# Solomons, MD Marina



## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

Hello, my wife and I plan to have a three days sailing trip on July 4, 5 & 6 from our home dock in Deale, MD. We thought about sailing south to Solomons. Which marina would you recommend to spend a night or two? We would like shower and WiFi amenities. A swimming pool would be nice. Thanks in advance.


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## dsmauney (Feb 29, 2000)

Zanhizers. Great place. There for two years. Has your amenities plus restaurant. Other eateries not too long a walk. 

Goodwinds
DaveM


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## Seaduction (Oct 24, 2011)

Yes, and make your reservation last week!


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## zeilfanaat (Feb 28, 2002)

We just stayed one night at Spring Cove Marina, a bit further up Back Creek. Huge, private, spotless showers, well-kept grounds. 

I wasn't there long enough to explore all the amenities, but I believe they have a free shuttle and loaner bikes to take you into town. There are a small bar/restaurant, charcoal grills and a pool on-site. I wouldn't hesitate to go back.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Spring Cove or Zhanhizers...both have nice pools, I like SC better. Both have really nice and private bathrooms, I like SC better. Zhanhizers has moorings, SC does not. 

Check Active Captain for reviews


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

If time allows, spend a night on the hook in St Leonard's Creek...beautiful


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

Zahniser's always has a slip or T-Head and they have mooring balls too. Check out the pool and attached bar, Dry Dock Restaurant, order a new sail from Quantum, or borrow a bike (free including lock) and ride into town for dinner. West Marine is a short ride or walk from the marina, but they have a pretty complete ship's store too. I like just walking the docks and looking at the boat-flesh; and the always have something interesting in the slings. It's one of my favorite marinas and they aren't out to soak you. They also have private bath rooms, as in a room with a door with shower, toilet, and chair. Quality everywhere. Can you tell that I like the place?


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Spring cove..tucked in the trees nice place
Zanheisers professional well kept working marina

Stayed in both...and like both


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

I've stayed at Spring Cove twice, and will stay there again.


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## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

Good morning. Thanks everyone for suggestions. I made a reservation at Spring Cove. My wife and I look forward to visiting Solomon's.  What places do you recommend us to visit? The Drum Point Lighthouse sounds cool.


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## Silvio (Nov 10, 2010)

Check out the Maritime museum while you're there. Eat at Stoney's, have a cold one at the Tiki Hut, walk the boardwalk and continue around the point, enjoy the island!


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

You might want to check this out Solomons Island - The Official Solomons Maryland Visitors Guide

Gary


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Stop in Southern MD Sailing association on friday after 5pm for happy hour. Tiki bar, the Peir, stony's, etc. Little shops to walk around and shop, also if you like BBQ I like boomerangs. 

Ruddy duck is good but takes a while. All the fast food joints takes 30 minutes to get your food. No one seems to be in a hurry down there.


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## lancelot9898 (Dec 30, 2008)

Here is something I wrote last month to someone coming up the bay. 

Number 2 as you head up the bay would be a stop in Solomons. The tiki bar and a trip to the ice cream shop on the boardwalk would be a nice side trip. Other suggestions would be to visit the musuem by the lighthouse. I use to liveaboad at the marina(Beacon Marina) and the dock had a birdseye view of that lighthouse and the museum. During the summers there are some major bands that play there about once a month. To get away from the crowds, take a sail under the bridge up the Patuxent River. After you go around Pt. Patience make a left into Cuckhold/Mill Creek. As you enter the creek, Cuckhold will go to your right while Mill will be to your left. Anchor in Mill Creek and dinghy to shore where there is a little sand beach. At least there was one about 5 years ago. I've tied up the dinghy there and hiked/ran the trails there in the small park. Early in the morning I've come across a half dozen deer as I ran the 3 mile trail loop. One other stop up the Patuxent is St Leonard Creek, good deep anchorage with some nice views. Vera's White Sands restaurant about 4 miles from the entrance was always an interesting stop and she was an interesting woman having been some sort of starlite in the 1930's. She has long passed away and not even sure if the restaurant is still in operation. It had palm trees surrounding the restaurant and many decorations from her trips into India and elsewhere. I'll just mention one other side trip and that is a trip to visit the Sotterly Plantation which has guided tours. I've anchored in St Leonard's Creek and taken the dinghy out of the creek and across the Patuxent to the Sotterly warf(almost directly across from the St Leanoard's creek entrance) and tied up the dinghy and walked about a quarter of a mile up a dirt road to the plantation. Worth the trip


