Reviews: Onancock Wharf and Marina

Reviewed by: Richard Worsinger , Relief Valve, on Oct 16, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 36'
Draft: 3.3'

Rating: 5

Nice marina in a nice small town. $2.50 / ft. Floating docks in good condition. Power and water. Diesel and gasoline. Clean individual bathrooms with shower. Free Laundry. Free courtesy car. Pump out. Nice restaurant next to the marian and others downtown a short walk. Dockmaster Charles and his staff were helpful and friendly.

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Reviewed by: Scott Fisher on Jul 31, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 37'
Draft: 3.7'

Rating: 5

Great Marina - well worth the trip. Staff professional and bathrooms very nice and clean. Walk into town for great doughnuts at Corner Bakery!

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Reviewed by: David Waugh , Winds of Change, on Jun 29, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 39'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Excellent stay after a great ride up the river. Floating docks are in great shape. Bathroom were clean; laundry was free. Staff was very helpful. It is a short walk to a very nice town. We will be back.

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Reviewed by: Tommy Samuel on Jun 10, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 31'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 5

Great floating docs, very clean bathrooms and shower locking. Easy walk to town, nice restaurants and shops. Weekend events chech their web site. Prefect place to relax.

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Reviewed by: Rhonda Coffee , Ineffable, on Jun 7, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 25'
Draft: 2.0'

Rating: 5

Onancock Wharf Marina and Onancock Va. is a gem and our favorite stop on The Great Loop so far. Great little town with a lot of good restaurants, a great bakery and super friendly and helpful people. Take the ferry with Captain Moonie to Tangier Island Va. for the day. He is a native of the island and is very personable and informative. What a great asset to the town. The marina is very nice with four private bathroom suites and free laundry. The dock master was super helpful and even used his personal boat to tow us to our slip when our steering failed. We will be back!

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Reviewed by: Christopher Carmody on May 31, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 43'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Great tucked away place up the river. We fled here from heavy weather on the Bay and will visit again. Nice scenery on the river, kayaking, restaurants and a few shops. Not a problem in our powerboat, but they are fixed docks with limited draft - we visited a few years ago in our 37' sailboat and moved some mud to get into the first slip. Still a great visit, very friendly.

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Reviewed by: Mark Lister , Winsome Ride, on Sep 1, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 46'
Draft: 6.0'

Rating: 4

This marina has a wonderful harbormaster Craig. He provided good guidance with our approach and the 6 foot draft of our boat made it through the channel. Craig helped us with our pump out and tie up at the dock. We took the deepest slip which is 6 feet deep at low tide and directly in front of the Mallard restaurant. Roomy bathrooms and free laundry with nice washer/dryer.
Craig was friendly and helpful when we reached him by phone but only 4 stars since he never replied to any of our numerous messages.

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Reviewed by: Kirk Conners , Fancy Nancy, on Aug 4, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 3

The marina only gets 3 stars for the 2 very big down sides of the place: No air conditioning in either the laundry room or the restrooms. Both are nice rooms, brand new washer and dryer, and newly renovated restrooms. But without AC, that all goes by the wayside. The ice machine in the laundry room creates heat and it must be 100 degrees plus in there. The restrooms have a fan, but that's not enough.
The office, which is in the same building, has AC and it's nice and cool for the staff.
Other than those things, the marina is nice. Docks are relatively new and sturdy. The courtesy car is nice since the Food Lion is not in walking or bike riding distance.
Small town with a few artsy galleries and a couple of restaurants makes it worth a day's stay, but not much more.
Would come here again in a pinch, but it's off my route of places to visit.

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Reviewed by: Jerald Jones , Titan, on May 10, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 37'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Great Experience at this marina! Nice facilities restrooms, showers, laundry, they even have a courtesy car now. Very protected harbor although it is a bit of a run up the creek from the Chesapeake Bay. Stayed here for five nights due to bad weather on the bay. Onancock Is a very nice small town with some good restaurants, and super friendly people. Will definitely stop here again!

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Reviewed by: Jeremy Hatch on Aug 18, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 49'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 5

Outstanding Harbormaster. Clean bathrooms & showers. Free laundry, close to restaurants etc & nice town. Ethanol free gas.

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Reviewed by: Karen Ratte on Aug 16, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 49'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Favorite stop on the Eastern Shore! Very picturesque marina is small but new, which adds to the ambience. Staff amazing. Town is a short walk away with restaurants, movie theatre (limited showings), art galleries, shopping, salons. Just walking through the residential areas was a pleasure. Easy deep water approach from the Bay, lovely estates along the way. Can take a water taxi across to see Tangier Island. Hardest part of the visit was remembering how to pronounce the name of the town.

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Reviewed by: Rick Mcnulty , Maximus, on Jul 30, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 36'
Draft: 5.5'

Rating: 5

Excellent small marina with great staff and facilities. Very good wifi. Easy walk to restaurants. We were there midweek and I suspect it is full on weekends as the town caters to weekend tourist traffic.

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Reviewed by: Ed Tillett on Jun 30, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 60'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 4

Great little harbor. The town is nice and everything is within walking distance. Nice showers and laundry facilities. We will be back.

