Herring Harbour Slip holders

[villain style]

Herrington Harbour Slip holders

Just curious. Where do you go for your day boating? Any nice places nearby to hang out? Just curious for feedback from those that might have experience with either Mears Kent Island vs HHS.


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[endless seas]

Re: Herrington Harbour Slip holders

You know Mears is a blast. We have been there going on 5 years and will likely stay for as long as we have a boat or house boat. Can't say enough great things about the marina.

 

[villain style]

You know Mears is a blast. We have been there going on 5 years and will likely stay for as long as we have a boat or house boat. Can't say enough great things about the marina.

Haha Tommy. I know we may be dock neighbors. That slip I was in is open.


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[Joel_MD]

A nice day trip from HHS is Galesville on the West River. Thursday's Steak and Crabs is a great restaurant with a dock bar. It's built out over the water with boat slips on three sides. If you eat outside you can bring your dog with you. Food is typical Maryland fare, with steamed crabs during the season.

 

[JimFromMD]

Re: Herrington Harbour Slip holders

Just curious. Where do you go for your day boating? Any nice places nearby to hang out? Just curious for feedback from those that might have experience with either Mears Kent Island vs HHS.

Have some friends that moved their 270DA from DC to HHS for a season. Loved the marina, but your concern was the same as theirs. HHS is well protected inside, but on a windy / rough bay day, the nearest options are west/rhode river or across to tillman through knapps narrows where it's a bit more protected too. They moved after one season up to south river where I am now. South river gives you lots of creeks on the river for anchoring, and quick access to Annapolis, Rhode/West river, and a pretty direct shot across to kent island/st mikes. It's a nice middle point.

 

[villain style]

Jim - That's exactly my concern. I don't know where we would hang out. I love the Marina but don't want to stay put every weekend. I know lots of places from Mears I can go. I'd enjoy them all... What Marina are they at on South River? I can absolutely get to all my regular spots easily from there...

 

[Sous]

I'm in HHS and have been for over 5 years. While I can understand the concerns with foul weather I will say that it really isn't all that bad. With your 340 I wouldn't be concerned on most days, unless of course, you'd only like to go out when its glass. And on the days where it is a bit snotty out, you've got the best marina around to stay in.

 

[villain style]

Hey Sous - Its not a weather thing. I'm just curious where do people go if they are just going out for the day. Any nearby hangouts, nice rivers, sand bars - beaches, etc.. I'm not familiar with the area..

 

[JimFromMD]

Jim - That's exactly my concern. I don't know where we would hang out. I love the Marina but don't want to stay put every weekend. I know lots of places from Mears I can go. I'd enjoy them all... What Marina are they at on South River? I can absolutely get to all my regular spots easily from there...

I/We are both at Liberty. Both are on lifts, but in-water slips are available too. PM me if you want to talk about it or some other options on the river.

 

[Sous]

Hey Sous - Its not a weather thing. I'm just curious where do people go if they are just going out for the day. Any nearby hangouts, nice rivers, sand bars - beaches, etc.. I'm not familiar with the area..

Ah copy... with the back and forth with Jim talking about windy and rough conditions i thought the direct bay access was a concern in less-than-perfect conditions... sorry about my confusion.

There is actually quite a bit within an hour or two from HHS. As mentioned, St Mikes and Annapolis are about an hour, and in addition to that there's Oxford and Cambridge Hyatt that are a little more than an hour, Solomons and Balmer are less than and about 2 hours respectively. And since you are familiar with Kent Narrows... all of that is available to you within 90 minutes or so depending on what side of the narrows you want to go. You've also got Dun Cove to anchor/raft (in addition to all the creeks and such in the West and Rhode rivers). On the dining/dock bar type spots, in addition to the things mentioned already, you've got the spots in Knapps Narrow less than 45 minutes away, Lowes Wharf and Kentmorr are both fun spots within an hour, and there is Happy Harbour, Dockside, and Skippers all right in Rockhold creek by HHN (North side of Herring Bay).

 

[JimFromMD]

Ah copy... with the back and forth with Jim talking about windy and rough conditions i thought the direct bay access was a concern in less-than-perfect conditions... sorry about my confusion.

There is actually quite a bit within an hour or two from HHS. As mentioned, St Mikes and Annapolis are about an hour, and in addition to that there's Oxford and Cambridge Hyatt that are a little more than an hour, Solomons and Balmer are less than and about 2 hours respectively. And since you are familiar with Kent Narrows... all of that is available to you within 90 minutes or so depending on what side of the narrows you want to go. You've also got Dun Cove to anchor/raft (in addition to all the creeks and such in the West and Rhode rivers). On the dining/dock bar type spots, in addition to the things mentioned already, you've got the spots in Knapps Narrow less than 45 minutes away, Lowes Wharf and Kentmorr are both fun spots within an hour, and there is Happy Harbour, Dockside, and Skippers all right in Rockhold creek by HHN (North side of Herring Bay).

