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  Absolutely Everything You Ever Wanted to
Know About Activities on the Atlantic Islands of Chincoteague and
Assateague |
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Henry Mallard has been to many places in the world and has strong opinions about them all. |
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Current Topics:
Assateague Tours, Sports Clamming,
Henry's
Downtown Area Map for Restaurants, Motels, and Bed & Breakfasts Click
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Tour Bus Service on Assateague -
Click here Sponsored by the Chincoteague Natural History Association
Sports Clamming Clamming is an ancient sport requiring a sharp eye and a rusty hand spade. As you probably know from the clam tournaments on television, the true sports clam digger knows the secrets of "signing" - spotting the little holes in the sand made by a clam's siphons or discovering other signs of a crafty clam's presence. (The clam sucks in water and food particles through one siphon and spits out the water through the other.) The most exciting part for the fans comes next. The athlete must bend over and dig out the clam before it has a chance drill any deeper into the sand with its foot (takes about a day).
Assateague clams have always been noted for their tasty meat, and the most popular clamming area is Toms Cove near the beach parking lots. While there is an official limit to the number of clams you can take from Assateague, don't worry about it here. The three or four clams you'll find in an hour's digging will be well within the limit - since this area is, indeed, so popular.
The original 1833 lighthouse was only 45 feet high, and curious people of considerable girth like myself could make it to the top with only a few rest stops. But unfortunately mariners had trouble spotting the light, and Congress paid for a new structure (142 feet) which was completed in 1867. For some interesting photos of the lighthouse and views from the top, click here (photos from the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce web site). Assateague Lighthouse Tours - 2009
Crabbing & Clamming - (opens in new window) Visitor Opinions on
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This
is a good time to review the joys of sports clamming on Assateague
Island. Before you begin, you should know that one of the largest clams
ever found in the world weighed 579 1/2 pounds and measured 43 by 29
inches and is said to have contained a pearl the size of a golf ball.
You should also know that several divers and at least one golf pro have
been trapped by monster clams. 
Being
a more methodical sportsman, I prefer to use a large clam rake (you can
buy one at one of the local hardware stores) and have honed my skills
using well established "Zen of clam gardening"
principles. Essentially, you map out a big rectangle in your mind
and then push down on and drag the rake around in the water until you've
covered the area. If there's a clam down there, you'll hear a clink as
the rake knocks against its shell. Just rake it out and pitch it in your
clam bucket. And where you find one, there are most likely a couple more
near by. Watch out, though, for large horseshoe crabs that have buried
themselves in the sand. These ancient creatures - which really aren't
crabs at all - also eat clams and probably hate clam gardeners. But as
luck would have it, they're harmless.
I
can't imagine why anyone would want to climb 142 feet to the top of a
lighthouse, but the U.S. Coast Guard provides visitors with such an
opportunity at the Assateague lighthouse several times a year.