Ice Threatens Bay Traffic

Ice Skaters on the Bay in 1976-1977

Chesapeake Bay Mag Captain of the Port Sets Winter Port Condition One as Ice Builds Up in Bay Tributaries

Winter is wintering on the Chesapeake Bay this January, between two rounds of snowfall and consistently sub-freezing temperatures in many parts of the region.

Most who have stepped outside recently wouldn’t be surprised to learn that tributaries around the Bay are experiencing measurable ice coverage. The Coast Guard has issued an advisory for boats navigating through ice in the open Bay. The Captain of the Port for the Maryland-National Capital Region has set Winter Port Condition One for the Chesapeake Bay and C&D Canal, meaning that the short-term forecast is favorable for ice to form on these waterways.

The Coast Guard issued a safety broadcast Notice to Mariners Friday announcing several locations experiencing 40% ice coverage up to two inches thick, including the C&D Canal, Welch Point to Nine Foot Knoll, and Turkey Point.

Further south, Quantico to Alexandria, Virginia, and the D.C. Harbor and Anacostia River were experiencing 30% coverage of packed ice one inch thick. The Nanticoke and Wicomico rivers had 15 percent ice coverage one inch thick.

Ice Breaker Eddie Somers

 

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources(DNR) and the Coast Guard both have icebreaker boats at the ready. DNR’s John Gallagher tells us they have done some ice breaking in sheltered areas where the wind has piled the ice up. On Monday, he says, DNR sent a boat to break ice in Selby Bay, South River, and at the Bay Bridge Marina because boats were unable to push out.

“Water temperatures have been steadily dropping in the region,” Gallagher says. “If the predicted low temps happen next week there will be widespread ice in the creeks and shorelines of the rivers and Bay.”

He is most concerned about the Smith Island to Crisfield Ferry route, and the numerous small boat harbors supporting the oyster harvest. DNR’s two ice breaking boats ready for service are the Eddie Somers in Crisfield and the A.V. Sandusky at Kent Island.

There's ice in the back of the harbor, and has been for a few days now. I saw a bit of ice when we launched at Solomon on Monday. I haven't been to the beach in a few days, but I can't image with the wind that we've been having that it's building up near shore.  We have seen ice quite a ways out in years past, but not in the past several.