The 28th Annual Hampton Bay Days returns todowntown Hampton Sept. 10-12, 2010. An estimated 200,000 attendees are expected, so make your slip reservations early!! In addition to Hampton Public Piers, Hampton has half a dozen marinas that accept visiting boaters. Click here for contact information.
The free event is headlined by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, George Clinton & Parliament, and special guest appearance by renowned marine artist Wyland. The Godspeed replica from Jamestown Settlement will be sailing into Hampton Harbor! For a full line-up of events, go to www.baydays.com
Boaters visiting downtown Hampton now have a new place to call home. The Hampton Maritime Center (formerly the Cousteau Society) is located in the iconic octogonal building right at the waterfront, in a design based on an historic Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse.
Inside boaters will find free WiFi, weather broadcast 24 hours day, a book exchange, Hampton hats and T-shirts for sale and hot coffee.
You can drop off your laundry for cleaning, ship UPS or Fed-ex, reserve a rental car, borrow a bicycle to go exploring, or book a Hampton Harbor Tour.
Don't forget to pick up a welcome bag filled with maps, brochures and other goodies, to help you explore this great historic city, celebrating its 400th anniversary this year.
Hampton's first-ever Great American Dock Party was a fun weekend June 4-6, 2010 on the Hampton river with fun on the water, a rousing corn hole tournament and live music by local talent Phoebus Rio! Check in with Hampton Public Piers for more fun events.
Hampton’s first-ever Great American Dock Party is bringing boating fun to the Hampton Public Piers the weekend of June 4-6.
There are only a few slips left that weekend, according to dockmaster Greg Harrison, but once they’re full, boaters can utilize the free anchorage. There's also the nearby BluewaterYachtingCenter.
“Hopefully the Dock Party will take off and become an annual event,” Harrison said.
There will be a cook-off, corn hole and limbo contests with prizes for the winners. The local band Phoebus Rio is the headline act, performing a concert Saturday night at 7 pm. The concert is open to the non-boating public, so if you’re in downtown Hampton stop in and check out this fun, high-energy band.
The cost for the entire weekend is $3 per foot for Friday and Saturday nights, and includes water and electricity. Make your slip reservations soon by contacting Greg Harrison, Dockmaster at 727-1276 or email him at greg@downtownhampton.com
Schedule:
Friday, 7 pm: Second Annual Hampton Public Piers Cook-off
“Recipient of the 2009 MEONA award for Best Americana Band. Six versatile and talented musicians on fiddle, mandolin, accordion, washboard, harp, guitar, upright bass and drums. We play an unusual mix of all genres that gets people up on their feet and singing along!”
There's still time to get over to the Tidewater Boat Show at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, packed with dealers ready to do business offering discounts and rebates on all kinds of beautiful boats. Hours are:
Saturday (3/27): 10 am to 8 pm and Sunday (3/28): 11 am to 5 pm
There are also booths with valuable information for boaters including safety information from the US Coast Guard and Boater Education.
Stop by Salt Ponds Marina display and the Hampton booth to meet folks from the Hampton Public Piers and Downtown Hampton!
Several Hampton marinas are certified in the Virginia Clean Marina program. In fact, Hampton Public Piers was the very first in the state to sign up and pledge environmentally sound practices.
But just what does the certification mean?
“For an area like Hampton that is a boating destination for transient boaters, yacht clubs and seasonal boaters, a primary benefit is the recognition that the Clean Marina designation gives a facility,” says Anne L. Smith, of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which administers the Virginia Clean Marinas programs.
“As Clean Marina programs develop and expand across the nation, boaters are becoming increasingly aware of what the designation represents,” she said.
For boaters, this designation means you can be assured the facility has adopted practices on recycling, boat cleaning, fueling, painting, sewage, fish wastes, and hazardous materials that prevent or reduce pollution to our waters and in turn, valuable fish and wildlife.
To be sure you as a boater are practicing clean boating measures, check out VirginiaCleanMarina.com for downloadable fact sheets on topics like petroleum, sewage and other waste.
Hampton is defined by its harborfront beauty - it's what makes us what we are. Pleasure boaters find haven in marinas dotting the sheltered harbor - also a favorite layover for boaters traveling the Intracoastal Waterway.
The 28th Annual Hampton Bay Days returns to downtown Hampton Sept. 10-12, 2010. An estimated 200,000 attendees are expected, so make your slip reservations early!! In addition to Hampton Public Piers, Hampton has half a dozen marinas that accept visiting boaters. Click here for contact information.
