Reviews from David Rowe (71)

Anchorage Review for North River - Buck Island (South)

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Oct 14, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Stopped here on our way south after a long day in a NE wind. It was flat-calm all night. Good holding in mud.

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Free Dock Review for Harding's Landing Marina, Bath State Dock

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Oct 13, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

It's a free dock! Let me say that again for those in the back. It's a FREE dock! It's in great shape, room for several boats with 8' of water. If using the sides of the dock, fender before you come in to avoid scratching your boat on the carriage bolt heads—the pilings are only proud of the deck surface by a few inches, so pre-emptive fendering will work. If using the T-head, fender afterward as you normally would on a fixed dock. Great place to stay adjoining a cute little town park. No power nor water, but what do you expect for no money?

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Marina Review for South Shore Yacht Club

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Great folks run this place. We were in the area during our Great Loop adventure in late 2019 and wanted to meet up with friends and come and go for about a week. I called and spoke to the dockmaster and told him we were looking for a good deal in MKE for a week's stay on a dock, and he made a deal that was so fair I will not even admit to it in print for fear that someone else will ask it of him. Suffice it to say, I had the lowest slip rent in Milwaukee for an entire week—there is little doubt of that. And this was before we belonged to a club with reciprocity. The deal was just kind people being kind to strangers by sharing their wonderful facility for a fraction of what it is worth. It still chokes me up a little.

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Marina Review for Windward at Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Great, sheltered marina with a courtesy car available for sign-out. This is how "marina" is done.

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Marina Review for Safe Harbor Harbortown

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

Spent a month here and enjoyed it immensely. Great facility and just a short bicycle ride from downtown Fort Pierce where there is a hardware store, a farmers market once a week, lots of restaurants, groceries. Loved it!

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Anchorage Review for Punta Blanca North Cove

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Loved this spot. Just a gorgeous place. We dinghied across to the state park dock to walk the trails there.

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Marina Review for Halifax River Yacht Club-PRIVATE

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Great place! Reciprocity with the MTOA allowed us to stay for a nicely discounted rate—seems to me it was $2 or $2.25 per foot, but that was a couple years ago, so that detail is foggy in my memory. Great food and beverages in the club for a very reasonable price, and they allowed us to do laundry for no cost! Wonderful stop!

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Marina Review for Palm Coast Marina

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Made an afternoon stop here to fuel up and meet friends for lunch. The staff was very accommodating and didn't even charge us for short-term dockage while we went for lunch and bought groceries. This place deserves your business! Great people!

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Anchorage Review for Fort Matanzas G81A

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Great stop for history buffs. Take the tour of Fort Matanzas. It's great! Tremendous reversing tidal current will guarantee your anchor will come up clean.

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Anchorage Review for Lanier Island South

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Decently OK place to set the hook. Mind the tides and remember that the tides are 7-feet. If you anchor in 10 feet of water at high tide, you could well be resting on the bottom by low tide. As the saying goes, "if your draft exceeds the depth, you are aground." Give yourself enough "room to move" when you select your spot and make sure you will not be swinging into shallow water.

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Marina Review for Osprey Marina

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

Nice, well-kept, quiet marina in a remote location. The goodie bag with the pepper jelly is a nice touch, especially since you'll be on your own for dinner with a distinct lack of nearby restaurants or even stores. They make up for what is missing with friendly staff and excellent facilities, but don't pull in here if you're expecting to get to the megamart and stock your fridge. This is just a great marina—nothing more; nothing less.

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Anchorage Review for Pipeline Canal Basin

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

This is a decent anchorage. I consider it a shoal-draft anchorage, but have seen sailboats in here, and is probably fine for a 5-6' draft as long as you get your pick of the place. As noted, the entrance to the canal off the ICW is dicey on either side. Take the center. With a boat ramp and park with sandy beach nearby, you can get ashore a couple of ways. Just have your washdown ready when you weigh anchor. It's one of those smelly, muddy spots.

