Trip Overview
Starting in Saxis, VA and ending in Chincoteague, VA, A friend and I traveled over 130 miles over the course of 8 days. We utilized under-roof port for three nights, camped the other three, and took advantage of a foul weather day to rest. Traveling an average of 18.6 miles per day, we worked our way south from Saxis, out the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, continued north along the intercoastal waterway, and completed our trip landing on Chincoteague Island. We effectively encompassed the entirety of Virginia’s Eastern Shore by way of Kayak. Our pace was on the high end of our capabilities but still left much room for enjoyment and rest. The Chesapeake Bay side was simple to map and predict the tides, but the seaside provided many route options and nearly unpredictable ties. With the weather surprisingly cooperative, our main challenges were tide prediction and finding solid ground to camp along the routes and planning for fresh water.
Gear Notes
I chose my boat (perception sea lion eclipse) for its large cockpit to fit my long inflexible legs, but weighing in at about 70 lbs with a bulky hull to hold up to 425 lbs, the design did not move as swiftly as my companion's WS Tempest 170. Often times Sam was holding back to wait for me. My large boat would have been perfect if we were hauling the required drinking water for the whole trip, but it was unnecessary and sacrificed speed.
We overplanned for battery charging. We both purchased solar chargers and power banks, but with making landfall every 2 -3 days, we would have been fine with a small battery bank for each of us. It’d have been a different story if we were filming tiktoks the whole time or only camped along the way.
We should have planned our recipes a little better with dried meats and “home-cooked” vacuum-sealed packages.
For navigation, I carried a Delorme Earthmate PN-60 held our tracks and points with a variety of route options and stopping points. The base map, although dated, proved fairly accurate. My companion carried a Garmin InReach gave us piece of mind with real time tracking sent to friends and family, emergency SOS, and even had our tracks loaded and map data saved as we progressed.
Conditions
I have moderate experience reading tides, but my predictions sometimes were just guesses. I’m surprised that they panned out so well in many instances.
The weather on the ESVA, as well as other coastal areas, is wildly unpredictable. We managed a whole week of perfect weather and wind, save our two nights in Cape Charles when the wind was temporarily unfavorable.
Our route had infinite options, especially on the seaside, but the basic format of our pre-made tracks and GPS base maps turned out to be more than enough to avoid lengthy dead-ends and oyster reefs.
Trip Details
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Trip Dates:
9/28/2024-10/6/2024
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Sport/Activity:
Kayaking
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Skill Level:
Advanced
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Water Type:
Open Water/Ocean
