Sailing the Waters of Chincoteague Island

Sailing the Waters of Chincoteague Island

Assateague Channel. Chincoteague Bay. Little Oyster Bay. Eel Creek. Black Narrows Marsh. Hairy Head Pond.

You've probably heard of two of these bodies of Chincoteague Island water, but unless you're a local or regular visitor to Chincoteague, may be a stranger both to the rest of them and to Chincoteague's five remaining lakes and marshes, and six additional creeks.

Sailing the waters of Chincoteague Island is not a simple matter of heading out into Chincoteague Channel or Assateague Channels or the Bay. If you want to, in fact, you can spend an entire day sailing the waters of Chincoteague while spending a minimal amount of time on any of those bodies of water, as long as you choose the correct craft!

Thanks to Chincoteague Island's booming boat rental business, finding the right craft in which to navigate the less-frequented waters of Chincoteague isn't difficult. Simple skiffs and sleek kayaks are available to tackle the island's inlets and marshes, while ungainly pontoon boats and modest motorboats can handle either crossing Assateague Channel or battling the sometimes tricky currents of Chincoteague Bay.

There are five public boat ramps spread out across Chincoteague Island, requiring purchase of a weekly pass ($5.00) or annual ($20.00) ramp user decal. The Post Office, Town Hall, and Harbormaster Office all sell the passes and decals.

The boat ramps themselves are at Curtis Merritt Harbor on the southern tip of Chincoteague; right across from the Fire Department at the Town Dock; at Fir Landing of Deep Hole Road, and on the eastern side of the island at Memorial Park and on East Side Road. Some of the boat rental businesses also have private boat ramps.

We’ll put a little more wind in our sails on this subject in the next Insider Post.
Until then…
Good Sailing!