Chesapeake, jelly/nettle-free areas?

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Brian L.20665

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Jun 3, 2004
131
BC 37 Back Creek, Annapolis
Seems nettles/jellies are all over my local Chesapeake Bay cruising area right now (middle bay - we sail out of Annapolis). Can anyone tell us of any jelly-free areas within a day's sail, so we can find a nice spot for the kids to swim off the boat in comfort in the next week or 2? Still Pond for example or other northern area? There's a website that claims to forecast nettles - would like to hear any local knowledge to confirm before we get the kids too excited. thanks.
Brian

http://chesapeakebay.noaa.gov/forecasting-sea-nettles
 
Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson

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Oct 14, 2005
2,191
1983 Hunter H34 North East, MD
Brian...

we didn't see any nettles in Worton Creek the night before the Gov Cup. It's a very popular spot on the weekends.

From there north it is rare to see them as the salt line is down closer to Rock Hall. Still Pond would be a good choice as well for sheltered swimming.

Further north, up the Sassafras is Turner Creek and behind Ordinary Point. Both make good weekending spots for swimming.

NOAA has a web site that predicts the presence of them. Check out http://coastwatch.noaa.gov/seanettles . There's an interesting article in Ches Bay Magazine's August issue regarding them.
 
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s sauer

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Jun 4, 2004
844
Hunter 28.5 Tolchester, MD
Nettles

Haven't seen any in the marina, but sailing out from Tolchester on the Eastern Shore, I noticed several sizeable jellies. The week end before, I was scrubbig the bottom inside Warton Creek and there were no nettles at all.
With reasonable rains, the salt line typically stays somewhere between Tolchester and Great Oak.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Re: Nettles

My favorite anchorage is on the Sassafras tucked into a cove across from marker 10. Not good for weekends because of power boat wakes.
 
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teacher63

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May 9, 2010
131
Hunter 23 WIll be at a Navy base
My experience is the warmer the weather, water, and the less rain the greater the number of Jelly Fish. I have never known them to be less in one area than the other. The only way that happens is if there is a great amount of fresh water coming in.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
It has to do with the salinity. Jellies can't live in fresh water.
 
RichH

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Worton Creek is free of Nettles .....
However, the water is grossly foul due to the lack of 'turnover' (due to the drought???). Any water that gets 'up-welled' looks like diarrhea a la mode. Visibility / Turbidity is about 3 INCHES !!!!!! I dove under my hull to clean it two weeks ago, .... and it took two weeks to recover from the total body virus-like rash. aaaaaaaargh. The water is soooo foul that were not even getting the toxic algae blooms anymore. The Upper Chesapeake has apparently turned into a F'ing SEWER.
 
shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
7,762
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Do you have a link to that Jellyfish article for those of us who don't receive that publication?
I got stung in Peconic Bay by a Nettle and was totally shocked at how painful it was. I've been stung many times but this year we had the Nettles and my experience is that they are much worse. Other opinions?
 
Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson

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Oct 14, 2005
2,191
1983 Hunter H34 North East, MD
Dave...

that's the same site I mentioned above but with a different URL. I converted it to a link as well. Both addresses work.
 
RichH

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Ross said:
You can get jellyfish protection suits. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-192974465/comparison-eight-types-protective.html
Click to expand
Two pair of panty hose will do the same thing ..... one set for your 'bottom' and the other (with a slit in the crotch so your head can fit through) for your 'top'. Nettles wont sting through panty hose for some reason and definitely much easier to put on than a wetsuit .... of course you have to be careful so that noone sees you wearing panty hose over your head, etc. :-D
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
When I was in the Philippines We always swam with long pants and tee shirts. The jellies would get broken up in the surf and little strands of tenticles would sometimes drift across an arm and feel like a hot wire . The live jellies we could see and avoid.
 
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Brian L.20665

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Jun 3, 2004
131
BC 37 Back Creek, Annapolis
Thanks everyone for chiming in. We'll head north this w/e. Appreciate the warning Rich on Worton Cr foul waters (altho we've never been there, so may have to poke our bow in anyway to see). Hope to find a swim that doesn't require pantyhose!
 
Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson

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Oct 14, 2005
2,191
1983 Hunter H34 North East, MD
RichH...

We've run junior sail camps all summer up on the North East River without complaint of any body rash from the campers or their parents.

The problem you mentioned is probably due to the lack of circulation from tidal flow in Worton. It does seem to get pretty stagnant up there when I've visited in late summers past.

Spent my growing up summers on Herring Bay--even if it worked, we didn't have panty hose to try to ward off nettle stings and wouldn't have been caught dead in it if we did! LOL!
 
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