Marina advice in D.C. area (Washington: restaurants, storage, shop)

[FLANATIVE530]

We moved to Charlottesville last year from Florida, and have kept our boat in storage in Florida trying to decide what to do with it. It's a Regal 2100 ski boat.

We have visited both Smith Mountain Lake and Lake Anna, but since we are so far inland now and also since we moved to a much smaller (but wonderful) town than we left, we'd really like to combine our boating with getting close to the ocean and also being able to visit a city. So we have opened up our search to marinas within a decent distance from D.C. We know nothing about this area.

Does anyone have any recommendations for choosing a marina that would 1) have quick access to safely skiable sections, 2) and be within a 30 minute drive from D.C. or other decent size city to hang out in.

Thanks!

Maggie

[DCforever]

The western shore of the Chesapeake is about a 45 min commute to DC, depending upon locations. There is a fair amount of water skiing on the creeks and rivers along the shore of the Bay. look at South River.

[BigCityDreamer]

There are marinas right within the limits of Washington DC.

The Wharf and Yards

[Mikemapva]

In addition to the advise above to keep your boat in DC, you could keep it about 30 minutes south in the Woodbridge/Occoquan area.


This would give you more room to ski down that way and be able to get to DC by car 30-45 minutes (non rush hour) or by boat (a little over an hour).


If you upgrade your boat to a larger one, you're about 3-4 hours from the Chesapeake Bay by boat.

[paytonc]

^ Yeah, I'd definitely say that's the sweet spot. The tidal Potomac is waterski-able at that point, and there are lots of marinas along the Occoquan River. There are some dockside restaurants, etc. there, plus Woodbridge has all the suburban big-box shopping (e.g., Ikea) that you might not have in C'ville.

Also, because you'd be coming from the Virginia side, you'd be able to leave 66 just about where the traffic gets worst. No need to drive all the way into DC, and potentially spend hours in your car just to get to your boat. If you want to cruise up to the Wharf or Yards or Georgetown, there are guest docks available.