Good places to *anchor* near St. Michael's MD?

[djtopper]

Having never docked there before I wasn't keenly aware of how fast slips book up at the marinas. Seems like there's no place at the inn. ;-(

Charter company friend suggested docking "behind" St. M's at San Domingo creek. Looking at the map that makes sense. But ...

I was also planning to sail up to the Wye river the next day and I'm not clear on how far that is or how long it would take. Charts are on the boat and I don't have any good charting / distance software (yet).

[SecondBase]

There are often lots of anchored boats right in front of the St Michaels harbor entrance. Have that as a primary plan and maybe St Michaels Marina as a backup.

[djtopper]

Originally Posted by SecondBase

There are often lots of anchored boats right in front of the St Michaels harbor entrance. Have that as a primary plan and maybe St Michaels Marina as a backup.

Do you then water taxi in? Or are there marinas you can dinghy to? I'm finding marinas are basically booked.

[SeaKing]

Big anchorage and the water taxi will take you ashore and bring you back to the boat. We will be there sometime Saturday to watch the fireworks. Come by for a visit DJ. Best to anchor out, we almost never go to a dock.

[ranger58sb]

If you set the hook in the outer anchorage (Miles River; the inner bight will likely be full) the water taxi will come get you. Other nearby anchorages are across the river (Leeds Creek, etc.). You can use ActiveCaptain chart mode to get a feel for location, even if not perfect for distance calculation and so forth. There's a dinghy dock in between The Crab Claw restaurant and the Patriot tour boat. Another I've heard of at the head of the creek, near Foxy's Grill; haven't seen that in use...

If you DO anchor out there, take pains to honor the scope that others before you have determined, but then take more pains to set the hook big time.... since many of the folks who beat you there will have decided that zero scope is fine. If it's quiet, it's a nice anchorage; if it gets blowy, it's still usually OK but you'll be glad you anchor is buried.

San Domingo Creek is a good St. Michaels anchorage, and there's a dinghy landing at a small park on that side of town, but the distance might be too much for you... since you have to go through Knapp's Narrows to get there. And then back up the Bay and up Eastern Bay to get to the Wye. Could be nice sailing, though... if you have any wind.

-Chris

[kmacdonald]

The back side of St Michaels or San Domingo Creek is shallow. I can't get there with a four foot draft.

For charting software, download free OpenCPN and the NOAA charts. It works great.

[jstevens]

Dtopper,
Sounds like your charter is for the 4th and the following weekend. San Domingo Creek is my preferred way to visit St. Michaels. It is also only about 30-35 nm from there to Shaw Bay in the Wye River via the Knapps Narrows. Of course most of the anchorages in the Wye will be full of boats out for the holiday. If you think the marinas are full, wait till you see the anchorages.
However I expect San Domingo Creek will also be chock full of anchored boats over the holiday. If you don't have an outboard motor for the charter boat dinghy it will be a long row from where ever you can anchor to the little dinghy dock on San Domingo - no launch service in San Domingo. We usually anchored in Leadenham Creek which is a good 5 mile dinghy run to St. Michaels.
For me St. Michaels lost most of its charm in the early 80s when it became a major tourist destination. I much prefer Oxford as an Eastern Shore town destination. Lots of places to anchor and they put on a good fireworks display (although it often is not on the 4th).
So my recommendation would be to visit St. Michaels via San Domingo (assuming you have a reliable outboad) then head further up the Choptank to the Tred Avon.
Of course it's been over 10 years since the last time I was in Oxford.

John

[4arch]

One trick I've used to get into booked marinas is to call late morning the day you want to arrive. They often have no-shows, last minute cancellations, or regular slip holders who decide to go out for the weekend.