Chesapeake Bay - Sandy Anchorages

N

NaptownLarry

New Member
Apr 29, 2013
17
Riviera Beach, MD
Boat Info
Cruisers Yachts Express 3372, 33', LOA - 36'.
Engines
Merc Cruiser 6.2's with twin V-Drives.
Every captain on the Chesapeake knows the usual spots like behind Hart Miller Island where boaters congregate to break out the barbecue grill and take a dip in the water on sunny weekends during the summer. But almost every captain also knows a few local anchorages where they can drop anchor or just raft up with a few friends when they want to avoid the crowds too. (THOSE are what I'm looking for).


I'm attempting to create a comprehensive Google Map of shallow "sandy", (not mud, muck, or rocky), anchorages around the bay. The kind of place where you can anchor and everyone on board can jump off and stand barefoot in chest deep water (4'-5') on a sandy bottom with a sandy walk up shoreline.


What I'm looking for are either lat long coords or very specific location descriptions that you have a first hand knowledge of along with a short sentence or two describing the best way to anchor there, how crowded it gets (or doesn't get) during the summer months, and any unique characteristics of the location.


The current map can be found here:


https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?...&ll=39.163715255544986,-76.18772330000002&z=9
 
quality time said:
Neat idea, unfortunately I have nothing to add that's not already covered.
Click to expand...

No worries, I've got this request up at several locations plus I'm asking boating friends directly and I've asked PropTalk if they'd like to collaborate on building the map too. So it's growing slowly but surely.
 
Sue Creek - Well protected anchorage that has several raft ups every weekend. -> 39.286593, -76.404993
Fairlee Creek - Not sure how you missed this one -> 39.266943, -76.208041
Pleasure Island - Similar to Drum Point, but even less crowded.-> 39.234761, -76.392962
 
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Love this, just what I was looking for.

Here is one - Roaring Point on the Nanticoke River 38°15'40.5"N 75°54'55.1"W - in 2015(bb) before boat - I would camp here on land. lots of sand good fishing and fairly clean.
 
Maxwells Point on the Gunpowder River - 39.365582, -76.307054. It is open to anchor on the weekends. No going ashore! But you can float and and swim good sandy bottom.
 
But the point of my hidey hole is to hide. I don't want you to know about it.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Love this idea! Here are a few from me:

39.362961, -75.906381 $1.98 Beach, Sassafras River. Popular on weekends. Firm sandy bottom within 6MPH zone along south shore (Kent County side) of Sassafras river. Anchor in 20' of water and "find the ledge" so you can jump off the swim platform into waist deep water.

39.363011, -75.892753 Dyer Creek Spit, Sassafras River. Nice sandy spit with a small beach that gets shade in the afternoons (a rarity). Beach has a rapid drop-off and you can anchor in deep water and put a stern anchor on the beach and literally step off your swim platform onto the beach, should you choose to. Can get crowded. Get there early. Visibility of the sky to the west is blocked by trees, great as mentioned for shade, but T-storms can sneak up on you here! Pay attention to the radar app on your phone on a day with weather predicted.

39.285155, -76.187577 Belly Button Beach (marked on charts as Button Beach). Great day anchorage in a wide cove between Fairlee and Worton Creeks. Shallow water extends out quite a way, so anchor a larger boat in about 8' of water and dinghy in. Smaller boats can be beached, or approach closely with a bow anchor / stern anchor tandem. Beach is pebbly at the breaking water but sand gets very nice beyond the breaking waves. There are waves of deeper and shallow spots radiating out parallel to the beach. If it's too deep, walk out further to get to shallower water! Great beach for kids and dogs. Big enough that everyone has privacy. Great place to watch the sun set over the western shore, but not a great place to overnight because it is exposed to the open bay. Go around to Worton Creek for the night.
 
skibum said:
Sue Creek - Well protected anchorage that has several raft ups every weekend. -> 39.286593, -76.404993
Fairlee Creek - Not sure how you missed this one -> 39.266943, -76.208041
Pleasure Island - Similar to Drum Point, but even less crowded.-> 39.234761, -76.392962
Click to expand...

