# Oxford, MD



## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

Hello everyone, my wife and I finally plan our mini sailing vacation, 4 days on the upcoming Labor Day weekend. Our home dock is HHN and we sail 25' Hunter. We thought about sailing to St. Michaels but we were disappointed that there is no slip available to dock. I know we are last minute planning our trip. So, we changed the destination to Oxford, MD. We will be staying at Mears Yacht Haven. We hope we would enjoy the Marina. I have a couple questions.

What places or restaurants do you suggest we to visit in or nearby Oxford? Is there a transportation we could ride to and from St. Michaels? We plan to navigate through Knapp Narrow in our sailings. How do we open the bridge to allow us though? 

Thanks in advance for reading or answering questions. I am open suggestions.


----------



## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

Once you visit Oxford, you may not feel a need to visit St. Mike's.

Oxford is a beautiful little town, totally walkable. I highly recommend the Robert Morris House to dine. Robert Morris helped finance the American Revolution, and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. 

I have stayed at Mears Yacht Haven and found it to be perfectly adequate. The pool is nice and clean, the showers and laundry are in decent shape. They lend bicycles for getting around.

I highly recommend that you visit the Cutts and Case wooden boat museum and yacht yard, or as I call it- The Temple of Wood.

Knapps Narrows opens on demand. Hail on VHF 13 and be prepared to provide your vessel's name.

Enjoy your trip.


----------



## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Bubble hit most of it. There is a ferry that goes from St mikes to Oxford.


----------



## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

FYI - there's a pretty good size race that starts in annapolis and finishes in Oxford, so I'd suggest going to dinner a little earlier rather than later at the popular places.


----------



## T37SOLARE (Feb 1, 2008)

I'll throw in Schooners Landing (just past Mears) for their Mussels & view. I've heard good things about The Masthead & Latitude 38 but haven tried them.


----------



## aa3jy (Jul 23, 2006)

T37Chef said:


> Bubble hit most of it. There is a ferry that goes from St mikes to Oxford.


Not quite...

Oxford-Bellevue ferry to St. Michaels, Maryland

Spent a year and half at Oxford Boat Yard for a refit... Here are some area reviews..

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g41305-Oxford_Maryland.html

I can personally recommend the Scottish Highland Creamery and Latitude 38


----------



## arf145 (Jul 25, 2007)

I really like Oxford--I think you'll find that you're not getting a consolation prize. As others have said, a nice town to walk around. Mears is a decent marina, good location and pretty easy to motor into.

With the Knapps Narrows drawbridge, there's no need to radio them until you are in the narrows. Tell them who you are and which direction you are going. They truly do open on demand, and I don't think I've ever waited more than a minute or two.


----------



## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

All this talk about Oxford has got me itching to go.


----------



## arf145 (Jul 25, 2007)

I'll definitely be heading there around the second weekend in September as part of a 4-day trip with some friends.


----------



## 4arch (Jul 7, 2009)

We were just at Oxford and stayed at Mears last weekend. The facilities are good, easy to get in and out of, good front row seats on all the boats coming and going at the mouth of Town Creek, friendly atmosphere. They also have free coffee and doughnuts on weekend mornings. We ate at Pope's restaurant and enjoyed it very much though it's a bit of a hike from Mears. We'd definitely second the recommendation for ice cream at Scottish Highland Creamery. It's a great town for strolling around too. 

If you're really itching to get to St. Mikes and you have a dinghy, you can take the "back door" into town by anchoring in San Domingo Creek and taking your dinghy to the public dock at its head. 

As for Knapps Narrows, it's a busy thoroughfare as Tilghman Island is one of the few true waterman's communities left in the mid-central bay. "Rush hour" for the working boats seems to be going out around 5-7 AM and coming in between about 2-4 PM. On a holiday weekend it'll probably be all the more busy with recreational boaters thrown in. It's worth going through just to see the spectacle of it but at the same skipping it and navigating outside of Tilghman can be worth the extra few miles it adds if, like last week, the wind was right to reach directly into the mouth of the Choptank.


----------



## cjb (Jan 11, 2013)

Net - unless you need shore power, the Miles River outside of St. Mike's (off Parrott Point) is a good anchorage. You will need plenty of rode, as the water is 20ft deep, and a dinghy to get in.

