Keyport or Rock Hall?

I thought I had more time to decide on this...

(Photo Credit:  Marinas.com)

When we purchased Seas The Day (315), we lived in Keyport and had just joined the Keyport Yacht Club.  It was a really cost effective place to keep a boat and still has many positives (along with a few negatives).  Besides, we lived right in view of their mooring field and could keep an eye on Seas The Day.

The other day, as part of the paperwork getting ready to close, I had to choose the name and hailing port for the USCG documentation.  I thought I had a week or so (until I had to choose the lettering), but they need it now.

A few years ago I switched jobs and moved to Newark, DE.  That puts me mid-way between two great sailing locations -  the Raritan Bay and the Chesapeake Bay.  While my son continued to live in Keyport, it was a no brainer to keep Seas The Day up there.

But then we visited the charming town of Rock Hall, MD a couple of years ago and again recently during our sailing excursion that lead to all of this.  Captain Andy (who taught us ASA 103 and 105) really loved Osprey Point Marina in Rock Hall, and keeps his charter boat there.  It also turns out our delivery captain, Captain Gary, also used this marina.

Still it was a hard decision.

On one hand, we love Keyport.  It's a very "un yacht clubish" yacht club... full of great down-to-earth people.  But then Rock Hall had it's draw, too...


Time for some pluses and minuses...

For Keyport...

+ Great people and some good friends.
+ The bar with the best sunset view!
+ By far the cheapest place to keep a boat in our region
+ Uses moorings which I perceive to be more secure than docks
     (if someone is going to mess with your boat, they have to get to it)
+ A Launch system that is incredibly professional, clean and prompt with extended hours.
+ Lets me practice my photography hobby through races, mother's day portraits and Santa!
+ Has Pedersens right nearby (they always have taken good care of Seas The Day)
+ Drews Bayshore Bistro and Neil Michael's Steakhouse!

- It requires a trip up the NJ Turnpike and then down the Garden State Parkway
     (Traffic - or at least my tolerance of it - seems to be getting worse each year)
- Access to fuel and water is less convenient (you have to worry about tides)
- It has a parking problem.  (Due to an issue with a neighbor we lost a lot of spaces.)
- Birds are horrible there (which really makes the access to water essential)


For Rock Hall and Osprey Point...

+ We already know two boats there
+ It's like a resort... pool... bar... fine restaurant & hotel on site... available bikes
+ Beautiful grounds
+ Plenty of parking
+ It has a dock with water & electric
     (Vicky can clean her boat as much as she wants!)
+ Beautiful drive on two lane roads (half-hour closer too)
+ Waterman's Crab House! (I'm sure there are others)

- It uses docks... I hate those things.  (But Vicky wants to clean her boat!)

(I expect that more negatives may arise.)

But for now, we will have it documented as "Seas The Day" hailing from "Rock Hall, MD".  Everything has been approved.  Vicky signed the closing docs in China last night and they are getting FedExed here as I write this.  I expect to close the deal tomorrow.

We will sadly be leaving KYC sometime in the fall after Seas The Day (315) is picked up by the dealer.