Rock Creek Anchorage (Statute Mile 516)
We have finally been able to confirm the Rock Creek soundings reported by Captain Ted Jones below, and many earlier contributors to the Cruisers’ Net. Once deep Rock Creek has shoaled badly, south of the stream’s first turn to the northeast, north of the it’s intersection with the AICW. Favor the eastern banks in order to stay clear of the correctly charted shoal making out from lower Rock Creek’s westerly banks.
ICW mile 515 ~ Rock Creek. The chart shows a narrow creek well protected from the NW by tall trees and deep water (except on the west side at the entrance) for much further than we wanted to go. However, the depth sounder indicated otherwise, and as we were turning around we grounded. It was near low tide, and we were able to back off easily and find deeper water (but nothing like the soundings of 22 feet) closer to the entrance, where we dropped anchor for the night.
Buttoned up to conserve what heat we had left, we heard the sound of an engine nearby, and I stuck my head out of the hatch in time to see a Pearson yawl go steaming by headed for the spot where we grounded. I yelled, but he didn’t hear me. I watched unable to affect the inevitable outcome as I Gotta Go ground to a halt 50 yards astern of us. We talked on VHF, and I told him where the deeper water was. The skipper, who appeared to be along, said he was not concerned as the tide was flooding. Later, we could see that he had gotten off and anchored south of us closer to the ICW where the chart indicated — and we had confirmed — 7.5 feet.
Ted Jones
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the Rock Creek Anchorage
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