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Marina Review for R. E. Mayo Seafood Marine Supply

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

When you are paying close to nothing, your expectations should not be champagne and caviar or even hotdogs and beer. They should be more like cheese and crackers, but here you can buy shrimp for dimes on the dollar as well. This is a good stop. The power is not intended to keep your air conditioner running—it's there to keep your battery charger running. It is what it is. A solid dock to tie to where you may very well need one. This is a good stop.

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Marina Review for Paducah Transient Boat Dock

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

This is how to do a transient city dock. I dropped my prescription sunglasses on the dock, and the dockmaster came looking for me to return them. I asked him where I could buy beer, and he drove me to the liquor store after telling me it was too far to walk. We had dinner downtown at a nice restaurant (can't remember the name). Everything a passing boater needs is right here, and folks couldn't be nicer.

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Anchorage Review for Rattlesnake Bend - north

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

A lovely place to put the hook down with plenty of room. Pick your spot, pick your depth. Very comfortable place to spend a night. Very little traffic coming by, so wakes were really no concern. Wide open sky for star gazing. A really lovely spot!

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Anchorage Review for Turkey Creek

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

We stayed at Demopolis Marina the night before and sat in on the Great Loop information session. The presenters assured the entire group that there were "NO VIABLE ANCHORAGES" between there and Coffeeville Lock, and suggesting that the entire roomful of people should make a reservation at Bobby's Fish Camp immediately. They said that literally every marked anchorage was silted in and useless. The entire time, I was looking at this on the chart and thinking, "but what about this one? It looks good and seems to have depth." I even asked and they reiterated the company line—"no viable…." We didn't make a reservation, and I'm glad we didn't. We pulled in here to find 15' of water. We anchored fore and aft to prevent swinging into the banks and enjoyed watching the entire flotilla of loopers trucking on by to spend their night together at Bobby's, while we enjoyed a peaceful night to ourselves in this idyllic spot. Of course, we were occasionally jerked from our reverie by passing fishermen in small boats going around us, but there were only a few. Cooled by the shade of the trees the afternoon was very comfortable, and as night came, and us completely surrounded by trees and foliage, we enjoyed a very secluded, quiet, and wonderful night. "No viable anchorages" indeed. We probably could have gotten a couple other boats in there with us, if anyone else had the desire to dispense with the herd-think, but we were pleased with how things worked out.

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Anchorage Review for St. James City

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Did it once. Probably wouldn't do it again. Too close to the Miserable Mile to be anything but annoying.

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Anchorage Review for Punta Blanca Island

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Great, well-sheltered spot in a little piece of paradise! You can dinghy over to the state park dock to get ashore, at least when the park is open.

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Anchorage Review for Waccamaw River - Schooner Creek

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Spent a night here. Great for wildlife or stargazing! Peaceful spot. Quite recommended for shoal-draft boats.

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Anchorage Review for Waccamaw River Oxbow G29

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Spent a night here in this peaceful and serene spot! Love it. Plenty of birds to watch and wakes are at a minimum. Very comfy. Anchor anyplace in the oxbow to the north of the ICW channel. Plenty of room for lots of boats. Great holding.

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Anchorage Review for Church Creek (alternate)

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

This is our go-to spot when coming through this area at "quitting time." Nice, calm, sheltered anchorage, off the beaten path, with lovely views all around.

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Free Dock Review for Georgetown, SC #1 - DAY USE ONLY

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

We often stop here on our way by to reprovision. It's a solid mile or more's walk to the Piggly Wiggly, but when you need grub, you need grub, and we enjoy the leg stretch. This is not an overnight spot, but we usually duck in and dock here, grab some groceries and maybe a bite to eat on Front Street, then fuel at the drystack which usually has a great price on diesel, and move along to an anchorage either up river (Pee Dee or Waccamaw) or down off the cut on Minim or Duck Creek. We stayed on the hook here in the harbor once, and did not enjoy it.

