

The marina itself was taking dockage, but no power or water available yet (seasonal?). A small coast cat cruising ship from the luxury American Cruise Lines was also in dock.

We enjoyed exploring around the historic village, the water front and touring the battlefield park. We even got in a 10K running out and back to Surrender Field – literally running through history!

Our stop also coincided with a Blues, Brews & BBQ festival – which was a lot of fun to attend. Chris bought a pass for sampling beers all day, and the samples seemed to just get bigger as the day went on.

There is hardly any protection in the mooring field however- and most of our stay was calm with S / SW light winds which we were protected from the bluffs above us. However there’s a bit of swell that comes in during tidal shifts – and south winds can pin you down taking it to the beam if there’s not enough current to counteract.

Our last evening was like that, and it got quite horrific at times. We ended up draining the hot tub, in hopes that reducing the weight would minimize the rocking.

At the end of our 72-hours, we were ready to move on!

Stop 4: Claxton Creek Anchorage – Seaford, VA

They say that weather & marine conditions on the Chesapeake are some of the hardest to predict.

We’re quickly learning that whoever they are.. are correct.

We left Yorktown on Sunday morning still in light swells on our mooring. With lighter winds predicted until later in the afternoon when some unsettled weather might move through – we knew we needed to get to somewhere more protected.

We thought we had plenty of time to get to our next destination up a creek along Mobjack Bay (just at the mouth of the York River) and opted not to just head across the river to Sarah Creek.

As we rode down the York River, things started to get a touch bouncy. Not too bad, but also not what we were expecting for such light winds. Maybe a tidal change?

Things got progressively worse. And we were soon bucking straight into oncoming rollers (maybe 3-4′?). Conditions we know we can handle, but not conditions that are comfortable.

Our turn into Mobjack would have us taking that to the beam for miles and miles. I was starting to panic. Chris was still set on Mobjack Bay, I used my co-captain voice and firmly suggested that perhaps we take the much closer protection of Seaford where we could manage the waves better.

Which we did.

A turn south quickly had the rough conditions dissipating as land reduced the fetch and we could zig zag into the swells.

As we entered Claxton Creek, things calmed down considerably. And we enjoyed a peaceful day as we let the rush of adrenaline exit our systems with some cardio and a nap. Our Sunday run at the nearby county park with a free dock helped.

The next day had calm conditions predicted, but the skies above us sure weren’t telling that tale. Our anchorage was calm, but what was awaiting us ‘out there’?

We decided to duck out and give it a try. But as the swells picked up as we exited the channel we decided to make a 180 degree turn and head right back in with our tails tucked between our legs.

We waited out the overhead skies to clear up, and gave it another try a couple hours later – it was much calmer, with just a bit of bounce as we crossed the York River.

Stop 5: Put In Creek Anchorage – Mathews, VA

After a bumpy crossing of the York River from our sheltered bay in Seaford, we made it into the protection of Mobjack Bay.

Our mission was.. shore access for provisioning some fresh produce, as it had been 10 days since we last stepped foot in a grocery store! And a post office to mail Mother’s Day gifts we had acquired in Yorktown.

And the town of Mathews had both a Food Lion and a post office just a block from a kayak dock.

All we had to do was transit up the East River, anchor and then wait for high tide to take the dinghy up a creek. At low tide, the creek is just mud. Chris used our drone to scope out the creek, and we used our handheld depth sounder to ensure we could make the passage.

Paddling was required for the last bit of the adventure up the very narrow creek.

Easy peasy if timed correctly and a fun adventure! We got groceries, gifts mailed and even had time to catch an early dinner at Mi Casa Mexican before the tide would be too low to get back.

Success! We do kinda enjoy the logistical challenge of getting normal stuff done from a boat!

Stop 6: Jackson Creek Anchorage – Deltaville, VA

New Boat Rule: There will be no gloating on how good the cruising conditions are until we get to our destination!!

We left Mobjack Bay on a pleasant morning, with forecasted winds of less than 5 mph from the west. Higher winds were predicted in the later afternoon.

Plenty of time to get in our planned 30nm cruise to Deltaville.

And it was glorious out on the Chesapeake as we took turns at the helm.

And wouldn’t you know it, just as we were rounding Gwynn Island to cross the Piankatank River – the winds picked up. About 4 hours earlier than predictions!

Soon we had 30 mph gusts, causing quite the beam fetch as we crossed the river. Making for ‘sporty’ conditions.

We made it through the tight serpentine entrance into Jackson Creek, embracing each inch of protection gained. As soon as the hook was gleefully down, we finally breathed.

First stop.. Hurd’s Hardware Store (via the Maritime Museum – their free dinghy dock is a great way to get onshore!). We needed various caulking stuff to fix some lingering leak issues.

