The Chesapeake Bay
| Poplar Island is the
center of what were three islands that used to form a barrier off Tilghman
Island behind which shallow draught boats could anchor. This was a
convenient anchorage for boats transiting the Bay as it didn't
require sailing up the Choptank. Starting in
the mid-1990s, the Corps of Engineers started to dump spoil from the
dredging of Baltimore Harbor along the western edge of these islands to form
a protective barrier. This should reduce the erosion of these islands,
which was threatening to turn them into shoals. It appears to have
succeeded in this objective, but I'm not sure what it has done to the beauty
of this anchorage or even if anchoring is still possible The pictures below were taken on my first overnight, single-handed cruise on my HR 25 in 1973. |
 This is Jefferson Island, the northern
most the three islands. There was a dock and lodge on this island.
It used to be owned by the Democratic Party, and Franklin Roosevelt used to
vacation on this island when he was President. The lodge still existed
in 1973, but was in disrepair. I have
no idea what this scene looks like today. |
 On my single-handed trip to Poplar
Island in 1973 I anchored off Coaches Island, which was the
largest of the islands. It offers the best protection and
deepest water when the wind is out of the SW, which it normally is during
the summer. |