Took a road trip the other day on a scouting mission for more launch sites, had 10 on the list, but could only make it to 7. I’ll add the others, as soon as I can make a visit to them. The total of launch sites is now 76 and growing all the time. I also have 4 or 5 that I have not entered yet, because I cant remember where I put the pictures.

The new sites are all on the Pamunkey and Mattaponi rivers, and are as follows…

Aylett Public Boat Ramp

Aylett Public Boat Ramp on the Mattaponi River

Lestor Manor

Lestor Manor Boat Launch on the Pamunkey River

Little Page Bridge Public Boat Slide

Little Page Bridge Public Boat Slide on the Pamunkey River

Melrose Landing

Melrose Landing on the Mattaponi River

Waterfence Landing

Waterfence Landing on the Mattaponi River

West Point Public Boat Launch

West Point Boat Launch on the Mattaponi River

West Point Beach Park

West Point Beach Park on the York River

Trying to see if I can make it to 100 before the end of the year, not sure that I’ll have the time…

Again if you have recommendations, I’ll check them out, and add them. My basic criteria is that they are publicly accessible, preferably free (Small fee ok), and are located somewhere on this map, and yes the map does cover more and more area all the time.

Ayelett, Mattaponi River, Pamunkey River, West Point, York River Hide

Over the last 2 weekends I had the chance to visit and add 2 more launch sites, on the peninsula. 

Messick Road Boat Launch

Peterson’s Yacht Basin

Messick Road Boat Launch, Peterson's Yacht Basin, Poquoson Hide

Weather today was not good for kayaking, so my daughter and I went out exploring, and visited 3 new launch sites, and those have been added to KayakVB.

General Vaughan Bridge

The ramps at the General Vaughan Bridge Launch

This is on the Nottoway River, just a few miles from the North Carolina Border.

Murfreesboro Boating Access

The ramp at the Murfreesboro Boating Access facility

A nice launch site provided by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Merchants Millpond

The Merchants Millpond Ramp

A great place, that I have been trying to get to since June.

Meherrin River, Merchants Millpond, Murfreesboro, Nottoway Hide

Just a note to let everyone know that I added a few more launches to the primary site.

The new sites are…

Huntington Park  In Newport News

Gloucester Point on the York River in Gloucester

Mill Creek On the Rappahanock 

and Parrotts Creek just off the Rappahanock 

I found that I have a few more, that I forgot to add when checked them out over the winter, as soon as I get them straightened out I’ll add them…

Launch Site Updates Hide

Okay everyone in Norfolk, I heard you…
My self imposed boycott of Norfolk, because of their boat permit is over….
I had reason to be in Norfolk on Saturday, and took advantage to visit most of launches available in the city of Norfolk.

I added 3 Saltwater launches on the Lafayette River, and 3 Freshwater launches.

In the Saltwater category, I added Haven Creek Boat Ramp (By far the nicest of the 3), Lafayette Park (in desperate need of a makeover), and 45th Street Boat Ramp/Marina (in desperate need of parking)

In the freshwater category I also added 3 locations in Norfolk, well ok 2 are technically in Virginia Beach, but are on Norfolk’s water. They are Lake Smith, Little Creek Reservoir, and Lake Whitehurst. All three appear to be nice urban lakes with some potential…

Launch, norfolk Hide

Just a confirmation that Horn Point Kayak and Canoe launch is now open for the season, and there is a caretaker on site. I had a little chat with Danny (the Caretaker) today, and he seems like a real nice and helpful guy.

The other thing to take not of is that the sandbar has pretty much moved to the other side of the channel, the deepest part was only about 6 inches or so. It was a bit of a nuisance, having to step up and over the wood bulkhead.

So enjoy…

Back Bay, horn point, Launch, National Wildlife Service, NWS, spring Hide

I have really started in earnest working on the re-write of the launch site portion of kayakvb.com, and at a minimum I will be switching from Yahoo Maps to google maps. The other things that are on my short list of things to add are directions to and from a specific location, downloadable GPS waypoints. 

I have been considering adding some sort of user feedback or comments capability for each launch, as I do not have the time to visit every location on a regular basis, and it would be a good way to keep others informed of the status or condition of launch sites.

If you have any requests, comments, or feedback, feel free to leave them here or email me at PAUL AT KAYAKVB.COM and don’t be shy.

As soon as I have a somewhat working preview, I’ll post a link here, somewhere here…
Thank You 

directions, google maps, GPS, Launch Rewrite, Launch Site Info, maps, waypoints, yahoo maps Hide

I have finally started the re-write of the launch site pages and maps. Don’t know how long it will take.

When I initially wrote the mapping pages, Google maps only had 16 meter resolution aerial views for the majority of Southeast Virginia, and Yahoo had much better aerial/satellite views which is why I went with Yahoo. Now google maps has improved their imagery as well as the application, and the current pages are dated

In a nutshell I plan on adding the ability to get to/from directions, Down-loadable way-points, and a better more stable interface. I am also open to suggestions on improvements.

changes, Launch, maps Hide

The chemical spill from the Hercules plant is apparently cleaned up and the river is open, and I had my first chance to paddle the Nottoway on Saturday.

The launch is nice, although the ramp is a bit steep to move a kayak up and down, I carried the kayak down the ramp, but opted to back the truck down the ramp to load the boat back on the truck. The angle of the ramp made it a little tough, but probably a lot easier with a shorter vehicle.

The river itself is a very slow moving river, the current was hardly noticeable. I mainly paddled up stream, there are a lot of little inlets, and very large patches of lily’s.

This is a trip I would recommend if you decide to head west, keep in mind that it is about a 50 mile drive from Virginia Beach.

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Today I took the opportunity of a family trip to Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, to take my first trip on the Chesapeake Bay. I paddled from Cape Charles to Kiptopeke State Park, you can read the whole story here. I paddled around the concrete ships that make up the breakwater for the old ferry landing.

I also added 2 new launch sites, the Cape Charles Beach information is here.

And the Kiptopeke State Park information is here.

All in all it was a pretty good day, and I have a few ideas for other trips on the Chesapeake, and Eastern Shore.

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