Once back aboard – it was caulk-a-palooza. First re-caulking all of the portholes, which were taking on water while underway. Then re-bedding all of the cockpit deck hardware, as our surveyor found a lot of moisture around the aftermarket installed rod holders (that we never use).

And while we were at it, we did some sealing around the pilothouse windows that the folks at Atlantic Yacht Basin had coached us through doing.

With all the caulking AYB did, plus this – we are crossing our fingers to be watertight at last. At least for a day, please?

Stop 7: Urbby Boatyard & Marina – Urbanna, VA

After Deltaville we were looking for a spot to hang out for the weekend ahead.

We’ve been using ChapGPT lately to help us scope out fun stuff with anchorages and/or marinas – and it suggested heading up the Rappahannock River to Urbanna for their second Saturday festivities.

We found Urbby Boatyard and Marina with impeccable reviews and put in a reservation request for the next morning.

We also put a note that if they happened to have a mechanic available… we had an unresolved slow coolant leak that AYB seemed to have missed, that we had isolated down to the turbo banjo brass washer. It was something we could handle ourselves, if we had access to a big honking wrench.

In short order we had our reservation accepted, with a mechanic waiting for us upon arrival the next day. Wow! It was a calm delightful cruise up the river (that we didn’t gloat about until we were secured to our dock).

We spent an absolutely lovely weekend exploring this quaint small river town with several dining options and grocery store in walking distance. The marina is amazing & friendly and affordable with a BoatUS discount (just $81/night for us – including electric!).

And new Looping friends Jon & Claire of Inception 2 decided to divert up the river with us – and we had a marvelous time hanging out with them for bike rides, hikes, happy hour and dancing at the town’s jazzy music festival.

Chad of Yacht Solutions LLC was absolutely amazing – and attended to our turbo banjo. Hopefully that leak is resolved too!

And after a couple weeks at anchor, there’s just something wonderful about pulling out with all of the tanks refreshed, hot tub refilled, laundry caught up and a fridge full of fresh stuff (and maybe a couple pints of homemade boozie ice cream from Something Different).

Thank you for a memorable side trip, Urbanna!

Stop 8: Sandy Point Anchorage – Weebs, VA

After our Sunday run, a stock up run to the IGA and a pump out – we left the beautiful little town of Urbanna and putzed across the Rappahannock River to the Corrotomon River.

We had found a highly rated anchorage off a sandy beach that sounded perfect for our first deployment of the inflatable SUPs this season!

We had a lovely afternoon of paddling around with stingrays, swimming in the 79 degree water and a gorgeous sunset enjoyed from the hot tub.

Ahhhh… this is the good stuff!

Stop 9: Carter Creek Church Prong Anchorage – Irvington, VA

With some unsettled weather moving in for a couple days that would have us wanting to stay in protected coves, we decided to move one river over to Carter Creek where we could anchor off of the town of Irvington.

It would give us more options for shore access, and they have a Steamboat Era museum to check out.

We puttered over, and got the hook set surrounded by bluffs.

A quick call over to the snazzy Tides Inn Resort around the bend, and we had permission to use their docks to get ashore.

We had a lovely lunch at the Office Bistro in town (with many vegetarian GF options), and had a great time touring the Steamboat museum which includes a lovingly restored pilothouse of the steamship Potomac.

We used the rainy windy day to get caught up on some work, and hardly budged during the 30-40 mph wind gusts. The anchor and chain was well plowed in, and came up extra muddy.

Stop 10: Antipoison Creek Little Bay Anchorage – White Stone, VA

With the weather system having dissipated, we decided it was time to move on with aims to stop at Reedville next. We had a lovely cruise back down the Rappahannock, and ran the engines up for a bit of time up on plane to blow out the turbos.

After all of the engine & prop work done at AYB – it was super nice to finally see our fully rated 3000 RPM of our Cummins 6BTA 370HP motors with no signs of heat issues anymore.

As we rounded Windmill Point we spotted a little protected cove off a white sandy beach, with a highly rated anchorage. We looked at each other and decided on a whim to cut today’s cruise short and go explore. We’re in no rush, so Y-Not?

We deployed the paddleboards and got ashore to explore the sandy islands, even helping turnover a couple horseshoe crabs so they could return to the bay.

Our stop here turned out to fortuitous, but we’ll save that story for the next episode!

Real Time Update

We’re a few stops ahead having explored more of the coves along the Northern Neck of Virginia.  We’re waiting out some more unsettled weather in Reedville, with intentions to cross the Bay over to the Eastern Shore on the next weather window.

We’ll poke around there (perhaps even the Pokomoke River?) for a bit and then have eyes on transiting the Potomac once flooding recedes there a bit. There’s a lot to explore in the DMV, so we’ll likely be looking for our first longer stop of the season so we can take it all in.