St Mary's College Launch#

 
FIG. 1A aerial view of the Launch Area

 upshot:  The St Mary's College launch provides a quiet and off the
beaten track environment to launch from, away from the bustling city life.
This launch is suitable for beginners and is best in NW and SSW winds

FIG. 1B view of the St. Mary's venue looking NW 

Located in St Mary's City (another name for the St Mary's College
 area) on MD Rt 5 near the mouth of the St Mary's River.  It is about
90 min (60 miles) south on MD Rt 5 from the capital beltway I495.

To get there, use MD Rt 5 south from the Capital Beltway (I495)
exit 7.  Bypass Waldorf, La Plata and Leonardtown.  Upon entering
St Mary's city on MD Rt 5 south, the river appears on your right. 
Immediately after passing the water on your right is a small road
on your right called Trinity Church Road.

FIG. 2 turnoff for launch -- launch is to the right of the white building

  To the right of the intersection of this Trinity Church Road and
Rt 5 is the launch.  Drop your gear off at the launch and park in
the visitor's parking lot up on the hill to avoid trouble.  To get to
the parking lot, travel up the hill on Trinity Church road, make a sharp
left onto Old State House Road, and the parking lot is on the right
near the Historic St Mary's City and the Farthing's Ordinary.

FIG. 3 view of parking lot at top of hill

  See http://www.smcm.edu/pdfs/campus_map_june07.pdf for more
 details.  Launch is at bldg # 34

The launch faces NW into the St Mary's River.  Hence, the launch is
 best for winds out of the NW or W.  These optimal winds often occur
in the colder months of the year when a cold front plows through. 
However, the launch will also work on Southerly winds by sailing
around the point just to the WSW of the launch. 

FIG. 4 view looking south from point -- note opening which acts
as a funnel when a southerly thermal wind develops

The launch is beginner friendly.

The large white building stores windsurf gear for the college and
not for the public. This college windsurf center was started by
a Farrah Hall, when she was a student, and is still in existence today.
  Farrah is now a professional racer.  Read all about
her at http://www.farrah-hall.com/. 

FIG. 5 view of the launch (near the sand bags) and the windsurf
center (white building) with MD Rt 5 in the background