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Reviewed by: Tom Hedge , Manifest, on Jun 27, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Nice quaint town & marina; take water taxi to Tangiers Island. Town marina only has 12 slips, one of which is used by the water taxi that makes 2 daily trips each to and from Tangiers Island. Rent golf carts direct from marina; great neighborhoods to drive around and check out. The town has some nice restaurants & bars, and there's a very good restaurant in a historic building right on ste. Easy cruise from Cape Charles and then easy cruising up the Chesapeake and/or Potomac. Definitely worth a visit!

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Reviewed by: Ross Wiltse on Jun 8, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 40'
Draft: 2.9'

Rating: 5

This place just made me smile. Great small marina back on Onancock creek. Well maintained and great staff. Easy walk into town, and restaurants. Groceries were farther out, good bike ride to Walmart on back roads, if needed. There is a bakery downtown, worth a stop if you like doughnuts. Easy in and out, very little or no current due to its location.

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Reviewed by: Susan Bamonto , Tranquility, on May 7, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 36'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 5

What a hidden treasure! We were the only boat there. It's quiet and protected from the wind. The bathrooms were spotless and lots of hot water. What a bonus to find a brand new washer and dryer avail for us to use. Will definitely come back, probably during the off season as I imagine it would be pretty busy on a summer day.

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Reviewed by: Rob Dare , Liberty Call , on May 2, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 46'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 5

Great marina in a nice small town. The floating docks are nice and the finger piers are about 20 feet. They are expanding the bulkhead. Several great restaurants and pubs. Very clean bathrooms and a few laundry. Nice town to walk the dog around and a little park next to the marina. The floating piers are metal and may be too hot for paws in summer. Definitely a place worth the journey off the bay.

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Reviewed by: Timothy Keen , Slow Dance, on Aug 6, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 40'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 5

Great little marina. Nice floating dock, though floating finger pier is only about 20 feet. Need to also tie to outer pilings. bit the 20 feet of finger pier allows dock hands to provide good help. Onancock is a small, pleasant town to wander.

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Reviewed by: Pete ScubaPete , A Pretty Penny, on Jul 10, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Great small town marina. New floating docks, great staff and nice bathhouse and laundry. Slip #12 is all the way in next to the steel bridge (less than 20' from the slip). If the wind is blowing up you up the creek, you have one shot to get into that slip or you will be laying side to a bridge

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Reviewed by: Mark O on Jul 8, 2020
LOA: 38'

Rating: 5

Excellent facilities and well maintained. Issue had was that they book via DockWa so when tried for reservation, would not permit my draft (6'). Talking with Manager, have berths which support (Floating 1-2-3) and the bulkhead. Moored no issues at close to low tide but depth approaching piers was pretty shallow. Excellent facilities and well worth making the effort.
Power and internet excellent.

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Reviewed by: Austin Pritchard , Zingara , on Jun 26, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 46'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Lovely small marina with friendly, helpful staff. Reservations recommended if during a busy time. Marina was recently updated. Walk a short distance to the center of town with several restaurant options. The Charlotte Hotel has a consistently excellent restaurant and bar. The marina even offers a list of local residents who offer assistance to boaters with transportation or other needs. Delightful.

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Reviewed by: Bob on Mar 16, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 44'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

A great little quaint marina with easy walking distance to town.

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Reviewed by: Terrance Godbold on May 13, 2018
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 36'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Was pleasantly surprised to find this unique little marina on the Eastern Shore. They were nothing but friendly, helped tie, free laundry, good fuel. A short walk into this little "burg." Janet's is a must stop for breakfast or lunch. We left this morning on our way to Crisfield, only when we entered the bay we encountered 25 kt winds and 4 plus seas. Weather guessers, don't ya just love them. We turned around and went back and were greeted as if we never left. On an aside Mallards, although food was good as was service, prices were a bit high. I had two crab cakes on a small bed of lettuce for $25.00. I was not a happy boater.

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Reviewed by: Dave on Oct 9, 2017
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 47'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

Super nice Deb Melcher, the Assistant Harbor Master, couldn't do enough to help. About 4.5 miles from bay. Well marked channel. Small and short finger piers caused some problems during low tide. Rumor that town will replace with floating docks next year. Walking distance to several restaurants. Try Janet's for breakfast and lunch.

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Reviewed by: John Boddie on May 11, 2017
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 17'
Draft: 0.8'

Rating: 4

Friendly and competent staff. Well marked channel. Excellent fuel facilities. Ramp is 14 ft wide with good straight-back run-in, but it is fairly short and may give problems at low tide. Parking for trailers immediately adjacent to the ramp. There is also a very good restaurant right across the parking lot.
Very good dedicated kayak and dinghy dock with several scenic streams off the main creek.

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Reviewed by: Bob Menches , Sea Shanty, on Jul 15, 2016
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 35'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 4

Very friendly staff led by Ruth the Harbor Master. Fixed docks with small finger piers. Free laundry. New dock office with updated showers/bathrooms. Pump out and fuel available. Some slips have limited depth. Recommend calling ahead for reservations as slips are limited to 16. Channel is well marked and carries no less that 12 feet all the way in. Gravel barges use the. Handel so it's well maintained. Would give 5 stars if the wifi was more dependable.

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