Yes agreed. Friends didn't have any issues with the marina or access to things in good weather. Being a 270DA, they had to be more concerned about foul weather hangout options of which west/rhode and Knapps were closest at 45 mins or so. In foul weather that's a bit far, especially with guests aboard who may not be used to bouncing / rolling / rough sea conditions. Weather was the big factor for their move, as they were impacted by it more often than you may be in a 34'. They just wanted to be somewhere that there were places to go eat, and fun spots to anchor, without having to hit the open bay.

On another note, I have some exploring to do. I've not been to Dunn Cove or to Lowes Wharf. Have also only stayed in HHN once and liked it but was a bit disappointed that the on-site bar/restaurant closed at 10 because it was a slow night. Didn't have a dinghy at that time to get to any of the other three places you mentioned. Need to go back and explore those.

One other item of interest. Understand from some friends that were at HHS the weekend after Labor Day that Mango's completely closed... pool service, outdoor bar service, and restaurant service. Sous, any intel on what's going on? There's too much money to be made there, not to have something return. My gut tells me that they bounced management due to poor service... at least if my two experiences this season were an indicator.... (one 2-hour dinner, and one 3-hour group dinner adventure). We've had slow meals there in the past, but only when the place was completely hopping. Neither of these two nights were, and were on the later side 9PM+. Something just seemed to be off those two nights, but I couldn't tell if that was the standard for the season.

I do enjoy HHS though... as you can see by my sig pic on their beach pier!

 

[villain style]

You've also got Dun Cove to anchor/raft (in addition to all the creeks and such in the West and Rhode rivers). On the dining/dock bar type spots, in addition to the things mentioned already, you've got the spots in Knapps Narrow less than 45 minutes away, Lowes Wharf and Kentmorr are both fun spots within an hour, and there is Happy Harbour, Dockside, and Skippers all right in Rockhold creek by HHN (North side of Herring Bay).

Thanks Sous - Good info. I love HHS. and the comments Jim said about Mango's and weekend after Labor Day. I'm curious now too. We were due to go then but the other boat in our party had issues so we canceled. And who doesn't love the service at he pool? Its awesome. But funny about Jim's comments on inside service, we too had some long waits for meals and it wasnt busy. We thought that was odd also.

 

[Sous]

Mango is in fact closed. I'd prefer to not go into to much detail in the forum but would be happy to exchange PM or emails. Suffice to say, management is in the process of selecting a new operator for the facility and have said that it will be open for next season.

 

[Sous]

I do agree on the foul weather post as well. In my previous boat (260) there were a few times when I wished I was on a river. But for us, a rough day on the bay, means we hang out on the beach or at the pool.

 

[JimFromMD]

Mango is in fact closed. I'd prefer to not go into to much detail in the forum but would be happy to exchange PM or emails. Suffice to say, management is in the process of selecting a new operator for the facility and have said that it will be open for next season.

Glad to hear they are working on a plan for next season. Nothing better than some old bay wings and an orange crush by the pool. We have a club event there every season, so we'll no doubt be back and look forward to trying out whatever the new restaurant is established.

 

[Sous]

Glad to hear they are working on a plan for next season. Nothing better than some old bay wings and an orange crush by the pool. We have a club event there every season, so we'll no doubt be back and look forward to trying out whatever the new restaurant is established.

Ah yes the old bay wings... I'll actually miss the redskin wings the most, they only did those during the NFL season so you may not have had any (unless you made a sept/october trip last year)... sort of combo of buffalo style and bbq style... mmm tasty.

 

[quality time]

Not trying to hijack this thread but I'd like to check out the West and Rhode Rivers. Which marinas would be best for transient dockage for 50'....must have a pool per my kids.

 

[JimFromMD]

Not trying to hijack this thread but I'd like to check out the West and Rhode Rivers. Which marinas would be best for transient dockage for 50'....must have a pool per my kids.

I can't help a lot there, at least through personal experience, because we are so close we usually day boat over or stay on anchor. One of the coolest things in the area (if you are open to anchoring, and before the jellyfish come) is to stay out on Rhode River. There is an awesome open anchorage with a sunken "high" island (watch your charts and the 4 white buoys that surround it) and "flat island" which is still above ground. You can dinghy over or swim over and have a good time, walk the dog (if you have one), and kids can play on the sand. It's very quiet/flat at night but there is no speed restriction in the area so there is occasionally a bit of wake that makes its way up from the back where people water ski, or the random jetski. There are some marinas off the Rhode (mainly Rhode River Marina & holiday hill), but I'm not familiar with all their individual amenities. There is also a big research consortium property and other areas to go gunkholing in boathouse and fox creeks.

There is also Clarks Landing Searay off West River, and there are some fairly large marinas back in that creek. As previously mentioned further back in west river near Galesville and Shady Side there are several nice restaurants (Thursdays & Pirates Cove) and larger marinas as well. I think West River Yacht Harbor may be the only one with a pool. Others will have some additional detail for you, but it might be fun to meet up if you do come down next season. Seems like there are several of us in the area. I just haven't had the bandwith to organize another mid-bay rendezvous.