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I'm doing a cruise May 18-21 out of Rock Hall, with st. Michael's as one destination. I'm reading "Cruising the Chesapeake: a gunkholer's guide" and getting a profusion of ideas. Is it worthwhile to go through Kent narrows to get there (shorter distance), or too tricky due to shoaling? Maybe I could go one way (it will be fun to sail under the Bay Bridge) and come back the other? Also, I've heard the marinas in St Michael's are expensive, any nearby marinas/anchorages that you advise?
Yes - St Michaels marinas are expensive. If you're willing to pay, you might consider mooring at the Maritime Museum. Worth a visit!
There is lots of room to anchor at St Michaels. Some of it inside, lots of it outside. The water taxi runs both inside and outside.
There's also a couple other places close by: Leeds and Hunting Creek. Nice, calm, secluded.
Regarding Kent Narrows - haven't been through there for a couple years. Used to be well marked. Lots of boats go thru there, did it several times, but never really felt comfortable.
If you're really trying to save money visiting St Michaels, anchor around the "back side" on San Domingo Creek - only about a 3-block walk into town and a lot quieter than the St Michaels side.
Kent Narrows has a nasty current to contend with. Unless you have a fair amount of engine power on your boat I would not attempt the narrows passage. It would be real easy to be swept into the draw-bridge during a hard, outgoing tide. And, when the tide is running hard, you have power your way between the draw spans at a fairly high rate of speed in order to maintain steerage. As for navigational problems, the channel is fairly wide and deep, and well marked.
We have transited the narrows many times with no issues, but we only draw 4'. I think you have the right idea though...do Eastern Bay and under the bay bridge on the way down, and the narrows on the way back. Keep in mind the current in the narrows can be pretty quick, add waiting for the draw bridge to open and the traffic, it can be exhilarating. Be sure to call the bridge tender to get right of way info if you're unsure. The bridge opens on the half hour BTW.
I am not much for staying in marinas if there is room to anchor, and there is near St Michaels. If you want to be out of the harbor, anchor off Parrott Point on the Miles. You could go inside the harbor and drop the hook off the Maritime Museum or The Inn at Perry's Cabin, we have done this many times in the off season. Another option as wingNwing suggest, San Domingo Creek on the "back side" of St Michaels. Another, I have never been, but Leeds Creek is an option if you have a dingy. Should also mention there is a water taxi service, not sure when their season starts though?
No problem..Just time your passage with tides and current go'n in you favor..and honor the temp. bouyes that appear outside the main channel due to shoaling..
2 yrs ago we sailed around... I mean that's why we were on the bay right? to sail? KN I don't know that I'll ever bother going through there.. no point inho. When In St M's we anchored right across from the Museum for 3 day. The hook wouldn't break loose without the 2 of us working up a sweat! hard mud like cement. I was charged $15 for one bag of trash and maybe 20 gals of fresh water.. I'd say yeah.. plan on spending lots of $$$ there.
Traveling to St. Michaels from Rock Hall via the narrows saves you about 17 miles or +/- 3 hours. Sometimes I'd rather spend those 3 hours sailing and other times I'd rather have them to hang out in the town, check out the CBMM, kick back in my cockpit while on the hook, or go exploring in the dinghy. But I do try to avoid the narrows on weekends (especially holidays) and I try to run at slack tide.
We travel through the narrows frequently and draw 4'6" no sweat. As far as the current, nothing that woudl make me go around...never had any trouble with it even waiting foir the bridge,. If it is behind you I usually find my place in line and turn around facing it feathering the enginge until the bridge opens...usually confounds the powerboaters.
If you are looking for peace and quiet anchorage hand a left at the Wye River on the way to St Mikes. Shaw Bay and Dividfing Creek are a few of the good spots,
Santa Domingo as mentioned on the other side of St Micheals, but will takew some time to get there. join the museum and stay for nothing.
I fully acknowledge that St. Mike's is a beautiful place to visit, but it certainly can be expensive.
