Here is a thoroughly revised and updated edition of the Chesapeake Bay's best cruising guide. Eastern-Southeast Boating said that a copy "should be in the library of every cruising yachtsman." The Virginian-Pilot said, "With more than 3,000 miles of shoreline, the Chesapeake Bay offers a treasury of cruising spots. Shellenberger's book provides the key to unlock it." Dolphin Book Club News said, "This is the best guide we've seen on the largest, most varied, and probably the most popular cruising grounds and boating area in the United States today." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
For over 40 years, the Shellenbergers have sailed the Chesapeake Bay and beyond as a family, from the time of their short-lived first boat, a 14-foot runabout, through three others, to their present 31-foot Westerly twin-keeled sloop. They have also made several excursions to the Caribbean and Down East to Maine.
The current crew is usually composed of Bill, his wife Judy, and two Tibetan Terriers. The last two crewmembers (and their predecessors) may explain his apparent preoccupation with beaches and places to land. Their two grown daughters (and husbands), plus a granddaughter, occasionally join them on their expeditions. When they all do, four more dogs - two Scotties, a West Highland White Terrier and a Jack Russell - also add to the 4-legged crew. (That's not a crew. It's a mob!)
Bill is a retired electronics engineer, a Past Commodore of the Arundel Yacht Club, its newsletter editor for nearly two decades, and the author of numerous cruising and "how-to" articles in both local and national magazines.
"Cruising the Chesapeake: A Gunkholer's Guide," was originally published by International Marine in September of 1990. A second edition was released in January 1994 and a third (with greatly expanded coverage of the Atlantic Coast) in June 2001. The fourth edition is scheduled for release in mid-2012. Much more than just a pilot guide, this book also covers the natural and physical history of the Bay, its surroundings, its wildlife, and its peoples. It distills the author's 40+ years of experience cruising the path less traveled into an easy-to-use guide that is written with appreciation and respect for the Bay's fragile ecosystem. It is also the only cruising guide to address the Mid-Atlantic coast from Virginia Beach, VA, to City Island, NY, and the entire Delaware Bay and River to the head of navigation.
