The harbormaster has an office on the north side of Market Slip and enforces city regulations for the harbor. The harbormaster also controls municipal rental berths and mooring available in the harbor. A speed limit of 6 m.p.h. is enforced.
Extensive marine facilities are on both sides of Spa Creek above and below the bridge. Most of the boatyards are on the south, or Eastport, side of Spa Creek.
Berthing and repair facilities are located on the north side Back Creek at Eastport, and on the south side of the creek. Diesel fuel and gasoline are available on the south side of the creek.
Market Slip is 250 yards long and 40 yards wide, with depths of 8 to 10 feet; the slip is open to the public and is used extensively by small craft.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
Severn River, the approach to Annapolis, empties into Chesapeake Bay 127 miles above the Virginia Capes. Commercial traffic consists of tour boats, fishing and shell fishing craft. Naval craft and many pleasure craft use the river.
The river has main channel depths of 17 feet or more from the entrance to Annapolis, thence 15 feet or more for 8 miles, thence 11 to 7 feet for 2 miles to within 1 mile of the head. The channel is well marked as far as Annapolis, above which it is marked at the critical points and is easy to follow.
The entrance to Severn River is between Tolly Point and Greenbury Point, 2 miles to the northward. Tolly Point Shoal, with depths of 4 to 5 feet, extends 1 mile east-southeastward from the point; it is marked at its outer end by a light.
The entrance to Lake Ogleton is on the southwest side of Severn River 0.8 mile above Tolly Point. The lake has depths of 5 to 9 feet, but the narrow entrance, marked by lights and daybeacon, in 1998, had a reported centerline controlling depth of 6 feet. The small private wharves along the shore of the lake are used mostly for mooring pleasure craft.
Greenbury Point is on the north side of the entrance to Severn River. Three towers on the point are prominent up and down the bay; each tower has a flashing red light on top and fixed red lights on the sides. A daybeacon marks the shoal extending 0.4 mile south of the point.
A naval deep-draft anchorage is southeast of Greenbury Point, and several smaller naval anchorages and prohibited anchorages are west and northwest of the point.
The entrance to Carr Creek is northwest of Greenbury Point. The creek has depths of 9 feet over the unmarked entrance bar and deeper water through a narrow channel inside. In 1998, shoaling was reported in about 38°58’59″N., 76°27’27″W. A naval rifle range is on the west side of the entrance to the creek. Mariners are warned to keep out of the creek when the red flag is flying from Carr Point or the next point southward.
A detached breakwater is about 50 yards south of a pier that extends southeastward from the point south of Carr Point; another detached breakwater is about 125 yards southeastward of the same pier.
Back Creek, on the southwest side of Severn River 0.7 mile above the mouth, has depths of 7 to 9 feet for most of its 1-mile length. A light marks the outer end of the breakwater on the south side of the entrance, and lights and daybeacons mark the narrow entrance channel. The creek is used by fishing boats and pleasure craft.
Spa Creek, on the southwest side of Severn River 1.4 miles above the mouth, has depths of 12 feet in the entrance channel, thence 12 feet to the highway bridge, and thence 10 to 6 feet for 0.7 mile to near the head. Drafts of vessels using the creek are mostly 10 feet or less. The Spa Creek highway bridge, about 0.4 mile above the entrance, has a 40-foot bascule span with a clearance of 15 feet. The bridgetender monitors VHF-FM channel 16 (156.80 MHz) and works on channels 13, and 68. The bridgetender can be reached by phone (410) 974-3840.
Annapolis, the capital of Maryland, is on the north side of Spa Creek. The U.S. Naval Academy occupies the entire northeastern part of the city between Spa Creek and College Creek, 0.7 mile to the northwestward.
The Naval Academy Santee Basin, on the Severn River side of Annapolis has reported depths of 15 feet. The basin and seawall are within a restricted area.
Spa Creek waterfront has depths of 4 to 10 feet reported alongside the bulkhead and wharves almost to Market Slip, 250 yards below the north end of the Spa Creek highway bridge.
