[Rhodes22-list] Wash., DC marinas

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

Todd,  what you're referring to is called Gravelly Point on your  maps.  
There is a public ramp there.  There is an open area and a lot  of parking at 
Gravelly Point, so there are  a lot of people dropping in and  out for rugby 
games, soccer, maybe fishing, watching the aircraft land/takeoff,  etc - and you 
could launch a boat.  I agree with Robert, go a little  further south to the 
Washington Sailing Marina if you're going to overnight or  do long term parking 
or overnight.
 
Last time I looked, the Washington Sailing Marina had a  double wide  
concrete ramp that they used to launch fairly large sailboats.  I remember  looking 
at the ramp and wondering whether my vehicle would make it up the ramp,  it was 
pretty steep.  The guy I spoke with said we could use it if we  trailered in, 
for a modest fee - I forget how much.  There may be another  ramp also.  They 
also have a crane that can put boats in the water from a  trailer - I think 
you have to provide your own slings - I think the charge for  that was $25.  
I'm not sure what the capacity limit of their small  boat crane is - they were 
putting in albacores and lightning's when we  visited.  The boat owners were 
operating the crane.  I think they also  have a larger mobile lift that's 
associated with their boat yard - it can handle  larger boats.  I'm not sure how the 
R22 fits into their schema, Mark Putnam  may know.  Do a GoogleEarth and you 
can see the Washington Sailing Marina  pretty well, you'll see there is a good 
amount of parking.  
 
Bell Haven has a smaller ramp. It's much shallower and single  wide as I 
recall.   The Bell Haven facility is not nearly as  elaborate as the Washington 
Sailing Marina.  Much less parking, and I'm not  sure they have any long term 
parking.
 
As of last fall I can vouch the pier at Alexandria can be used to tie  up.  
It's great to sail in, visit Old Town, have lunch, shop, and sail  out.  But I 
don't know about overnighting.  If they did allow  overnighting you'd be 
pretty public.  As I recall the pier fronts on a road  and across from that is a 
small public park.  No privacy.  
 
Dave