# Good place to anchor and have kids swim around in Cheasapeake Bay



## claudino

Specific to Chesapeake Bay (and even more specific, not too far from Herring Bay): I have a 4 and a 6 years old, and i'd like to find a few spots where i can anchor and have the children jump in the water and play, so that cruising becomes more fun for them (and before they demolish the boat when they get bored...)

Obviously safe and clean (relatively to the bay...).

Any suggestion appreciated.

Many thanks


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## Group9

I used to keep my boat on the Severn River and there were lots of little nooks and creeks and out of the main channel places we would throw out an anchor and swim, or just lounge in floating chairs (especially when the nettles were too bad).


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## claudino

"especially when the nettles were too bad"? 
in the water? Not sure i understand.

Thanks


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## FSMike

Sea nettles are what jellyfish are called in the Chesapeake area. Don't let your kids get stung. Some times of year/areas are worse than others. Ask the locals.
Also, learn the treatment for stings.


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## paperbird

Rhode River is nice. What used to be High Island is now a shin deep sandbar, great place to wade and swim. Only 13 miles from the bottom of the slot.

Farther away, Trappe creek across from Cambridge has a nice sandy spit.

Most of the coves and creeks along the Choptank are fine for a dip, but no beaches to speak of. 

Late summer when the nettles move in, the only option is to go north above the bridge. Dobbins is usually good, but is often overcrowded nowadays. Still, the sandbar on the north end is great for kids.

As a last resort, fill up the dinghy and turn it into a swimming pool. Just don't accidentally pour in a sea nettle. (don't ask...)


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## wingNwing

Forecasting Sea Nettles - Remote Sensing for Coastal Management - chesapeakebay.noaa.gov


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## Group9

FSMike said:


> Sea nettles are what jellyfish are called in the Chesapeake area. Don't let your kids get stung. Some times of year/areas are worse than others. Ask the locals.
> Also, learn the treatment for stings.


What he said. Their toxin is apparently an allergin, because I knew some people who were completely unaffected by them. But, on the flip side, some people are really affected by them.


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## paperbird

Rinse with plenty of water. DON'T rub (that breaks open any remaining nematocysts and injects more of the toxin). Then apply vinegar or Adolphs meat tenderizer to neutralize.

YMMV


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## T37Chef

As mentioned, as July & August approaches, the best time to swim, you're going to find that the nettles that far south will be a real nuisance and sometimes worse. (Thats one of the primary reasons we chose to keep our boat North of the bay bridge)

Consider some other things you can do as well, for those really warm days we have a large storage container we put in the cockpit and fill with water from the dock prior to departure. (if we use bay water to fill the container I add bleach in proper ratio). Kids fishing rods, you never know, they might catch dinner. We had two little play boat attached to a long string, love letting it and pulling it in for what seemed hours. We also rigged a swing from the dodger...all fun things for them. 

At 4 yrs old, they are probably to young to start sailing, but the 6 yr old could start doing some things like taking the helm, read the charts and try to figure out the location, learn knots (good practice for me too!), a bird book to identify, etc...

Although we have not done any extended cruising, our longest day for us was a 14 hour sail from the St Marys River to St Michaels or about 90 miles IIRCC. Longest we have been without touching land was four days on the bay...never have they been bored or felt the need to get off the boat, more the Admiral then them LOL Maybe we're just lucky, but I believe it has a lot with how much you choose to involve them in the art of sailing and the cruising life itself, which it sounds like your doing all the right things 

Cheers


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## jjablonowski

Y'might look into a Nettle Net. Keeps the beasties out while you take a dunk.


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## rockDAWG

May be it was just me. When our kids were young, we would not allow our kids swim in the Chesapeake Bay. But at that time, we were in the mid and upper Chesapeake bay. The lower bay is much cleaner.


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## paperbird

Hmmm - we all swam all the time all over the Bay. Maybe that explains a few things...


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## Aussie Bill

I am amazed by how many times I see kids on board without life jackets on. What do you do, have a go at the skipper or ignore it?


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## zz4gta

Aussie Bill said:


> I am amazed by how many times I see kids on board without life jackets on. What do you do, have a go at the skipper or ignore it?


That's a loaded question and probably deserves its own thread. I'm not the best at tactfully suggesting things, so I keep my nose out of it.


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## T37Chef

Aussie Bill:1028036 said:


> I am amazed by how many times I see kids on board without life jackets on. What do you do, have a go at the skipper or ignore it?


Good topic to discuss, start a new thread


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## T37Chef

rockDAWG:1019914 said:


> May be it was just me. When our kids were young, we would not allow our kids swim in the Chesapeake Bay. But at that time, we were in the mid and upper Chesapeake bay. The lower bay is much cleaner.


To each their own...

There are places I wouldn't swim; the Patapsco, Back River, to name a few...Hart & Miller Island and North I think is safe. I wouldn't swim in most waters on the bay with an open wound or after a hard rain.

I spent many a summer as a kid on the bay, swam a lot and I seem OK...then again? LOL


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## rockDAWG

Aussie Bill said:


> I am amazed by how many times I see kids on board without life jackets on. What do you do, have a go at the skipper or ignore it?


I will just ignore it. The kids fail to wear PFD is not becasue the skipper does not know the rules. He or she chooses to ignore it, so why bother to confront the issue. If you really have an urge, call the authority.

YMMV.


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