Day 2 & 3: Chesapeake City Layover, Trip to Cape May, NJ
Position: Chesapeake City, MD 39*31.68N, 075*51.68W to Cape May Inlet, 38*56.04N, 074*51.72' W
NM: 74.84
Sea State: building to 2-3 feet, 6 sec interval at mouth of Bay
Thought we were in for quiet night.......not so.
CHANGE OF PLAN #2:
We wanted to head out on Saturday morning for Cape May, NJ........but...
The stationary front was not moving, more rain was appearing before our eyes on the weather radar. Kelly talked to a couple of marinas in Cape May, and one guy told her no one was leaving Cape May, he may not have room for us, and that Saturday would be a very choppy, tough day on the much wider Delaware Bay.
Chesapeake City was a nice little town, neat old houses, cool bridge, so it wasn't hard to decide to stay another day. Still, we had planned on using this layover day later in the trip...we were not terribly tired at this point and had some long days ahead.
We were surprised with our own private fireworks show. During the show, a huge wall moved down the canal - an enormous cargo ship went by. I can't image sharing the 200 yard canal with something that big.
2:30 wake up - 3:30 AM Departure: Tides will be. The best way for us to get out of here is on a flooding tide. With 10 miles of canal to motor down, and a current that can run 3 knots, the trip could take hours longer against an ebbing tide. As it turned out we, didn't leave quite early enough, and the current turned against us for the last couple of miles.
The canal bridges were fascinating in the dark. It rained and drizzled. Kel and I wore our fowlies, and Chris slept comfortably below. We only passed a couple of tugboats. I could hear cargo ships behind us on the radio, but we never saw them.
Things changed when we entered the Delaware Bay at sunrise. At the head of the Bay, cargo ships, tugs, and recreational boats were going both ways in the shipping channel. AIS and radar targets were everywhere. Thanks to our good planning, the sunlight helped us through the misty rain.
We saw a strange light and structure...a nuclear power plant lit up in the mist like a cathedral. Rounded a few corners, over a few hours, and we were in the open Delaware Bay. 30 miles across and shallow, we followed the left side of the shipping channel, and watched the cargo boats going both directions.
The water began to clear, and the Atlantic was on the horizon. At Cape May, there are a series of long shoals that point out into the Atlantic. Some of the shoals read 3-4 feet, and that makes us picture Iolair on her side, waves crashing into the boat....end of trip. The original plan was to go right out the shipping channel into the Atlantic about 5 miles. Turn Northeast for 4 miles and then north to the Cap May inlet. No problem really. But we were tired and the wind was blowing hard from the NE creating a very choppy sea, with a 6 sec swell. A 15 foot channel showed on the map, right along the Cap May coast. It would save us an hour in the chop and there seemed to be some thick rain coming. So we headed for the channel.
As we grew closer, I got nervous. What if the shoals had changed...happens a lot. I couldn't see any boats using the channel. I thought I saw some breaking waves. We headed south between two shallow shoals for deeper water. Kelly and Chris were spotting shallow waters to left and right. We snaked our way back out to a comfortable 30 foot depth and just dealt with the waves and extra time. Golden rule: in a new place, never pretend you have local knowledge.
We were safely in the inlet by 4 PM. We decided to go for an easy anchorage the first night after the long trip. It turned out to be a nice night at anchor and we listened to the coast guard band practice. We all slept like adventurers.
Most importantly: NO signs of seasickness. Kelly, Chris and I are all acclimating well. Chris and Kelly are spending increasing amounts of time below without problems. But...we all know our time will come.
NM: 74.84
Sea State: building to 2-3 feet, 6 sec interval at mouth of Bay
Thought we were in for quiet night.......not so.
CHANGE OF PLAN #2:
We wanted to head out on Saturday morning for Cape May, NJ........but...
The stationary front was not moving, more rain was appearing before our eyes on the weather radar. Kelly talked to a couple of marinas in Cape May, and one guy told her no one was leaving Cape May, he may not have room for us, and that Saturday would be a very choppy, tough day on the much wider Delaware Bay.
 |
| A good baker is all you really need. |
We were surprised with our own private fireworks show. During the show, a huge wall moved down the canal - an enormous cargo ship went by. I can't image sharing the 200 yard canal with something that big.
 |
| 2 points ov'r da port bow! |
2:30 wake up - 3:30 AM Departure: Tides will be. The best way for us to get out of here is on a flooding tide. With 10 miles of canal to motor down, and a current that can run 3 knots, the trip could take hours longer against an ebbing tide. As it turned out we, didn't leave quite early enough, and the current turned against us for the last couple of miles.
The canal bridges were fascinating in the dark. It rained and drizzled. Kel and I wore our fowlies, and Chris slept comfortably below. We only passed a couple of tugboats. I could hear cargo ships behind us on the radio, but we never saw them.
Things changed when we entered the Delaware Bay at sunrise. At the head of the Bay, cargo ships, tugs, and recreational boats were going both ways in the shipping channel. AIS and radar targets were everywhere. Thanks to our good planning, the sunlight helped us through the misty rain.
 |
| Nuclear Delaware Bay |
We saw a strange light and structure...a nuclear power plant lit up in the mist like a cathedral. Rounded a few corners, over a few hours, and we were in the open Delaware Bay. 30 miles across and shallow, we followed the left side of the shipping channel, and watched the cargo boats going both directions.The water began to clear, and the Atlantic was on the horizon. At Cape May, there are a series of long shoals that point out into the Atlantic. Some of the shoals read 3-4 feet, and that makes us picture Iolair on her side, waves crashing into the boat....end of trip. The original plan was to go right out the shipping channel into the Atlantic about 5 miles. Turn Northeast for 4 miles and then north to the Cap May inlet. No problem really. But we were tired and the wind was blowing hard from the NE creating a very choppy sea, with a 6 sec swell. A 15 foot channel showed on the map, right along the Cap May coast. It would save us an hour in the chop and there seemed to be some thick rain coming. So we headed for the channel.
 |
| Lower Delaware Bay, Atlantic on the horizon |
As we grew closer, I got nervous. What if the shoals had changed...happens a lot. I couldn't see any boats using the channel. I thought I saw some breaking waves. We headed south between two shallow shoals for deeper water. Kelly and Chris were spotting shallow waters to left and right. We snaked our way back out to a comfortable 30 foot depth and just dealt with the waves and extra time. Golden rule: in a new place, never pretend you have local knowledge.
We were safely in the inlet by 4 PM. We decided to go for an easy anchorage the first night after the long trip. It turned out to be a nice night at anchor and we listened to the coast guard band practice. We all slept like adventurers.
Most importantly: NO signs of seasickness. Kelly, Chris and I are all acclimating well. Chris and Kelly are spending increasing amounts of time below without problems. But...we all know our time will come.
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