Great suggestions from ALL of you! (Can always count on the SeaRay crowd). Keep em comin!

NOTE - Fairlee Creek is actually a purposeful omission. I like havin' a Pain in D Ass with a rum floater at Jellyfish Joel's as much as the next guy. But there's no sandy bottom at Fairlee that I'm aware of... You either have the rocky bottom on the point where you either have to have shoes or really tough feet, OR you have the black muck bottom further in. This is an example of a great anchorage but not the kinda place you can stand around in 4'-5' of water with a cold drink on a soft sand bottom.
 
Aye. I failed to follow instructions. In that case, you might not want to add the Sue Creek anchorage, either. It's great for anchoring and swimming, but not shallow as in shallow enough to wade in. It probably is shallow closer to the bank but I've always been in the area I marked, and its great for diving off of the bow...

This is a great idea, and a great start. May I suggest making a second copy of your map for "public use" and adding all of the good spots in the Upper Bay? You could post a link to it in the Mid-Atlantic forum. You've got a couple of places I've never been to, and I'd love to bookmark it on my phone so I can go check a couple of them out. I'd love to see how many us CSR folks could get on there by the end of the season. It would be great to add the good dock bars and restaurants to it as well.
 
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This is amazing!!! Crossing my fingers for some spots to show up south of the bridge


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Busy adding new spots as they come in from lots of different sources. You can watch the map grow in real time since it's online.

From the bottom of Kent Island to the Rappahannock is really where I'm missing sandy bottom anchorages. If you have any that you'd like to add to the map, please post them, and thanks for all the ones that have been posted so far !
 
Haven't been yet personally, but have heard good things about Lowes Wharf near Poplar Island, North of Tilghman Island / Knapps Narrows. Hope to go this season. Understand there are sandy beaches and mooring balls. They will pick you up with a dinghy or you can walk up. loweswharf.com

38.765946, -76.329250.


One additional spot is Hunting Creek island on the way to St. Michaels. Have anchored here and went ashore to a sandy beach area, but did not spend much time as the dog was in the dinghy.

38.779233, -76.173536
 
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Many of the places on the map are new to me. For example, being from South River I go by what is marked as Mayo Beach all the time, but would never have thought about anchoring there to stand and have a drink. If it's where I'm thinking, its in the heart of the South River entrance, which might make it a less pleasant spot to hang out? I'll definitely check it out.

I would have assumed the same of Kentmorr Beach which is directly on the bay.
 
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Looks like you've started something great Larry. Thank you! i'm really looking forward to trying out some of these new spots!

You know, we are pretty darn lucky to have such a great place to go boating. I love being able to get out of work and be on vacation within the hour.

I just wish we had some of that clear blue stuff like they have in Florida. But hey, we're in Balwmer hon.
 
The list is growing... started with 6 I had personal knowledge of and now it's up to 34 that stretch from the top of the bay all the way down to the mouth! Keep em coming, especially if you know of any spots between the bottom of Kent Island all the way down to the Rappahanock.


Just remember, we're looking to add "Sandy Bottom" anchorages with waters shallow enough to step off the boat and stand with your head above water, (4'-5' deep). Having a walk up sandy shoreline or beach is a plus.


https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?...&ll=38.297974208426076,-76.20869010000001&z=7
 
JimFromMD said:
Many of the places on the map are new to me. For example, being from South River I go by what is marked as Mayo Beach all the time, but would never have thought about anchoring there to stand and have a drink. If it's where I'm thinking, its in the heart of the South River entrance, which might make it a less pleasant spot to hang out? I'll definitely check it out.

I would have assumed the same of Kentmorr Beach which is directly on the bay.
Click to expand...

Not every sandy location is in a weather protected hidey hole. But places that directly face the bay like Tolchester Beach and Kentmorr beach offer shallow anchorages that are perfect for calm days when the bay is mostly flat. Plus, if anything really nasty does kick up unexpectedly, both of those particular locations have a marina that you can duck into until it passes.
 
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