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## paperbird (Sep 1, 2011)

Net0man,

Where in Deale? We're at HHN. Have made the trip to Deale a couple times. We usually anchor in Mill Creek. No pool, but quiet and solid holding - even in the Derecho last year. We really liked the marina and walking along the strand. Others have mentioned good restaurants to try.

We were thinking about Solomons or St Mary's for the 4th, but the forecast southerly winds might be too light and contrary for us to make the run. Especially since the (very) early forecast for Sunday the 7th is for high pressure and little to no wind. Will probably head across to Choptank in search of fireworks and cool creeks to swim in.

Look us up if you're at herrington.

Have a great trip!


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## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

PaperBird,

Hey neighbor. Yes, our club boat is at HHN too. What source do you read for forecast winds? I use windfinder.com and it does not forecast further than next Thursday, July 4th. My wife and I are new at sailing and we decided to go to some places than return home on a same day. We are kinda concerned if there is enough wind for us to get to Solomon's on July 4th and return on 6th. Did you decide to go to Choptank because there may be more winds?


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## paperbird (Sep 1, 2011)

We end up using a lot of sources - none all that reliable. Windfinder, NOAA, Wunderground are all on the usual reading list. We've actually come to trust NOAA and Wunderground mostly.

Most of the sites are calling for SSW for the fourth then high pressure moving in for the weekend, meaning light to no wind. So Solomons will be reachable, but will mean tacking down the Bay. Sunday, the return will likely be motoring unless you've got a lightair boat (we don't). 

So we're planning on heading across to the Choptank for several days. We don't tend to go to marinas much. We much prefer anchoring out, swimming in the creeks, dinghying around, etc. The boat just doesn't feel right tied up to a dock. We sleep better on the hook than in a marina. Yeah - we're weird.

The Choptank does have a couple great marina type destinations - Oxford and Cambridge come to mind. Or the Eastern Bay and St Michaels. All have great eats, pools, etc. 

Either way - I agree with the notion of staying out and not coming back!!

We'll be at HHN this weekend. We'll going out Sat for a bit to mess around and get some diesel, but otherwise have some projects we'll be working on. Come on over to C dock and say hello. Boat name is also Paperbird. We can swap stories (lies) and compare notes.

best
greg


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## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

PaperBird,

It was great meeting and chatting with you briefly. You have a really nice boat. Is it a Morgan center cockpit? Anyway, my wife and I have planned for the Solomons trip and we are excited.  We will leave at sunrise so we have the day to get there. Happy fourth of July.

Tad


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## chrisd4700 (Sep 29, 2006)

Spring Cove is one of our all time favorite marina's. Trevor and Liz will give you top notch service. Their son Will is fantastic as well. The Calvert Marine Museum is a great place to visit. We are going back to Spring Cove in a few weeks. We come up from Lauderdale to stay there at least once a summer. You made a great choice. I visited Zanheiszer's and had dinner in the restaurant on someone's suggestion. Worst service I've ever received. The bartender talked on her cellphone the entire time we sat there. Anyway... Spring Cove it great. Visit the Tiki Hut and ask Drew to make you a Dark and Stormy. 
Have fun!
Chris D.
s/v Vacilando
Vacilando : A man, a woman, a dog, and a sailboat. Follow us as we write about hopes, dreams, love, travel, and life aboard Vacilando, our Cal 35.


