October 4th Atlantic City and Brigantine, NJ
We headed out of Atlantic City to anchor in the Absecon Inlet where we had anchored previously. The winds were blowing at 30 knots so we felt it was a bad idea to venture out into the ocean. Absecon was also bad. I launched the anchor but due to current and wind there was a lot of chop. Catalpa wouldn’t point right. The town opposite to AC is Brigantine. According to my charts, there was a completely protected pond with a narrow/ shallow entrance right near us. We pulled the hook up and cautiously entered the Rum Point Basin. It was a little like threading a needle but we were treated with a quiet protected spot to spend the night. We could once again see the stars as we were away from the lights of AC. Back to nature. I’m sure we’ll be back to Atlantic City one day but I hope our stay is short.
Goodbye AC
October 5th Rum Point Basin NJ to Cape May NJ
This was a tough decision. This was the last day of Northerly winds before they would clock around out of the south. There was a small craft advisory in affect but the wind would drive us down the coast. We went for it. The waves varied between big and very big. It was a bouncy day. No autopilot today as the large following seas would easily overpower the helm. I had to surf the waves all day.
We have a cargo area up in the bow of the boat. It has bedding, clothes, fishing tackle, charts, art supplies, etc. This jumble is all held in with cargo netting. When Ollie is stressed this is where he nests.
Ollie- “are we there yet?”
We made it into Cape May. Captain and crew were glad to be out of the heavy seas for the night.
October 6th Cape May, NJ to Cohansey River, NJ
We really wanted to spend the day in Cape May but it wasn’t to be. According to my Eldridge Tide and Pilot we needed to catch the current and wind up the bay. We would have bad timing on that soon. The current and tides change about an hour every day. This is compounded by the fact that the days are getting shorter and we are trying to avoid traveling at night.
We also needed some supplies. I arose at dawn and brought Ollie in for a “commando raid” at the beach. We then headed up Cape May harbor (in our trusty dinghy) to Utsch’s Marina. We needed gasoline for the Honda (dinghy motor), ice, and bread. Ironically, I can’t seem to find a packy (New England speak for liquor store). Booze is in short supply. There is a large Coast Guard base in Cape May. They played The Star-Spangled Banner while we passed by as they were raising the flag.
Some tough looking cutters
Fishing fleet
Finally at Utsch’s
Crew happy to be back on land for provisions.
Provisioning complete, we hauled up the anchor at 10:45 to start the days journey.
Catalpa headed down the Cape May canal to get into the Delaware Bay. It was a short scenic route with a 55′ bridge to go under. Our mast is only 41′ so no problems there.
The Delaware bay was rough when we started out but calmed down as the day progressed. It’s a big bay at the mouth. For most of the day we had grey skys, grey sea, and no shoreline. With the exception of a few distant barges we saw no one. The Pink Floyd lyric – Is there anybody out THERE? – occurred to me a few times during the passage.
We fly a naval ensign off the stern of Catalpa. Since we don’t belong to a yacht club I had no flag (burgee) on the mast. Last year we bought a Cuttyhunk Island burgee. So that’s our yacht burgee. Maybe we’ll get a Key West flag someday.
We arrived at the Cohansey river and anchored between its entrance and a small island. We were surrounded by tall marsh grass. It seemed to be a very remote location. There was a tiny beach on the island with a “party hut” built out of driftwood and scraps. Obviously it had gotten some recent use as there was a grill and a garbage can, filled with beer cans. Unfortunately, no buried treasure. I’m not sure how I would know that, assuming it was buried. It was another quiet night. There may have been another boat anchored further up the river but we didn’t see anyone.
October 7th Cohansey River, NJ to Chesapeake City, MD
We headed up the Delaware Bay again today. Interesting note, we are actually heading north to go south. We’ve discussed what our total mileage on this trip was going to be but I was actually never sure of the total. I’ve driven down to Florida and I think it’s around 1200 miles. I was thumbing through one of the cruising guides and found a page with some approximate port to port distances along the ICW. I pulled out the calculator and from Buzzards Bay to Miami is 1700 nautical miles (2000 statute miles). We travel at 5 miles per hour.
I was aiming at this for the first 3 or 4 hours. It’s the Salem nuclear power plant. This picture is for Ted if he’s watching.
Further up the bay the Delaware narrows (it’s a river) and there is a lot of shipping coming out of Philadelphia.
“Are we there yet?”
We avoided all big boats.
We finally arrived at the C & D Canal. This canal goes between the Delaware and Chesapeake Bay. I managed to catch a mostly favorable current up Delaware bay. This was not to be the case for the C&D. My Eldridge Time and Pilot said we’d have a favorable current in the canal for an hour. This means we’d travel at 7 knots for an hour and the remaining 5nm would be against the 2 knot current, not bad. Apparently, Eldridge was wrong. Maybe it’s because it’s based out of Boston? The current was against us the whole way. Over 4 hours to travel 12 miles. Next time I’ll be more careful about the canal.
A few more bridges to add to the list. Lighthouses are more photogenic.
We finally made it to Chesapeake City. It’s a nice little spot right on the canal. The harbor was dug out by The Army Corps of Engineers when they built the canal. The Engineers have a base here and seem busy doing engineering stuff.
It’s like a lake in here so we’re resting up today (Tuesday the 8th). There is a tiki bar at the Chesapeake Inn/ marina. They have a “happy hour ” and brick oven pizza. Dog friendly. That’s the plan for the evening. Last night there were about 10 boats in here, amost all from Canada. Maybe Canadians get sick of the cold too? Tomorrow we move on down the Chesapeake.
Chesapeake City
The Engineers have a museum. The canal used to have locks. They used 2 giant steam engines to turn a big water wheel . The wheel moved water to fill the lock.
Uncle Silas?
