Island Creek, Patuxent River
Click on chart to view at full resolutionAbout 2 miles further upstream from St. Leonard Creek is Broomes Island.  Broomes Island consists of a number of resort and waterman homes.  The Denton Seafood Plant used to operate on Broomes Island, but shut down in 2001.  Just east of Broomes Island is Island Creek, which is another of our favorite anchorages on the Patuxent River.  There are a lot of shoals on either side of the creek entrance so it is best to approach the Nr. 2 marker at the entrance directly from the South.   As you pass the Denton Seafood Plant to Port you will see Stoney's Restaurant which serves one of the best crab cakes you've ever tasted.  The restaurant has a dock, but the water depth is pretty marginal for most sailboats.  The restaurant apparently took some major damage from Hurricane Isabel (as did much of Broomes Island), but was back in full operation the next summer.  In 2007 I discovered that Stoney's had expanded into the property previously occupied by the Denton Seafood Company..
Click on picture to view at full resolutionWe normally anchor in the second bight to starboard (picture below), about 1/2 nm past the entrance to the creek.  This is a very pleasant anchorage on most summer evenings.  However the boat traffic during the day can produce a lot of rock and roll.  If we are going to stay on the hook for more than the night we generally head for Rollins Cove or Mill Creek.