Ingram Bay Marina

J

jmeirhofer

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Anyone have any opinions of them or actual experiences with them?
 
He just relocated to MD from CA. So yes, it's the right forum for his question.
 
Ingram bay is at just about the entrance to the Chesapeake. Thanks Kurt we have not made the move yet. That happens next month.

Edited to fix home port so folks don't get the wrong impression. ;-)
 
That is a nice area. But I'd be leary of covered slips. There seems to be a rash of marinas burning that are covered ...
 
Ingram bay is directly off the bay between the Potomac and the Rapahannock rivers. They have both open and covered slips. Unless you are on the Northern Neck the marina is a long way from anywhere in MD.
 
Paul - I would be going into an uncovered slip but I am interested in knowing about the fires of covered marinas. I know that there was one recently but I thought that I read it started on a houseboat.
 
Fires can happen to both covered and uncovered slips, and yes, they usually start on a boat and then spread and it will spread faster under cover. Do they happen? Yes, but considering the number of marinas out there and very few fires, don't worry about it. As in anything in life, just make sure you have decent insurance.

I visited Ingram Bay once. Fairly small marina and if you want to be close to the bay, good place to be. Not much near there as it is everywhere in the Northern Neck.
 
quote:
Originally posted by jmeirhofer

Paul - I would be going into an uncovered slip but I am interested in knowing about the fires of covered marinas. I know that there was one recently but I thought that I read it started on a houseboat.

Click to expand...


I dont have the links handy, but there was the most recent one at McCotters in Washington NC, there was one at Colonial Beach, Va, there was one recently up in the PNW. and then there was the collapse of the ones in MD last year from snow.

Just something to consider.
 
McCotters just happened a few weeks ago, and I think it was mostly an uncovered part of the marina, although I'm not positive.
Colonial Beach was a pretty big fire about 8-10 years ago. Not sure how much of if was covered/uncovered.
The marina I'm at is about 40 years old with about 100 covered slips. Never had a snow cave in and they have had some pretty heavy snow/ice from time to time.
I don't worry about my marina burning down anymore than I worry about my house burning.
 
cwms - Can I ask what marina you are in?

Paul - I have to agree with cwms. Given proper insurance, catastrophic failure of someone or something in the marina should cover pretty much all of it. What it does not is not generally going to cause me to lose sleep over it. The only thing I would be leary of is being caught on board at the time.
 
I'm at Olverson's on the Yeocomico. Where in MD are you? Anywhere you are will be a good hike to Ingram Bay. But if you really want to be close to the Bay, good place to be although there are some good marinas on the MD side of the lower Potomac that aren't far from the Bay. St. Mary's or Pt. Lookout
 
Thanks. I am going to be living in Rockville, MD. For tax reasons I don't want to keep it in MD. I know the trip to the boat would be about 3 hrs. but I can leave early on Friday's and come in late on Monday's so not a real issue. I have a trailer boat in CA and it was at least 2 hrs. to put the boat in anywhwere worth boating so I am used to driving somewhere to use it. At least this one will already be in the water.
 
I am also looking at Aqua Bay Marina and Hope Springs Marina. If others have VA marina suggestions feel free to join in. I have two boat to store, one a dry land storage and the other obviousely need a slip for.
 
There's a huge difference in distance between Ingram Bay and the other 2 you are looking at and even though I've never been to the other 2, I'm guessing the differences between them and Ingram Bay is night and day.
Stafford is big city, lots of people, traffic, etc and Ingram Bay is just the opposite.
It's hard to tell what you are looking for since these marinas are so totally opposite.
Sounds like you don't really care if you are close to the bay. With Ingram, you have a small marina in a very rural area where the closest town (not city) is 15 miles away.
Tell us what you are looking for. What's important in a marina for you? What else have you looked at and what caught your eye at the 3 you mentioned?
I'm on the lower Potomac so I'm familiar with Colonial Beach, Coles Point and the Yeocomico marinas as well as the marinas on the Coan River.
 
That is the problem I believe. I am not sure what I really want. That is one plus to being a trailer boater. Don't like it where your at for the weekend don't go back. This is a little more permanant. We like piece and quiet. We are not big on party atmosphere and value our rst at night. On the other hand, we also like to be able to go places and see and do things. What I liked about Ingrams is the fact that it is rural and it has easy access to the bay and some of the rivers. What I liked about the others where simply that they were closer and appeared to have better amenities (although they are not that big to us). The biggest problem with being up the river is that I can see it wearing out quick if you go out a lot. Down by Ingram Bay there seems to be more choices of where to go but it is a lot farther to get there.

I did look up Olverson's and it did look like a nice place as well. I sent them an inquiring email. In the end, personal recommendation weighs quite a bit with me.
 
Before you commit to the Northern Neck or further south, first try going south from Rockville on the Beltway I-495, and then 95S in Virginia past Springfield. Do this when you normally would be traveling. Two to 3 hours to the Northern Neck? Maybe on a rare, very good traffic day. I-95S can be solid from Springfield to Fredericksburg especially on a Friday, rush hour is going strong by 3PM. The traffic is the one reason why we are not on the Northern Neck. One of our favorite marinas is White Point on the Yeocomico, but looking at that long stretch of bumper to bumper going either North or South kept us away. While we travel North on a Friday to our boat in MD, Southbound I-95 is not moving very fast. I could be wrong on this, but after living in Northern Virginia for over 30 years, the I-95 traffic is not getting better.
 
John,
Easter has a good point. Check out the traffic south before you commit to anything.
As far as the Northern Neck is concerned, it's a different way of life. There are only 2 stop lights in the whole Northumberland County.
I've had a boat at Olverson's for 16 years, but I've known Fred O. since I was a kid and he and his dad started building the place 45 years ago. There are a lot of people who have been there for many years.
It's an old marina and compared to many, not nearly as modern and up to date.
They can offer you both covered and uncovered slips for your big boat and covered land sheds for the little boat. And the prices are quite a bit less than what you would pay in MD or further up river in VA. If you are concerned with boat taxes, Northumberland County is hard to beat. We're also a good 1/2 hour closer than Ingram Bay.
 
It is 155 miles from Rockville to Ingram Bay. Even at an average of just 40mph, it would only be a 4 hour trip. Yes I have seen it stopped on 495 and 95. Ussually between 95 and Tysons on 495. Mostly though it seems to be worse heading east. And scores of folks waiting to get on. Which leads me to a sort of off topic question but, why do people here not take alternate routes like the state and county highways? In the short time I have been coming out here I have already learned alt. routes out of D.C. at rush hour as well as Silver Spring to Tyson's and Bethesda. When I tell co-workers that live here they look at me like they never heard of those roads. Anyway, to shorten it up a bit, I am not that concerned with a 3 hour trip as I am about enjoying where I am going to be for the weekend.
 
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