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Marina Review for The Alton Marina

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Spent a couple of weeks for repairs, and what a great place to do that. Rented a car and explored St. Louis while we were here. Received some very large packages (we needed to replace our refrigerator, and had three damaged units out of four that were delivered) with a very accommodating staff helping us get them down the docks to the boat (and back again for the returns). Greg Brown, the dockmaster, is a very nice and very helpful guy. The marina has no courtesy car, but Greg even loaned us his personal car for a necessary errand after we returned our rental car. They even loaned us freezer space so we didn't lose our frozen stuff while we waiting for the new refrigerator to arrive. I cannot say enough nice things about this facility (it has a hot tub!) and the most helpful staff we have ever encountered at a marina.

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Anchorage Review for Carolina Beach-South

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

A decent stop before or after Snows Cut or to wait out weather on the Cape Fear River. Holding is good here—much better than the alternative anchorage just to the north.

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Anchorage Review for Beaver Island

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Spent a night here, and because the forecast was for the winds to switch around to the SE, we moved to a dock at the nearby marina for the second night (a good decision) hoping that the wave action would be less aggressive all the way up in the harbor (it certainly was less than if we had stayed out here on the hook). Great place to visit! Shopping nearby. Even got our galley propane cylinder filled here at the grocery store. Great place to ride the bikes and enjoy a little island life.

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Marina Review for Monroe Harbor

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 3

The good: Convenient to the city mooring field. Also, the least expensive way to see the windy city from a boat. Free tender is just a radio or phone call away, leaving you ashore just mere steps from Chicago Style Pizza, which is more like a casserole made with pizza ingredients, but still delicious.

The bad: This harbor is ringed with concrete bulkheads, and if the lake's wave action is just right (coming straight out of the east), the waves will enter the harbor and start reverberating in all directions giving you a roll-y, uncomfortable night's sleep.

The ugly: if the wave action, as described above, gets bad enough, your boat will not only rock uncomfortably, but start beating your bow against the aluminum mooring buoy, making a hell of a racket. You will not sleep through this, even if you have managed to catch a couple of winks around the rocking. This is a special kind of discomfort, which I'm sure was designed by Al Capone himself to torture his enemies while waiting for their "concrete boots" to cure. You will regret your life choices, and you will be driven to leave Chicago first thing in the morning, whether you've seen it or not. I had one of these nights here, and the only thing that prevents me from giving this one star is the previous night, which was perfect in every way. Had we left after that one night, I'd give this place five stars.

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Free Dock Review for Elizabeth's Dock (Chesapeake, VA)

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

No complaints from me on this free dock. We arrived at the lock headed south and locked into the canal at the last locking of the day, pulled up here and and put our feet up. Took a nice walk around the grounds and out to the main road. VERY peaceful here! The next morning, we got underway and ran the canal to the Welcome Center (where we also spent a night). Great spot if you are taking the DS in at a more leisurely pace (which I recommend!).

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Anchorage Review for The Pool-Baie Fine

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

We anchored here after cruising up Baie Fine, which was one of the most beautiful days of cruising we've ever had. Then we went ashore and explored the trails to Topaz Lake where we took a swim in crystal clear (yes Topaz) water. You haven't come all this way to miss this spot!

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Marina Review for Mackinac Island State Harbor (Harbor of Refuge)

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 7, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

For the price of a meal in a moderately nice restaurant, you can tie up your boat to wood at this historic island oasis! Get the fudge. It's everywhere and the shops give out free samples. Tour the grand hotel knowing that your slip fee costs 10% of what a room in that historic edifice will run you. Use your bicycle (or rent one) and ride around the island. I actually pulled into one of the bicycle shops on the island and asked for a tune up, and they did one and charged me *nothing*. On the house. This island is a beautiful, historic, kind, generous throwback to gentler times. You want to visit this island, and the slip fees are a pittance for what you get.

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Anchorage Review for Barnegat Harbor - B

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

We pulled in here to anchor and had to leave. I could not get our plow anchor to set. Tried in several places and used every trick in my book (and I know a lot of them), and it just would not set—it wouldn't even bite. This was a time before I had a secondary anchor of a different type to try. If we ever return, I'll just break out my Fortress. Wind was building and the day was fading, so we moved along and ended up on the Forked River, across the bay. I was disappointed. It looked like a worthy and interesting stop.