I really feel that Oxford, up in the Tred Avon River is greatly underrated as a place to visit. It's every bit as beautiful at St. Mike's, historical, less crowded, and less "touristy". Plenty of anchorage, and affordable slips and facilities at Mear's Yacht Haven.
On the other hand, maybe I shouldn't be plugging the place. I like the peace and quiet when I visit there.:laugher
a. Stay in the Wye River; it's lovely and within quick passage to St. Mikes, where you would anchor for the day only. Personally, I don't like St. Mikes enough to stay there too long.
b. I've been through the narrows many times and think it is pretty cassual (draft 3.5 feet, but I never saw less than 7 feet). The mistake too many make is crowding the bridge. Since it opens on the hour (check the sched), I always wait back about 1/2 mile where it is wider and less crowded, and then slowly move up. I've had to wait over an hour before when I just missed; it was dull, but not difficult. With the engines at idle, I marked time.
But there is no way I'm going to recomend going both ways, for the expereince laugher). Kidding aside, that would be a good plan, based upon the weather.
I don't get all the hype about St Mikes being so expensive? Sure, if you stay at the Inn at Perry's Cabin or take a transient slip at one of the town marinas it gonna be $$$...but that hasn't been my experience and I have been visiting the town since I was a kid.
At least during the high season, you don't go to there if you want peace and quiet? You go there to eat out (there are/were a few great places to eat), walk the town, be around people, enjoy the maritime museum, see one of the shows such as the wooden boat show in the fall, etc...
Its a great stop to restock on supplies as the Acme is a short walk from the docks. The people at Higgins Yacht Yard/Marina are always very friendly and helpful. In fact, several years ago (prior to Windgeist) I had to purchase a starting battery from them, they were about to close, but they found one for me and charged me no more than what I would have paid at an auto store. I've purchased ice from them several times, they let me fill my water tanks and empty my trash with the purchase of a few bags of ice, how is that expensive.
Are sailors really that cheap?
Oxford is great visit! (almost bought a bed and breakfast there many years ago). It has a totally different personality than STM. Be sure to stop in and see Cutts and Case boat builders while you're there. Good crab house there right on the Tred Avon, cant recall its name though? They have slips you can use while dining.
Anyway, I don't want to go off topic anymore than I already have
Oxford is great visit! (almost bought a bed and breakfast there many years ago). It has a totally different personality than STM. Be sure to stop in and see Cutts and Case boat builders while you're there. Good crab house there right on the Tred Avon, cant recall its name though? They have slips you can use while dining.
We have eaten there a few times. It cures Donnas love for bashing crabs and cutting her fingers filling the cuts with Old Bay. Their crabcakes are for me..
I'd highly recommend going through the Narrows either coming or going just for the fun and experience of it...prior posts have provided good advice...just think about timing and logistics...not too diffcult, just follow the buoys, some restaurants/docks to stop at on both sides of the drawbridge...Enjoy!
I also don't get why people think St. Michaels is so expensive. We have been staying there for the past 7 years, and it might be only about $0.40 a foot more than some other marinas. For us, that means maybe about an extra $15.00. Well worth it for me after being anchored, to have a nice, clean, air conditioned bathroom/shower, access to good food and shopping. Its always the highlight of our trip.
Sometimes there is live music in the little park and I like to be able to restock provisions at the Acme and get a good latte in the morning in town.
The staff at St. Michael's Marina is top notch, very friendly and helpful.
Expensive is a relative term. All depends on how people want to spend their cruising $$. No harm in spending it on marinas. No harm in hanging on a hook and spending it elsewhere. To each their own.
Right or wrong we time the Narrows to go AGAINST the tide, my opinion for this is that I can always fall off this way plus have more steering control at a slower speed. Going with the current could turn into a one way non stop disaster if you would need to turn around or stop or manuever around something, to maintain good steering you need a good amount of water flowing past the hull and rudder. That current ripping through there has to reach 4 or 5 knots at times (Never checked it out but I think thats a good guess), so to get enough water flowing for steering you'd be truck'n along at 7 - 9 knots with no effective stopping power. Also pulling over to a fuel dock is much easier going against the tide. We have an 8 HP Nissan on a 26' Macgregor.
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