Heading South: Summit North - Tolchester - Magothy River

Cast off at 9:45.  Hoorah!!! 

However, our excitement was short-lived. The harbor had not yet been dredged for the season and it was past low tide.  We stayed close to the end of the docks on our starboard where the channel is supposed to be close to 7 feet deep but upon passing the third dock, we ran aground in the mud.   We informed the marina staff of our being stuck and shortly after, the dredge operator arrived in a barge and helped us plow through the mud until we reached the deep water of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  

Underway again at 10:30.  Hoorah!!!  

We were free at last and on our way.

The sun shone bright but it was a cold and windy day.  Temperature at departure was 44 and the winds were in the high teens and low 20’s with gusts in the low 30’s.



Waves were up to 2 feet in the Elk River and grew to 4 feet as we moved down the Bay.  Our destination was the Tolchester Marina where we intended to spend the night.  http://tolchestermarina.com/

We arrived at Tolchester just after 17:00 with high winds and 3 to 4 foot waves.  The harbor entrance was narrow and difficult to enter under the existing conditions.  We made one approach to the harbor entrance and abandoned the notion of entering due to the high waves and shoaling. 

We crossed to the leeward side of the Bay to seek shelter at another marina.  It was getting late so we decided to head for the Magothy River since there were several marinas near its mouth and a good cove with ample depth to anchor out, if necessary.  We arrived at dusk and made one attempt to head up Deep Creek but found it too shallow.  We headed into Sillery Bay just north of Deep Creek and anchored for the night.

The winds calmed during the night and we had a good night’s sleep.