Mid Chespeake cruising

We're anchored off St. Marys college on the St. Marys river leaving today for the eastern shore. We visited Onancock last year northbound and are looking at the possibility of going to Crisfield this time. Anyone want to chip in and give me a recomendation. Crisfield or Onancock?

After this we will return to the western shore and am considering Reedville and Kilmarnock, neither of which we've been to before. Suggestions?

We will definitely visit Little Bay and Irvington after the above.

Thanks guys

Capt. Tim, it looks as if you guys have gotten into the "Chesapeake thing". Thanks for keeping us up on your cruise. It is making me want to get up there sooner rather than later.

You've been to Onancock, so you know that it is small and quaint with a rather small marina. Crisfield is larger, and busier. Both are good, but I prefer Onancock.

Both Reedville and Kilmarnock don't have much around some of the marinas I have been to. Both have odor problems, reedville from the Omega fish processing plant and Kilmarnock from the corn feed processing plant next door.

Now the times I have been there there has never been an odor problem...but if you read AC reviews...people will certainly list the odor if they were down wind.

Reedville has supposedly a nice restaurant marina righ in the middle of things...but it was always closed by the time I got there (seasonal). The marina across the water (Jennings) is in the middle of no place but the new floating docks for transients are nice for pretty inexpensive but also short on amenities.

Kilmarnock was about 1.5 miles up a nice country road...average little town...nothing special. Chesapeake Boat Basin was nice...not a resort but not bad compared to many marinas in the area for amenities.

Both areas have lots of places to anchor if that is preferred...not sure about dingy access except at the marinas which both seemed to be pretty laid back off season.

Can't help with suggestions, but your post brought back great memories of this summer. We also anchored off St. Mary's this summer and loved the spot. Great protected anchorage. The students were not around, so the school let us tie up at their dock for the day. We toured the historic city exhibits, including the sailing ship. Great and beautiful location but not much else to do (no stores or restaurants within walking distance).

I'd always elect to go somewhere new myself. Have you been to Tangier Island yet? Now that's a unique experience. For a lengthier and scenic detour, head up the Pocomoke.

Never did Reedville or Kilmarnock by boat, liked anchoring a little further south in Dymer Creek or Antipoison Creek. You're going right around the corner to Irvington. I think I'd go directly there and throw in Urbanna over Reedville or Kilmarnock, which I have done via asphalt slough and don't really see the point especially with those aforementioned nice anchorages.

Thanks all. We decided on Onancock. Not much has changed here and thats a good thing. We ate at Blzzoto's Gallery Cafe last night, one of the best restaurants on our entire cruise.
We're both looking forward to the farmers market here Saturday morning.

We did Urbana last year and found it not much different that most of the small towns along the ICW or Chessie. People are friendly. A woman in a minivan after watching us tie our dinghy to the dinghy dock offered us a ride into town. It's a short walk maybe 3 blocks but it was nice gesture. Haven't decided if we'll do Urbana this year.

I really want to be anchored off the Tides resort near Irvington when the leaves change but that's probably a week and a half away and am not sure I can burn that much time before getting there. I'll probably find a way. This anchorage is the best on the Chessie IMHO.

I'll research Dymer and Antipoison Creek. We did Tangier last year. Once is probably enough. There is a ferrry that runs from Onancock to Tangier, way cheaper than taking the boat.

I'm thinking of Kilmarnock just to burn some time. Problem is I want to find places I haven't been to before so am looking closely at Kilmarnock, Dymer and Antipoison Creeks. Once we hit the ICW it will be the same places and that can get kind of boring. However I'm thinking of visiting Orocoke NC a bit off the ICW.

Definitely find time to visit Ocracoke, it will be a real highlight if not the highlight. great anchorage, charming town and beaches. As long as you are coming from the north and the weather is good, put Manteo on your itinerary. There is limited anchorage, but a basic town dock too, or two full service marinas; another charming town and island. In both places rent bikes and explore. I always wonder where people are so desperate to get to that they intentionally bypass these gems.

On Dymer Creek we usually anchored off from some big houses about midway up on the south shore just before George's Cove (great name for a cove, IMO). In Antipoison we anchored about 2/3 of the way up, past the commercial dock in a little cove on the north side where it shows 7ft. Pretty and cozy, also with some nice houses.

You can kill some more time by exploring the Corrotoman River and its many pretty offshoots, we liked the Eastern Branch and Bells Creek. Great dinghy exploration territory. And take a day cruise up the Rappahannock and do some sight seeing. It goes all the way to Fredericksburg, but we haven't ventured much beyond Tappahannock.

Thanks George, we'll be in touch as we get closer to Ocracoke.

As Caltexflanc mentioned, give Pocomoke River a try. I have seen it in the charts for years, and never thought of going all the way to Pocomoke City. Well, I did last month and found it to be very charming. The fact that you can tie up to a nice seawall at Pocomoke City for free is a bonus. The river is long and winding, but plenty deep everywhere. Try to time the tide to get a boost if you in displacement speed. The scenery is gorgeous. Saw many bald eagles at dusk. People are friendly. In some way, it reminds me of the Dismal Swamp. Coming out of the Pocomoke River, I took a shortcut to Crisfield. Very shallow, but no problem with my 3.5 ft draft. I didn't see another soul in the entire trip, until the entrance to Crisfield. Anchored in Somer Cove, which had a fire work display to boot.