Enjoy!

cb


----------



## three-quartertime (Nov 5, 2012)

As mentioned, Oxford is very walkable. In June, spent a night at Mears. Nice enough marina but the showers are barely adequate. Had a very good dinner at the Robert Marina inn sitting outside. The inside is heavy wood, pretty dark. 

In the past we've rented bikes in Oxford and taken them on the ferry over to St. Michaels. As I recall, it's about a two mile bike ride into St. Mikes.

Overall, Oxford id a very nice town to visit. Not as busy as St. Michaels.

When coming from the Bay into Kent Narrows, make sure you hug the starboard side. We strayed to the port and ran aground. We draw 4'11". No problem motoring off. We usually use our horn to request the bridge opening.


----------



## CapnChuck (Apr 4, 2013)

We didn't stay in a marina, but here is our report on our recent visit, The Trawler Beach House: Trawlering The Chesapeake Bay . It's a long post and Oxford is covered about 1/2 way through. We also detail transiting Knapps Narrows. Hope this helps. Chuck


----------



## Reefpoints (Sep 7, 2011)

*Also visiting Oxford*

We're also planning on visiting Oxford - does anyone know a good place to tie up if one just wanted to visit for about 4 or 5 hours on Saturday? (and don't want to pay for a slip)

"Cruising the Ches" states you can tie up on the Ferry's wharf but that is only allowed for 2 hours. Does anyone have any experience as to how strictly that is enforced? Has anyone anchored at the strand and dingy'd to the beach? (Our dinghy has no motor, so I'm not sure I want to anchor in Plaindealing and row that far if there is any wind..)

Any thoughts on how to visit on the cheap would be appreciated!


----------



## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

See, now I have to take the wife to Oxford.


----------



## three-quartertime (Nov 5, 2012)

Anchoring near the strand - there a lot of moorings there, but enough room in a few areas to drop a hook. It would be a short row to the sandy beach.

I've never noticed anyone around the ferry dock monitoring how long someone ties up. There are a few slips at the ferry dock, which look fairly new.. The Robert Morris Inn now advertises free docking while dining. That might be the reason for installing the slips. 

You can also anchor in Town Creek. I've seen people dinghying back and forth, but I'm not sure where they were tying up.


----------



## jsaronson (Dec 13, 2011)

If you really have your heart set on St Mikes, see if the museum has dock space available for members. Its about $75 to join.


----------



## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

Thanks for the nice and helpful comments. 

My wife and I better go to bed now cuz we will wake up early in the morning and head to Oxford. We are so excited like it's like Christmas!


----------



## 4arch (Jul 7, 2009)

Fair winds! Let us know how you like it.


----------



## Andrew65 (Dec 21, 2009)

If you get to St. Mike`s, you won`t go wrong at the Crab Claw. It might be busy, but there are reasons for it. Good food.


----------



## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

Evening, my wife and I are in Oxford enjoying ourselves. We arrived at Mears Yacht Haven at approx 4:30. After we docked our sailboat, we took an hour cool ourselves at their small but nice and calm swimming pool. Then we took a walk to the nearest restaurant; Schooner's. We enjoyed our dinner with Crap Dip and spinach salad. The cool treat, The Scottish Highland Creamery is next door. They make awesome ice cream. My wife had Key Lime and I had Oreo. We are back in our boat and we will get to sleep shortly. Good nite.


----------



## Jiminri (Aug 26, 2012)

Net0man said:


> The Scottish Highland Creamery is next door. They make awesome ice cream. My wife had Key Lime and I had Oreo.


I've been wanting to visit Oxford but haven't made it there yet. I think your description just bumped Oxford to the top of the priority list! Thanks for sharing your experience. How did it go getting through the narrows?


----------



## Net0man (Jun 3, 2013)

Jiminri said:


> I've been wanting to visit Oxford but haven't made it there yet. I think your description just bumped Oxford to the top of the priority list! Thanks for sharing your experience. How did it go getting through the narrows?


Yes, it's a cool place to visit for a weekend. The restaurant, Robert Morris Inn is a must place to stop by and eat. Their food and service are excellent. I just returned home late last night because I like night sailing. The narrow is cool to go throught but be careful. My 25' Hunter with 4' keel ran aground on return trip. Luckily I was going at low speed with the boat's motor and I was able to reverse at full speed to get off. Then I had to shift the boat to the middle of narrow. Hope you would make time to go to Oxford!


----------

