Kent Narrows Chesapeake Bay Channel Depth

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by sxsilver

Does anyone know of a site that keeps the records of how high the waves were? I would love to know.

Look for the National Data Buoy Center and also the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System. Forner has data, latter is an app with decent real-time info but also will show you a 7- or 21-day graph.

-Chris

[Rising Tide]

Agree you did well. We are newbies also. We go through similar situations and sail out of Kent Narrows. We learn from posts like yours. You made good decisions (risk vs. reward.) Thanks for posting the follow up.

[JD-Odyssey]

You must have been impacted by the front that moved through here this past weekend and glad to hear you are safe. We always check the weather forecasts and knew of the front coming through a day or two before. That gave us the opportunity to seek an anchorage in a cove that had a lot of large trees that protected us from the NW winds. The Weather Underground is a great web site for forecasting and there are also smart phone apps that will provide wind predictions (strength and direction). When we hear of strong fronts blowing through, we look at the predicted direction and seek either known places to anchor that provide good protection (cliffs, high banks with heavy foliage). We've had those nights of being blown and bounced around and they're not fun... and, those oh *hit moments when the dragging anchor alarm goes off at 3:00 in the morning.

The waves on the Chesapeake can get very choppy unlike blue water waves (assuming you were talking about the waves when referring to current)... especially at the confluence where the Potomac and Choptank rivers feed the bay. When wind and tides work together they can get really nasty. Taking them head on can cause a lot of concussion whenever the hull comes crashing down and it's not a pleasant ride for you or the boat. We opt to take the waves on at about a 45 degree angle to ride over them as best we can. I hope this feedback helps the next time you go out.

[JD-Odyssey]

Just another note from my wife (our anchoring expert). At 18' of water depth, 120' of rode is between 6 and 7 scope... but that assumes no freeboard height. If using a combo chain/rope rode, add the freeboard height to the water depth to compute the amount of rode to give you 7 scope for those conditions. If you're using an all chain rode, you can do with less scope.

Our Hunter 41 is a light boat and "fishtails" a lot at anchor if there's any wind. The side-to-side action on the rode can get pretty severe in higher winds and which can tend to work the anchor loose. A few years ago we purchased a riding sail (from Banner Bay) which minimizes the fish tailing and keeps more consistent tension on the rode. Just a suggestion if you're boat reacts similarly.

[gregk2]

We keep our boat Catalina C36 at the Lippincott marina. 4' 6" draft and have no problems around the island. There is a strong current at the bridge when the tide is running but not really an issue. Just be aware of your surroundings. Definitely figure out the difference between the true water depth and the readings on your sounder.