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Anchorage Review for Bay Head Harbor

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Spent a comfortable night here after making the crossing from NYC. Easy hook. No issues at all.

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Anchorage Review for Shelter Haven

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

A good overnight stop or anchorage to wait for the drawbridge. Plenty of depth and good holding. There's a pizza place with a dock nearby (which we haven't tried). Though mostly ringed by private residences, there are a couple docks where it seems one might be able get ashore (like the pizza joint) if the need should arise.

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Anchorage Review for Ventnor City Basin

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

If the seas are going to be snotty for a few days, we'll often run NJ on the inside. We did this time only to get to the railroad bridge just before Atlantic City and find it non-functional, so we turned around and anchored here for five days while they fixed the bridge. A local with a dock invited us to use his dock to dinghy ashore, which we happily did to get a pizza (delicious), a few things at the nearby pharmacy, and gasoline for our Honda generator. Try to never be stuck on the wrong side of that bridge ever, but this is a solid, safe place to drop the hook if you have to.

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Anchorage Review for Point No Point - St. Jerome Creek

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

This spot will not win awards, though it can be picturesque. Shoal draft boats ONLY! You've been warned.

So you made in in the creek inlet and chewed your nails to a nub when you followed the ATONs (believe them) and made the big swing around deep point with your boat closer to a sand beach than any sane helmsman would ever navigate without local knowledge. Then you followed the ever shifting ATONs getting in and what? This is an anchorage? Yup. Just to the north of the symbol on the chart, head north out of the marked channel into the cove by R2, where you'll find about 5 feet of water pretty consistently.

If you've made it this far, you are in a safe place for the night or to wait out weather. If you don't have a shoal draft boat, you were aground about a mile back—this isn't your place if you draw much more than 3.5-4 feet.

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Anchorage Review for Swansboro

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

If you are confident in your ground tackle, this is a stop. If you are not, and you need a place to stop for the night now, you might want to consider buying a night in one of the nearby marinas.

Seriously, you're not going to "love it here," but with the dearth of viable anchorages for non-shoal-draft craft between Wrightsville and Beaufort, this might be a necessary stop. If you have plenty of time to finish a run to either Wrightsville or Beaufort, pass it by. You're not missing anything. If it is getting on toward the end of daylight and you just gotta get the hook down and dinghy the pup ashore for some relief or dinghy yourself ashore for a pint and a burger, this might be just what the doctor ordered.

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Anchorage Review for Blount Island

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

We usually tie up at Sisters Creek free dock, but it was full when we came by. As we were weary after a long day, we dropped the hook here and enjoyed a peaceful night before continuing up the St. Johns River. I would not hesitate to return here.

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Anchorage Review for Bird Island anchorage

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

The better alternative to anchoring in Calabash Creek! Beautiful spot with great bird watching (as the name would suggest). Peaceful spot. Shoal-draft boats can run up beyond the first bend if they watch the depth when dropping the hook—mind the state of tide and remember that the tides run 4-5 feet here.

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Anchorage Review for Calabash Creek

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Friends don't let friends anchor here. You'll get early morning wake-up calls from passing shrimp boats passing uncomfortably close, and there is a so-much-better anchorage not far away at Bird Island, just northeast of the Little River Inlet. Go there instead.

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Free Dock Review for Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

Nice free dock along the ditch. No power, but there is a hidden water hose bib near the northern end of the dock, about 1/4-1/3 of the way in from the end. They hid it to avoid problems with people who wanted to cause trouble by turning it on and walking away (this is a highway rest area, after all). If you look for it, you will find it.

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Anchorage Review for Hampton River - North of Bridge

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

A favorite stop. We usually anchor north of the pin, about mid-way between the bridges, toward the eastern side in about 7-8' of water. Lots of room for quite a few boats. Access to shore from the town docks (west side of the river, immediately after going under the Settlers Landing Bridge at the southern end of the anchorage). A few decent restaurants and bars nearby, and weekly summer concerts in the park that adjoins the public docks. Some boat traffic, mostly at no-wake speeds, but you get the occasional inconsiderate boater coming through.