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## arknoah (Oct 31, 2010)

You got recommendations on the two best marinas in Solomon's. I hope you like Spring Cove: it's where I get all my service done. Visiting wise, the Marina museum, Stoney's and Ruddy Duck are good places, as are the ice cream shop on the boardwalk and the boardwalk itself. I really don't like the atmosphere of the Tiki Bar and don't recommend it.


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## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

Good morning. We are at Spring Cove Marina and its a real nice place. Their staff are very helpful. The trip we had from Herrington Bay to Solomons was HELL. 

My wife and I left our home dock at around 9:30 am. The wind from south was over 10 knots all day and the waves were from 2 to 5 feet. I think it was too much for our club boat 25 hunter. We had difficult time tacking and jibing. It took us 8 hours to sail to Kenwood Beach. We were exhausted and decided to fire up the boat's motor. We used the motor for 4 hours then we ran out of gas when we passed the Little Cove Point. 

Luckily we are insured with BoatUS. We called their towing service and had them tow us to finish the trip. The tow lasted 45 minutes. Hallelujah, we made the trip but we were in over our head when we planned the trip.

There were staff lend us an electrical cord because we didn't bring ours. They brought us a full 5 gallons gas can! We have a porta potty in the club boat and we couldn't figure how to take off the top half and remove the bottom from the floor. So, the staff volunteered to perform the task and showed me how to do it. He also poured out and washed out the bottom potty. Again, the Spring Cove Marina is awesome. We are very grateful that we made the trip safely and we have helpful people at the marina. 

My concern is about returning to our home dock tomorrow. I will need to study the wind forecast more closely. Is there a forecast for waves? We thought about making a stop on way back so we don't have to stretch ourselves to finish the LONG return trip. What marina do you recommend to stop for a night?


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Sounds like not much fun, consider getting to know the boat better before taking off on a few day cruise. (the fact that you didn't know how to clean the porta potty is a pretty good indicater  ) Always have an alternate plan. Sailing a boat you're not familiar with in those conditions yesterday that far was a bit foolish IMO. You put yourself and guest in an unnecessary circumstance, just something to think about next time. You want everyone to enjoy themselves.

Fortunately your ride back should be much better with the wind behind you


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## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

I agree with you, Chef.

The return sail trip is MUCH better! Last night, my wife and I had to prepare for the trip back home. We realized that our club boat's mainsail has a tear. We had to use the other resources; jib and motor. We went to get more gas for the 12 gallons tank. We were surprised that it was not empty. It only needed 5 gallons. IMO, the reason that engine gave out twice on the first trip is the gas flow from the tank to engine was interrupted when we were motoring against the current (3-5 foot waves).

We met a wonderful coupe who have lots of sailing experience. They are retired and they currently live in their trawler. They and we shared our scary sailing experience. They offered their support and that rebuilt my confidence in sailing. We read the marine forecast more closely and we knew that today would be much better to sail than 2 days ago. 

Today, the trip back home took us 6.5 hours! The wind was blowing 7-9 mph from SW and we were sailing beam reach or broad reach along with the motor. The current was also pushing us back home. The waves were like 2 foot. Today was a real good day to sail. 

I agree that I was foolish for getting ahead of myself but I learned a lot by learning the HARD way. Next time, I'll plan better and be more realistic.


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## CaptainForce (Jan 1, 2006)

The Calvert Maritime Museum excels. We like bicycling about the area on our folding bikes. We've stayed at Zahnhisers, Beacon Marine, and Spring Cove, but our favorite is Solomons Harbor Marina behind the Holiday Inn- all of the best amnities.


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## paperbird (Sep 1, 2011)

Glad you made it back safely. And learned a couple great (hard) lessons along the way. Everyone who sails has to learn those lessons sometime. Over time, the stories will get better and better, the waves larger, the wind stronger, etc. And don't forget the sharks that were circling the boat... ;-)

It was great to meet you guys at the dock. Hopefully the first of many sailing trips! Take care and keep on learning.


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## joethecobbler (Apr 10, 2007)

the calverton museum and the wood boat shop is an
interesting place.


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