Great Oak Landing Marina on Chesapeake Bay

[mellenburg]

We met some power boaters who told us about Great Oak Landing Marina on the Chesapeake. We sail a 32' J and were told that we would be okay getting to the marina, but that the approach is a bit tricky. Has anyone been to this Marina and have any advice, or waypoints?

Matt

[Hud3]

Hi, Matt.

I couple I know used to run a charter operation out of Great Oak. It's on Fairlee Creek. The entrance is at approximately 39° 16.060'N 76° 12.351'W. I don't think you'll want to be following waypoints going in. The channel is pretty narrow and you'll need to be paying attention to boat-handling, not the GPS screen.

Getting in the entrance during an ebb tide is the interesting challenge. As you can see from the NOAA chart snip, below, you have to make a sharp turn to starboard to enter the creek. The channel is narrow and the tidal currents will do strange things to the boat as the turn is attempted. I've watched some boat drivers panic as their bow was suddenly wrenched toward the sand spit, just feet from the active channel.

However, with a little fore-thought and a cool hand on the wheel (or tiller), it's very doable.