The Onancock City Marina and waterfront
Our cruising guide referred to Onancock as a small town of fabulous restaurants where foodies gather from all over Maryland. We like food. We like small picturesque towns. We’re thinking at this point Onancock is going to be a real winner for us.
Onancock Creek
Snaking up Onancock Creek from the main body of the Chesapeake is a little bit of a challenge for us. The creek has depths of about 8 feet in the middle. We need 7 feet to still be floating. The channel is pretty clearly marked but some silting has occurred making some areas a little dicey. The Onancock Wharf and Marina is only 6 feet deep at the docks. So, our options are limited to anchoring out in the river and taking our crappy little leaky dinghy to the dock. The area has good holding for boats at anchor. What is good holding? It means the anchor digs in deep and will not come loose causing the boat to drift away. It is always a good thing to come back to the boat and find it where it is suppose to be. We have discovered “good holding” in the Chesapeake means thick stinky mud. When we hoist the anchor to leave, the chain and anchor are covered with the most disgusting grey smelly mud one could imagine. We have a chain washer as a part of our anchoring gear. When we hoist the anchor we turn on the chain washer and it sprays high pressure water to rinse the chain. There are two things we know about this: First, the chain washer is no match for Chesapeake mud. Second, when we turn it on, we forget about it and leave it on. There is an awful lot going on when the anchor is coming up. No, we do not notice the super bright red indicator light located within clear sight telling us the chain washer is pumping gallons of our precious fresh water over the bow of the boat.
In Onancock, we found the guide book has once again been a little over zealous. Have you noticed a pattern developing here? Not to worry. While the town was really cute, we didn’t see droves of people or foodies from all over the Eastern USA seeking gourmet meals. Count the people in the pictures. What we did find was a great little Irish bar that served Guinness. I think sipping Guinness is a good way to spend an afternoon. Followed by a short nap, this makes for a pretty good day.
The Blarney Stone Pub – cold Guinness on tap
Roseland Theater – very cool old movie theater with ticket window kiosk
Charlotte Hotel
Janet’s Cafe
Town Square
Market Street
Market Street – The other end
A place for anglers to sit and swap fish stories
