August 6, 2017 
Friends of the Essington Seaplane Base gathered for a splash-in on the Delaware River. The weather was ideal for a picnic and for seaplane operations. The most dramatic change to the site is the major refurbishment of the Lazaretto house. The massive porch has been demolished and the trees have been taken down. But, the grounds were nicely cleaned up by the township and the place looked nice.
The first arrival was Dave D. in the Carbon Cub with his grandson Ozzie, up from Harford County, MD. Dave tied up at the floating doc. Awhile later, Burt P. arrived in the orange and white Searey from Wilmington and then, Robert W. in the Searey from Pennridge.
The Tinicum Township Historical Society served up the food. This year, we set up under the big tree to take advantage of its massive shade. Chris T. served up her famous meatballs while her husband grilled the hot dogs. Sauerkraut, baked beans, watermelon and pasta salad topped things off.
Dan R. and his student arrived fashionably late in Chesapeake Sport’s Searey. They explored the grounds and enjoyed the last of the food.
Overall, it was a very nice day for a picnic. There were about 60 visitors from the township and from the regional aviation community. There was a lot of talk about seaplane operations, past and present.
Invitation
[PDF Announcement]
THIS EVENT HAS MOVED TO OUR RAINDATE:
Sunday, 11AM- 3PM. High tide 1:00PM.
We are planning a Splash-In and picnic at the seaplane base on Saturday. Drop us a line if you are interested in this event. If you think you might fly in, we’d love to know. mailbox@phillyseaplanebase.com
Pilots: The floating doc is in good shape and can accommodate a couple aircraft. The gravel ramp will be smoothed and cleared and should be good during mid to high tide. High tide is around noon on Saturday, so the best window is 10AM-2:00PM. See more info here on our flight patterns: Base Info. If the winds are out of the east and Philly is using runway 9R, caution wake turbulence.
Searey at Lazaretto, 2016