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Free Dock Review for Jennette Brothers' Bulkhead

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

If the Christian University dock is full, this is an excellent alternate choice. You have to check in and sign a waiver of liability in the Jennette Brothers' office, and they do ask that you spend money in a local restaurant as a condition of dockage (on the honor system, of course), but a free dock is a free dock!

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Anchorage Review for Mt. Misery Cove

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

A lovely spot, except for the ferry wakes…. You're much better off heading to the anchorage to the west of here. Really, this is an anchorage of last resort—only use this if the other places are full. Sandy bottom and your hook will come up clean, but there are better spots nearby.

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Anchorage Review for Old Field Beach

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Great spot for watching wildlife, well-sheltered from wind/wave action. Great stop on the way through the area. We don't travel with pets, but I assume you can easily dink over to the beach and give them a run. A lovely spot!

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Anchorage Review for Fairlee Creek

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Didn't actually anchor here, but came in to try. There were already a few boats anchored and the rest of the "anchorage" was a maze of trot-line buoys which we did not want to get tangled up in, so we left and went to Wortons Creek to anchor. If you can get one of those coveted spots outside the trot lines, it's probably a great stop.

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Anchorage Review for Worton Creek - Mill Creek

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Spent a couple nights here. Well sheltered from wind and waves, it's a quiet spot near two marinas where one might presumably get ashore (we didn't need to). AT&T and T-Mobile cell service were both spotty at best. If you need to get off the bay, this is a good spot to seek peaceful shelter in 6-7' of good water. Muddy bottom. Anchor and chain were a mucky mess when they came up.

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Anchorage Review for Cohansey River

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

A good mid-point when transiting Delaware Bay/River between Cape May and the C&D. If you can get a good hook, you'll have a nice peaceful night. Our first time here, we got a solid set on the first try, the second time through, it took a couple tries. Make sure your anchor sets well. The reversing current here will test your connection to the bottom. Great spot to see stars and wildlife. Well-protected from wave action, but not wind. If you have no need to get ashore, and get a good hook, you will love this spot until the fishermen come by and wake you at first light. We enjoy this spot, but it may not be for everyone.

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Anchorage Review for Salem River

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

We stayed here after a long day running up Chesapeake Bay and before running down Delaware Bay. We can't vouch for ease of getting ashore because we didn't try, but it seemed as though there were plenty of opportunities around nearby marinas. This spot gets you out of the action on the Delaware and gives plenty of protection from wind and wave action. Preferred, if we have time to make it before stopping for the day is the anchorage on the Cohansey River to the south or Chesapeake City, MD off the canal, but this will always do in a pinch.

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Anchorage Review for Miles River - St. Michaels

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 6, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

If you wish to explore St. Michaels and the other, more-settled anchorages are full, this is an option. You will be waked. If it's the weekend the waking will be incessant. You will begin to question your choices in life. We anchored here to visit the museum. When we returned to the boat, we bounced around for about 15 minutes before we looked at each other and I said, "Do you think we should go somewhere else for the night?" We weighed anchor and made our way up Leeds Creek where we anchored about 2 miles away from here in a peaceful, flat-calm cove for the night.

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Marina Review for St. Lucie South Campground & Marina

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

An inexpensive slip with electricity and water in a beautiful location. Hard to beat USACE campgrounds anyway, but when you combine them with a small marina…it's a beautiful thing!

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Anchorage Review for Butchers Bend

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Gorgeous spot for gator and bird watching, and the AT&T and Verizon data signal here is HOT, HOT, HOT! If you just want to get away and spend a day on your boat "working from boat," this is the place to do it.

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Marina Review for Hontoon Island State Park

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Had one of the most restful nights of sleep I have ever had tied up here. Just a beautiful spot, lovely trails for hiking, running, or just a saunter between the trees. Quiet and idyllic!

