The Flats is a somewhat large area of the upper Chesapeake Bay where the water depths range from 1' to 3', more or less...huge sand bar in the bay if you will. With this being our 1st full season of boating, I gathered my experience in deeper waters , until last weekend. I studied my charts and both the admiral and I kept a close eye on the GPS and dash mounted depth sounders. Navigation to and fro went well. Once we got close, around 4' of water, I shut her down, raised the drive and jumped off and walked her in to water that was around 2' deep and set the anchors. The kids loved it at the Flats; we're going back this weekend! I've attached a few pix...sorry about the quality, it was a bit cloudy that day.










The Admiral relaxing with a magazine



My son the daredevil/show-off



My daughter loving the fact that she can actually stand in the water near the boat




Thanks for looking

That's awsome. We have some sandy beaches that the water depth is only about 2-3 feet 100' from shore. The kids like playing in the water.

Nice pics. I've heard of the area, but those are the first pics I've seen of it. Thanks.

What's the water quality like in terms of clarity and your subjective feel for how clean?

We have spent a lot of time at Fairview Beach on the Potomac. It is one of THE gathering places. On summer weekends there will be a few hundred boats.

The attraction is a relatively firm sandy bottom and a nice wide swath of shallow water out from the shore. Tim's II restaurant is a bit of a draw too.

However, these last couple years the water quality has taken a nose dive to the point that we are not all that excited about getting in it. In a drought season, it can get down right soupy as it gets late in the summer.

The flats is not an area that would become our new hang-out (a bit of a tow for us), but it might be a nice change of pace now and then.

Nice!!

Looks like there is plenty of 'elbow' room on that sand bar. The infamous sand bar where we boat is useally packed.

Funny you mention water quality, etc.; it was the 1st thing I/we noticed. We could see our feet in upwards of 4' of water...we're not used to that (this past season, we've been on the Bohemia & Sassafras Rivers primarily). That coupled with the firm sandy bottom, made it for a nice place to visit/hang out.

We met and talked to a few people last weekend and they mentioned that the amount of boats was minimal compared to a mid summer weekend (there were maybe 30-40 boats there last weekend). Most of the people that we spoke to (that frequent the Flats) said that we could easily double the amount of boats on a typical mid-summer weekend.

(p/m me (if you'd like) if you plan on venturing up to the northern parts)

Thanks for the info. We will definitely have to make a trip or two next summer. It'd be nice to hook up.

Doubt it will be in the cards for this year. Too many weekends spoken for and then it gets cool.

I am sure that that place can draw quite a crowd.

Here's a couple shots of Fairview when it is only moderately packed. These were taken at about noon (notice no shadows). Give it another hour and they start packing in.

The shots are about in the middle of the action. Tons of boats not in the field of view.

I hear ya! My son plays mites football and my daughter cheers for flag football. Fortunately both games are on Saturday, so (for now ) we can still get Sunday in on the water . And as I mentioned, p/m me if you're considering coming up next season...it'd be nice to meet ya!

Regards!

Will do. It'll be nice to meet you also.

Great pics GripB......looks like we'll be boating in similar waters next weekend. We were debatinga "big" trip with friends to NYC traveling down the Hudson, but I am just not ready for that yet. We have friends that love the flatts, so I believe we will be making our 1st trip there this saturday...weather permitting. Love the visibility factor.......seems like you can really relax there with kids knowing the water is so shallow. A lil different than the 200 ft deep areas at Raystown.....huh???

My favorite boating locations are clear water sand bars on the MANY lakes in Northern Michigan. The freedom for the kids in the shallow water is great!

Looks like a nice time Grip, we haven't ventured to the flats but have boated in the channels around the flats.

For those not familar with this part of the bay, look at a map of the northern Chesapeak from where hthe C&D canal meets at Turkey Point and pretty much all of this water north is what is called the flats. At both sides of the flats, one going up to Havre D'Grace, is a channel that may be 15' deep. The rest is pretty much 4' deep. This area is popular with PWC as well.

One time leaving HDG heading south I mistaken the private markers around the island for the channel markers. The next thing I know is my depth sounder going off and quickly seeing bottom. I turned up some sand and made the water look like chocolate milk until I got back in the channel.

Very Nice.

That's gotta be the highest density of cuddy cabin boats I have ever seen.

Looks like some great places to anchor. We have a few of those here too.

Does anybody have a lat/long for the Susquehanna Flats? I just got orders to Ft. Belvoir, VA and would love to see the area next summer. Aso, how about Fairview Beach on the Potomac. That looks like a neat place, too.