Duvall Creek from Back Creek, May 3, 2014

Having spoken with several locals and double checked various charts and guidebooks, I decided to move Kelly IV to Duvall Creek for a change of pace and to visit friends that live nearby. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but minimal breeze so the trip became a motorsail. Although Kelly IV's mainsail was unfurled, the sail merely served to add a bit of speed and stability. Due to the recent storm sporting 40 knot gales, flooding rainwater and numerous broken tree branches, the bay proved to be cluttered with sticks and logs floating through the murky, brown water. Never very clear, the Chesapeake Bay waters were as cloudy on this day, as the sun was brilliant.

Debris and muck washed into the bay by the previous gale

The day before departing, I did a little dinghy exploring of Back Creek and was joined by my new friend, Ed, who was anchored nearby. Ed has come to sailing recently, about three years ago, but has already sailed his Catalina 27 to Florida and back, from Annapolis. Ed paddled his kayak as I rowed the Pudgy dinghy. We found an old piling with hoops of wire and chain, heavily rusted and no longer in use.

Edwardo Martinez

Per the charts, the entrance into Duvall Creek is blocked with a 2 feet shoal, but local knowledge told me the entrance was marked by two green marks (keep to port on entering) and recently dredged. As Kelly IV motored into the entrance, the sounder declared depths of 8 to 10 feet about 1-2 feet above MLLW.

Due to the shallow creek and numerous private moorings, it was necessary to fit Kelly between two mooring balls that were more widely spaced than the others. Even so, I felt it important to put out two anchors, roughly 60 degrees from each other, so that Kelly IV's swing would miss both nearby moored sailboats.

It proved to be a fine anchorage, thanks to my friends who arranged permission for me to leave my dinghy and car at the community marina. It seems that since there really isn't room for visiting boats to anchor normally (without the 2^nd anchor) Kelly and I were a novelty in the creek. A thunderstorm proved no problem as the bottom held both anchors without an issue. It also was a fun creek to explore as the Pudgy and I rowed to the headwaters about half a mile up the creek.