Hampton Bay Days by Boat

khobombed · 08-04-2009, 09:15 AM

I've gone to Bay Days in Hampton for several years by land but now that I moved to Maryland I want to go down with the boat. Will there be places to dock and walk or is it a mad house on the water? Any tips from those who have been there and done that is much appreciated.

motoryacht lover · 08-04-2009, 06:42 PM

I have been but it has been a few years. I would try to reserve a slip at Bluewater's Marina (757 723 0793). Pretty sure that is the right number. Joys Marina is also convenient but doesn't have as many slips. I don't have their number. Also Hampton has municipal docks but I don't know about availability. I would not run down from MD without a reserverd slip unless you are comfortable anchoring out. Also anchoring out would concern me with all the alcohol fueled boaters anchoring sloppily especially if a storm comes up. One year at Harborfest in Norfolk they had a mess when a storm came up and alot of the improperly anchored boats started drifting. It will be a lot of fun on the boat. Good luck.

prowlersfish · 09-15-2009, 05:17 PM

Did you end up going ?

pmichael · 09-16-2009, 08:45 AM

We live close. We went by boat to see if we could dock then walk around the festival for an hour or so. Called the hampton Public Docks on 16 and asked, he said they had no areas available, but if I wanted to anchor and come in by zodiac I could. They had a large US navy barge moored to the docks as extra space. When I questioned him as to the amount of space on the dock, he said they were full. Not sure where he was looking. Needless to say, we could not find a place and left.

This really irritated me, in that Bays Days is suppose to be about the bay and bring people downtown but they don't feel it is neccesary to accomadte the short term transient boater. No wonder the festival is getting smaller every year.

khobombed · 09-16-2009, 01:13 PM

I owe you folks an update and I did take the boat from Deale MD to Hampton VA, but over the Labor Day weekend instead. The reason was twofold: 1) I wanted some extra travel time without taking the days off of work in case something happened and 2) I was warned of the lack of slip space during Bay Days. The trip took 6 hours each way as my boat tops out at about 20 knots, especially in the 2-3 ft conditions of the Bay on Friday. I stopped near Solomon's for gas and although I expected to shell out some $$ for fuel, it was more than I thought. I called ahead for the Hampton Public Piers (HPP) and it was a facility with a friendly and helpful staff. However, when you stay at the HPP you hear all the sounds of the city, ghetto blasters, gun shots, squealing tires etc. There is also a couple of bars above on the walkway so expect to hear the usual banter and bodily functions of the inebriated as they go by. However, this was the price to pay for the convenient access to Hampton and the Enterprise rental office. I needed the car to go visit my son at ODU and to go West Marine and pick up a shore power cord since I left mine coiled up neatly in Deale, a newbie mistake but I could have made many more. The way back was much better. I made a new home for the rest of the year at a place off the Potomac where I came up on Sunday instead of Monday because I kept an eye on the weather forecast and it's a good thing I did. I pulled into the Port Tobacco River after a ride on a sheet of glass up the Potomac just as the clouds rolled in. It was my longest trip in this size and type of boat and learning the limitations and capabilities has taught me quite a bit.

khobombed · 09-16-2009, 01:24 PM

I owe you folks an update and I did take the boat from Deale MD to Hampton VA but over the Labor Day weekend instead. The reason was twofold 1) I wanted some extra travel time without taking the days off of work in case something happened and 2) I was warned of the lack of slip space during Bay Days The trip took 6 hours as my boat tops out at about 20 knots especially in the 2-3 ft conditions of the Bay on Friday. I stopped near Solomon's for gas and although I expected to shell out some $$ for fuel it was more than I thought. I called ahead for the public piers and it was a facility with a friendly staff. However, when you stay at the Hampton public piers you hear all the sounds of the city, ghetto blasters, gun shots, squealing tires etc. There is also a couple of bars above on the walkway so expect to hear the usual banter and bodily functions of the inebriated as they go by. However this was the price to pay for the convenience of access to Hampton and the Enterprise rental office. I needed the car to go to West Marine and pick up a shore power cord I left in Deale, a newbie mistake but I could have made many more. The way back was much better. I made a new home for the rest of the year at a place off the Potomac where I came up on Sunday instead of Monday because I kept an eye on the weather forecast and it's a good thing I did. I pulled into the Port Tobacco River after a ride on a sheet of glass up the Potomac just as the clouds rolled in. It was my longest trip in this size and type of boat and learning the limitations and capabilities has taught me quite a bit.

prowlersfish · 09-18-2009, 06:00 PM

I have never had a noise issue at Hampton public piers . sorry you did , next Time you get to hampton let me know . I will will give you my cell # so if you forget something like a cord I could loan you one .

Thats a great looking boat you have .

khobombed · 09-19-2009, 07:11 AM

Thanks Prowlersfish,
Its good to hear the HPP is normally a quiet place. It's unrealistic not to expect a party atmosphere given both the holiday weekend and the opening game of the football season for the HU Pirates taking place at the same time. Speaking of pirates, maybe I'll head down next June at the pirate fesitival and we'll plan t' celebrate. I lived and worked in the Hampton area for over 10 years while stationed at Langley AFB and owned a house near Buckroe so I do get "homesick" enough to travel down there. For now, today is a good day to cruise the Potomac and maybe get some fishing done.