Crisfield, MD

Crisfield, MD
The Little Annemessex River and Crisfield, MD
The town of Crisfield lies on the Little Annemessex River, which is a busy commercial water way. Most of the boat yards and commercial docks are along the river. The destinations for most yachts is Somer's Cove which is a man-made harbor in the center of town. The entrance to Somer's Cove is a little difficult to pick up the first time. It is fairly narrow (around 50') running between the seafood processing plants and it does a ninety degree right turn to put you into Somer's Cove. You need to be alert for the tourist excursion boats that come in and out of Somer's Cover all day long, especially on the holiday weekends. The easiest way to enter the cove is to run up the Little Annemessex channel to the green flashing #3 marker. At this point the Little Annemessex channel turns about due north, but you can continue on a NE course directly for the entrance to Somer's Cove. The large water tower with the Hard Crab Derby sign should be directly ahead. Just head in between the buildings and you will pick up the turn into the cove.

On the right and below are a couple of views of Crisfield from the Little Annemessex circa 1978.	Approaching Crisfield From the Little Annemessex River
Heading Into the Channel to Somers Cove	Looks like the water tower I cited above wasn't there then, but it was in place the last time I visited Crisfield in 1997.
Here in a 1997 picture you can clearly see the water tower. I have just entered the channel between the seafood plants.	In the Entrance Channel with the Water Tower Dead Ahead
Excursion Boat Leaving Somers Cove	Then one of the excursion boats decided to leave Somer's Cove forcing me far to the right. The channel and the harbor are frequently dredged, so there is plenty of water right up to the docks along the plants.
Now I am approaching the hard right turn into the harbor.	Approaching the Turn Into Somvers Cove
Somers Cove, Crisfield, MD	Here is Somer's Cove, lined on all sides by a state-run marina. The marina office is in the control tower-like building on the left side of the cove when coming in.
There is plenty of room to anchor, but be aware that this is a dredged harbor and the bottom can be pretty hard. It's easy to think you've set the anchor, but it may have penetrated only a few inches into the hard clay bottom. A wind shift during the night will generally start a lot of boats dragging. Just part of the charm of this harbor. On labor day this anchorage will be very full by noon on Saturday. Rafting becomes a necessity, which only increases the likely hood of anchor dragging. For years Crisfield was our destination for the Labor Day weekend and the Crisfield Hard Crab Derby. I left a lot of dead brain cells in that harbor after long alcohol-lubricated weekends. I'm older, but not much wiser today.
On the right is a picture of some hand tongers returning to one of the Tangier Sound harbors. This picture was taken in early October, 1979.	Hand Tongers on Tangier Sound