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Anchorages in Reedville VA?

7K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  PorFin 
#1 ·
Going down the bay and would like to stop by Reedville (i know the fish factories) or maybe Dividing creek a few mies south. Thanks in advance,
 
#3 ·
Think twice before going to Reedville!

FWIW...

We stopped in Reedville last year, I doubt we'll ever stop there again. It took us a while to find a place to anchor, finally choosing a spot on Reedville Creek/Cockrell Creek , north of the processing plants. The next day we had to get out of there since the wind direction had changed overnight, the smell was unbearable. The bay was all stirred up so we opted for Mill Creek and dropped anchor west of the G5 inside the beautiful and protected cove with great holding. I tried to highlight the areas in yellow on the map below.

The town of Reedville was nice enough, not much going on though, very quiet and not much in the way of provisions. I recall it being difficult to find fuel? And this was in July.



I've copied a part of our trip report from last year...

Day 4: St. Leonard Creek to Reedville/Cockrell Creek - Airshow
Departed: 08:30 Arrival: 17:00
Weather: Sunny Temp: High of 80 Wind: NW 10-15
On our approach into Reedville we were buzzed by a low flying private aircraft, he couldn't't have been more than 100' off the water, then several of the fishing fleets 100'+ vessels accompanied us in. After a tour of the creek we finally dropped the anchor in a spot upwind of the fish processing plant (Note: double check weather report for winds overnight, more to come on that later) Dinner at the Crazy Crab and a stroll through the town of Reedville. Very friendly people, no place with in walking distance for provisions, although we did get an offer from someone at the restaurant to take to a store if needed.

Day 5: Reedville to Mill Creek - Oh that smell
Departed: 10:00 Arrival: 12:00
Weather: Overcast, Light Rain Temp: 70 Wind: SE 25-30
Oh my god! I awoke to maybe the most horrible odor I have ever smelled, the factory. Seriously, I don't know how the people whom live there stand it. I thought I was going to hurl. We couldn't't get out of there fast enough; I had the anchor up before Irene had the engine started (sorry residents, no disrespect meant) After finding some fuel for the dingy, which took visits to three different gas docks before we found one that was open? Not sure what that was all about. Considering the winds we not in our favor and a beat to wind didn't inspire us, we chose to make a short hop across the river to Mill Creek, the closest upwind location of Reedville. (Funny note, the other three sailboats in the anchorage did exactly the same thing LMAO) Getting into Mill Creek required paying close attention to the chart, but once inside, it was as if we went through a time warp. Calm, little to no wind, and absolutely amazing. We dropped the hook off the old abandon mill with the company of a few others. Once settled, we took a dingy ride to shore and explored a bit. It reminded me being on Deep Creek Lake, I highly recommend stopping there, lots of places to anchor.
 
#4 ·
No, no, no - you're doin' it all wrong.

Very nice anchorage can be had by bypassing Cockrell Creek and don't go up there - because, as has been observed, IT STINKS!

Instead, head straight up the Great Wicomoco and go up and around Sandy Point. It's clearly shown on the NOAA charts. Once you pass Sandy Point on your port side, turn to port and go well into that curved little cove, and you'll find a lovely, quiet anchorage with excellent holding.

I took this photo there 11 months ago:



The only mistake I made was not going far enough into the little cove area - we were just barely inside the protective arm of Sandy Point, so we still caught a little breeze and very light chop from passing boats. If we had gone a couple hundred yards farther in, closer to shore, where a couple other boats were anchored, we could see the water was much flatter there.

It was a beautiful evening and a great place to anchor. I'd go there again.

And you're far enough away from the fish processing plants at Reedville that you don't smell them.
 
#7 ·
When I made the trip, it was more than a "few" hours to Jackson Creek. Easy enough to do in a day, for sure, but depending on wind conditions (obviously), I'd allow more like 6 hours. You're looking at about 24 miles from that anchorage to Jackson Creek.

Are you going to Deltaville Boatyard?

That's where my boat currently is on the hard. (Hopefully will be getting her back in the water before September, but that's what I said about August).
 
#11 ·
We kept our last boat in Reedville for 10 years. Good anchoring in the following locations. Note that the smell from the factory can be bad in the area of #29. Just a few degrees west and it's usually clear (#1). If one site smells, go to the other. You have no idea how bad it smelled in the 80's BEFORE the scrubbers were added.

1. PAST the fish factory and on the right fork (#29).
2. PAST the fish factory and on the center fork (near #24). I don't prefer this anchorage because it's kind of exposed.
3. PAST the fish factory and left (#1) in front of Buzzard's Point Marina. Gas and Diesel there too. Kept our boat there until our daughter was 6 and wanted other kids. Not much there other than the tour boats to Tangier but it's mostly clean and has showers.
4. Sandy Point (#28) but I don't prefer it because there is always a swell from passing boats or the Bay
5. Up river ~5 nm at INSIDE Horn harbor (tight to get in but magical).
6. Off Horn Harbor House restaurant, near Horn Harbor. Duh...
7. Mill creek near #17, #18, or #19.
8. Never been in #6 or #7. Too shallow.

I would not anchor near #3 or #4. Too much swell and traffic (commercial & pleasure)
 
#12 ·
Here's a qualified third for Sandy Point.

Very quiet and serene little anchorage.

My only qualification is on holding. We hooked there in 2008, no problems. Not so in 2010. We struggled to get the anchor to set (44lb CQR on all chain rode), and thought we were OK. A late evening storm (25 kts steady, with gusts to 45) came through, and we dragged badly. We ran out an additional 120' of chain, but the bugger still wouldn't bite. Had I not had a Danforth set up on the secondary rode, ready to deploy, we'd have wound up on the beach. Two other boats in the anchorage also dragged during the storm, so it wasn't just bad luck or bad technique on our part.

To recap -- yes, I'd go there again, but be prepared to react quickly if a storm blows in.
 
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