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Free Dock Review for Palatka City Dock

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

As always, it's hard to complain about a free dock. There are two free docks in Palataka. This is the one to use if your boat is over 17' LOA. The one to the northern side of the park is for vessels 17' and under. For larger vessels that don't fit in the finger piers, you can dock on the t-head or against the wooden, non-floating dock. There is no power, but that's of little concern when the dock is FREE! Great stop on the way up river. Highly recommend trying Angel's Dining Car, a short walk away. It's purported to be Florida's oldest authentic diner, and the burgers and fries are to die for, if you like a good diner gut grenade.

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Marina Review for Green Cove Springs City Pier

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

Nice stop. Payment is on the honor system using provided envelopes. Well sheltered in all but north or easterly winds, in which case you might wish to move along to a more sheltered location. Excellent access to the town of Green Cove Springs: restaurants and some shopping. The park with the original spring is a fun little walk.

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Marina Review for Wells Harbor Town Dock

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 3

Spent a night here on our way to Portland. Nothing special, but it's an inexpensive dock in a sheltered location. Nearby mooring field is completely silted in. When we arrived, the seas were building behind us, and we were glad to find a safe place to put in.

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Anchorage Review for The Basin

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Looking for a gorgeous spot to spend the night or wait out a blow, this is it. It's a local favorite, so expect it to be packed on weekends, and if you need a hurricane hole, get here early, because you will not be the only one thinking about it.

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Free Dock Review for Town of Chesapeake City Municipal Docks - MD

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

A favorite spot! Nothing like a free dock. Add power for cheap money. Chesapeake City is a nice place to grab a walk and enjoy a picture-perfect, historic waterfront town. Not a great location if you need shopping for anything except touristy tshotshkes like Old Bay t-shirts and such—a few nice restaurants, but the only stores are gift shops. If you need groceries or a laundromat, you will be out of luck.

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Marina Review for Windmill Harbour Marina

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

One of our favorite marinas anywhere. Lock in and get away from tides, currents, wind, waves. Great, knowledgeable staff and peace and quiet. Lots of peaceful walking along the roads and trails among all the beautiful homes in the neighborhood. Great stop!

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Marina Review for Carolina Beach State Park

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Shallow and gnarly entering the channel, but calm inside the harbor. Great spot to stop, and the price is absolutely right! Nice nature trails, rare views of carnivorous plants, excellent facilities! This is a regular stop for us on our way by.

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Anchorage Review for Mile Hammock Bay

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

This is honestly one of my least-favorite stops, but generally a necessary one given how few anchorages there are in this part of the ICW. Our plow-style anchor almost never sets on the first try here, but does best on the western side of the bay. In the eastern part of the bay, we'll just drag until we reach the western part, and by then we usually need to pick up and reset to avoid other boats already there. Once the hook sets, it's usually a good set, but finding that sweet spot on the bottom takes some patience. Just never have loved this place. Meh.

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Anchorage Review for Beaufort - Taylor Creek

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Great anchorage near the town dinghy dock and not far from shopping. Keep your eye peeled for wild horses on the island to the south. Decently strong tidal currents through here.

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Free Dock Review for Mid-Atlantic Christian University

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Great overnight stop. No power, but there's water available. Very well-kept dock. Not a long walk to downtown restaurants. This will become a regular stop for us.

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Marina Review for Thomas Knight Park & Knightville Landing

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Hidden gem. Spent more than a few nights tied up on this dock, once to avoid our boat being pummeled by the remains of a hurricane on its exposed mooring. Great spot near shopping. No power, but sometimes the water is turned on. It was originally conceived to be a paid dock with honor system (signs and rusted cash box are present as evidence), but it clearly has not been anything but "free" for as long as most people remember.

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Marina Review for Young's Boat Yard

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

This is a no-frills place to leave your boat for a while to return to your dirt home. No real off-the-charts amenities to speak of, but the very fair pricing accommodates for what isn't here. Ant Steward is a stand-up guy and he'll keep a good, experienced eye on your boat while you're away, and will likely even loan you his truck while you're getting settled.

