So we have been persistently making our way north from Annapolis, out of the Chesapeake, and down the Delaware Bay to the Atlantic. I really like the north end of the Chesapeake. The bay narrows, and the water is fresh water. You do not have to worry as much about weather as the fetch is relatively small. We were accompanied one morning by this tall ship making her way under engine.
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Its Springtime on the Chesapeake, and the birds are hatching their eggs. Look at this male Osprey as he stares us down protecting his mate who is sitting on their eggs in their nest on top of a red marker. Cool.
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In the early 1800's they built a rough canal that connected Delaware Bay with the Chesapeake. This shorten dramatically the time for ships to move goods and people from Philadelphia to Baltimore and further south. During World War II the canal was improved, widened and its course changed a bit to accommodate large ships. Its called the C and D Canal (get it....Chesapeake and Delaware) and its only 22 miles from Bay to Bay. At the east end is Delaware City, a place we have stayed before to prepare ourselves for the next 3 big legs of our trip.
Delaware Bay is very tricky. First of all it is a big river starting in the Pennsylvania mountains and flowing through Philadelphia. Then it runs smack into the Atlantic which creates all kind of trouble. The marina in Delaware City is extremely helpful in looking at all the data to tell you when to go, and more importantly when not to go. We did not go for 3 days waiting on a weather window. Tim the Dockmaster gave us a heads up on the third night. If you can get to Cape May (52 miles) in 4 hours then go at 5:30 in the morning. We did. We left as the sky was just getting lighter in the east, and he was right. We had a nice smooth ride down the bay. But we were running fast (16 mph) where I burn about 15 gal/hour. Normally Rock Chalk only burns around 2.5 gal/hour at our normal cruise of 8 mph. But one of the reasons I like this boat is that it gives us the flexibility to go fast and beat weather if need be.
No sooner had we pulled into Cape May and the wind started to howl. It got ugly. Whew!! Thanks Tim.
We stay in Cape May for another 3 days again waiting for the storms to pass. Our next leg is out into the Atlantic and north up the coast of New Jersey. Our first destination was Atlantic City.
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| Atlantic City Casinos from 5 miles out. Notice the smooth ocean. Yea!! |
This was our second trip up the New Jersey coast and each time we have anchored out in a neat little bay across from the casinos. We were not going to go gamble or eat an expensive dinner, so it's just easier to anchor out. Especially when the marinas are charging $3.00/ft. for dockage. That is $132 a night for Rock Chalk, which is really expensive. But we are headed north into some of the more expensive marinas.
We had a nice day up to Atlantic City, and the forecast was good for the next long day to New York. So once again, we were up at dawn and moving north. It is not often that we do this, but we went 7.5 hours today to Staten Island all at 16 mph. Going fast and burning fuel, but we had to in order to make the 90 mile day. The ocean was beautiful and I saw a whale surfacing in front of us. He/she was there for just a moment, so no pictures, nor did Shelley look up in time, but it was a testament to a calm sea.
It started to rain on us the last few hours as we approached New York, but again, the winds were fair. We got just a glimpse of the Verrazano Straights Bridge in the mist, which announces New York harbor. Hopefully tomorrow as we head into the Harbor and up the Hudson, that the winds will stay down, and the sky will clear. Cruising into New York City is one of the most exciting and impressive venues that we can take. My next post will hopefully have pictures of the City.
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| The mist is hiding the city and some BIG ships! |
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