May 23, 2008 Oyster – Quinby Inlet
A quiet night was spent at anchor, just off the entrance to Oyster. We enjoyed a sleep in and a leisurely cup of coffee prior to this morning’s departure since we needed to wait for a rising tide for today’s travels through a few areas of very skinny (shallow) water. Once again, we experienced difficulty in being able to find the actual channel. Frequently it was a two person job to navigate with one constantly monitoring the depth finder and the other using visual skills and referencing the chart. Seldom were depths as indicated on our chart; however that might also have been the result of not always being able to find the charted channel. We did find bottom a few times with a soft grounding in the mud and sand. Fortunately we were able to get free and find enough water to continue moving along, albeit slowly. The good news that with a rising tide, if we got stuck we would just need to exercise patience and wait for the water to rise. As per the charts, we also encountered some very deep channels with depths in the 18 – 30’ range, although if one strayed from the channel, the boat could find skinny water and come to an abrupt halt. This was definitely a day for the Captain to hone his navigation skills and to exercise patience. Having said all this, it was a magnificent sunny day with light winds from the north. We enjoyed the remoteness, particularly since the flies in the marsh areas were minimal.
The channel from ??? to ??? appeared to be very shallow so the Captain opted to drop the anchor just inside the Quinby Inlet and take a break and reassess the situation.
We were well sheltered and surrounded by miles of continuous sand beach, so made the decision to overnight here and head out through the inlet in the morning for a70 mile off shore run to Surf City on the Maryland Atlantic coast.
After a late lunch, we launched the dinghy to explore the area. We headed to Quinby; once again encountering both deep and skinny waters. At least this area of the waterway is well marked since Quinby has a small fishing fleet and pleasure boats moored in its small harbor. The Waterway Cruising Guide states that there is an anchorage in the harbor. Assuming that we were in the correct spot and given the docks around the edge of the harbor, we would not suggest this as a viable anchorage.
As we prepared to depart Quinby, a small pleasure craft was heading out to fish and we followed him out. The channels are marked with tree boughs and marker buoys, and the route was much easier to see and comprehend as we exited. We returned back to the Inlet and as low tide approached, we enjoyed a long and peaceful walk over the expanse of exposed sand beach.