Make no mistake, if you choose to live aboard in this marina, you will be roughing it while you do so. This is a place to keep a boat, not to live on it. There is no real shore power—15 amp, to keep your batteries charged or run your power tools, is about it.

If all you need is a place to tie up for a fraction the cost of a resort marina, pull in and say hi to Ant for us!

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Free Dock Review for High Street Landing

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

The best kind of dock is a free dock, and this one is all that, and just a short walk to plenty of restaurants and bars. We always stop here on our way by. To sweeten the deal, the nearby ferry landing will take you across to Norfolk for a very small fare.

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Free Dock Review for Rock Hall Harbor

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Hard to beat the price! Great stop. Short walk to groceries (a little pricey) and a farm stand with some natural food options. We even called around for divers and got our bottom cleaned while here.

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Anchorage Review for Jackson Creek South Branch

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Great stop if you need a sheltered anchorage and don't belong to a yacht club (nearby Fishing Bay Yacht Club will give one night free reciprocal dockage with power and water, if you belong to a participating yacht club). If you stay here on the weekend, people will be riding jetskis and towing waterskiers around your anchored boat here. Otherwise, this is a peaceful and idyllic stop.

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Marina Review for Fishing Bay Yacht Club-PRIVATE

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

A gorgeous spot with reciprocity (1 free night)! This is our new favorite spot on the way by.

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Anchorage Review for Chestertown

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Loved visiting Chestertown. It's a pretty sleepy historical town, so the downside is that they roll up the sidewalks at the end of the day on Sunday and you can't get so much as a sandwich until Wednesday or Thursday. Still, easy shore access from the public dinghy dock at the marina. Definitely on our "places to return" list.

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Anchorage Review for Harris Creek - Dun Cove

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Great spot to spend a night. We stayed here during HOT weather, and chose where to anchor in the creek based on where we could get the best breeze with a minimum of fetch. Nailed it. We stayed cool and comfortable all night without bouncing all over the place or needing to run our generator. Wind was coming out of the south, so we positioned ourselves in the northern-most finger of the creek. Beautiful spot!

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Marina Review for Safe Harbor Zahnisers

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

We love Solomons and always stop on our way by. Usually we are gunkholers and keep moving, but with the lengthy periods of hot weather we've endured this summer and the exorbitant cost of fuel, we decided to find places we wanted to spend time and buy months at a time in marinas to enjoy air conditioning while saving at the pump, and Safe Harbor Zahnisers won the toss when we decided to go to Solomons.

Facilities are A+ and improving. They are in the process of swapping out the fixed docks, which really weren't that bad, for floating docks. My biggest gripe was with the power on the dock. With everybody running A/C and us being at the end of the pier, we dealt with voltage drop and insufficient power to keep everything running the way one would like when enjoying marina life. We'd often have to shut down an air conditioner to run the water heater or microwave. I'm sure they will be upgrading electric delivery as part of the floating dock installation, but it was a bit tedious while we were there.

We did love the saltwater swimming pool and really enjoyed being walking distance to Solomons Island and all the bars and restaurants in the area. With the soon-to-be-upgraded docks, this great facility is only improving!

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Marina Review for Havre de Grace City Yacht Basin

Reviewed by: David Rowe on Sep 5, 2022
LOA: 38'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Excellent stop! We actually sprung for a month here on our way by, and are so glad we did. This is not a resort marina—no pool, no frills, but it's such a peaceful scenic spot, adjacent to a public park, with an excellent riverwalk and a short 1-mile hoof to the downtown restaurants and pubs. This is part of the freshwater part of the bay at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, so there is a lot of invasive Eurasian Milfoil starting to choke the shallow areas nearby, but it is not presenting a hazard to navigation at all at this point. If you're just looking for a nice destination to spend some time or a great spot to keep a boat in the northern Chesapeake, and frills and amenities are not important, you'd be hard pressed to do better. The only downside we've found is the fixed docks and 3-foot average tides requires a bit of climbing to get on and off the boat a certain times of the day, which may be difficult for some folks.

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