Water taxi and restaurants - St. Michaels, MD

Chesagansett

Chesagansett

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Is there still a water taxi in St. Michaels, MD?
I have a group of 7 going on our boat next weekend, with some who want to go to the Crab Claw restaurant. We went there last fall, and we got a temporary dock spot at the restaurant. But, this time of year i imagine dockage at the restaurant will be scarce.

A few of us, including myself, don't eat crabs. Is there a better restaurant in town with dockage that is better for non-crab eaters?

I heard the water taxi used to be $6 per person. That doesn't sound right. For 7 people, that's $42 each way. $84 plus tip for a roundtrip water taxi. Yikes!

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
If you are only going for the day try calling the Chesapeake bay museum to see if you can dock for the day. I signed up for membership and get free dockage during a day visit with free entry for all aboard and overnight dockage is only $1.50 per foot compared with $3.00 at the other marinas. With 47 feet of boat that saving adds up. Since normal entry is $10 per person I only have to go there twice and I have saved the membership cost and it is tax deductable. They will activate a membership over the phone and you can pick up the membership packet when you arrive.
 
Mike,

I didn't realize the membership cost "is tax deductable." I'll have to remember that for next year's taxes. We've been members for the past 4 years or so and always enjoy the visit.
 
Thanks for the idea about the museum dockage.

Any info on the water taxi, just in case?

Any restaurant suggestions for the non-crab eaters?

Thanks.

Glenn
 
You can also check with the St. Michaels marina, just accross from the Crab Claw, they will rent their slips by the hour. So if your only there a couple of hours you will save. They also have a couple of good restaurants right on site. Good bars too! Also there is the St. Michaels Inn. They also rent by the hr. and you can walk around to the restaurants. The water Taxi I believe is only a couple of bucks from there. They literally only take you 150 ft. to St. Michaels Marina. If you opt to join the Maritime Museum they will charge $100 per yr. a great deal if you travel to St. Michaels a few times a yr. There is also other benefits as well, check it out.
Have a safe trip!
 
There is a water taxi. Not sure of details, but it was running last Fri night and all day Sat. I am sure you just call them on radio. There is a lot of room at the Crab Claw for dockage-- you should be able to get in. Over by St Michael's Marina is the Steak and Crab Restaurant. Not sure if Steaks are good. There is another restaurant next to that. A couple of blocks into town are several other restaurants all w/i walking distance of harbor.
 
Thanks all. An update on the info. Out of our group of 7, only 3 are crab eaters and two of those three had to cancel their plans. So, that leaves us with just one crab eater. At this point, we won't be going to a crab place. We'll probably still take ride down toward St. Michaels and the Miles River, but we'll likely eat elsewhere. We're thinking of going to Annie's Paramount Steakhouse in Kent Narrows after the boating day is done.

Thanks again for all the input.
 
If you are not planning on landing you could try the circumnavigation of Wye Island if you can get under a 10 foot bridge. The Wye River is one of the best spots on the Bay and gets very litle traffic. You have a very good chance of seeing a lot of wildlife.
 
Mike -

We might try that. 10' clearance is no problem in our 25' cuddy.

Thanks.
 
With all the nice scenery along the Wye you have an excuse to go wakeless and save a lot of fuel. There are a number of sandy beaches that you can land on or anchor off and have a swim. THe ones on the outside may be private but the island is a park so you should be able to land with no problem. The further in you go the less chance for nettles.
If you have a fishfinder and some light tackle you might get some good sport with white perch. I do not think the spot have made their way up to the Wye yet. There are some areas with a hard bottom and you should see fish hanging over these areas.
 
Thanks Mike. About how long does the lap around the island take at no wake?

Thanks.
 
The circle of the island will be just about 13 Nautical Miles starting and finishing at Shaw Bay There are marks to start but after that just keep to the center and you should have at least 6 feet of water at low tide. The Wye is relatively deep quite close to shore most of the way. If you have a chart book you can see the deep water and the shallow spots really well. The chart also marks some of the hard bottom areas where you might find some good white perch fishing.
I am probably going to be anchoring out in the Wye Saturday night so if you see a Chris Craft Commander 47' called Contessa pull alongside and visit.
 
Thanks Mike. I do have the chartbook. The route around the island is so "squiggly" that I figured it's easier to ask you about the distance / time around it rather than attempt to measure it in little segments with my dividers. In case we need to move quicker, are there sections where I can be on plane, or is it all "no wake"? If time permits, we'll do it all at no wake.

If we do the lap around the island, I think it would probably be mid-day or early afternoon. Are you leaving in the morning, or are you hanging out on the hook during the day on Sunday? What part of the Wye will you be anchored? I also need to check with the guests to see if they want to do the lap around the island. I think some of them have ideas of shopping / browsing in St. Michaels. I'd rather be boating. So, we'll be "playing it by ear".

Thanks again for the info.
 
I missed the weekend as our main house fridge went bad on Friday and I had to go out and order a new one and wait in the house all day Saturday for the delivery of the new one.
Let us all know what you did and how it went.
 
Mike -

Given that 2 out of 3 of our crab eaters dropped out, there was no real desire to go to a crab house. We ended up with 6 people and only one crab eater. So, we took a ride from Kent Narrows to St. Michaels and idled through the harbor, admiring the nice classic boats near the museum. Then we did a circumnavigation of Kent Island, going under the Bay bridge and back into Kent Narrows from the north. Back at the Narows, it was only about 1:15. We docked at Red Eyes Dock Bar and ate lunch. After lunch, the day was young, so we headed back down toward St. Michaels again. I had one of the guests drive the boat for this second run to St. Michaels and a little up the Miles River past St. Michaels. He is a boater himself, and wanted to try our boat, as he is thinking of up-sizing. He and his wife currently have a 20 foot bowrider. This let him get the feel of our boat, which is a 25 foot cuddy. Our boat is still on the small, sporty size....but, it's a good step up from a 20 foot bowrider. He doesn't try to take his 20' bowrider on the Bay. He uses it on the Potomac River (Bob - take note).
After that second run toward St. Michaels and the Miles River, we just a quick run back up to Kent Narrows from the south approach.

Anyway, we had a great day of just cruising around. It was a fun day and worth the 35 gallons we burned.
Wye Island is on the future "to do" list.

After pulling the boat out at the Piney Narrows public ramp in Kent Narrows, we went over to Annie's Steak and Seafood. Always a good place. Followiwng dinner, We checked out the bikini contest at Red Eyes Dock Bar. Congratulations Crissy. [:-bigeyes] :D [:-eyebrows]

Thanks for the info on St. Michaels and Wye Island.
 
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