Sailing South: Cape May to the Chesapeake

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Cape May, New Jersey

We slept in after our night sail and awoke to find the anchorage was almost empty. Most of the boats had caught the morning tide to get up the Delaware Bay. Like the coast of New Jersey, once you commit to go, there are very few stopping places to get out of bad weather. Our routine was to review the course and any places that would offer shelter and protection along the way.

Mid morning, we decided to head out. Well past low tide we approached the first of 2 bridges with a low water clearance of 55 feet. We have a mast that (by manufacture’s specifications) stands 52 feet 10 inches above the water. We were sailing on our waterline (being full of fuel, water, provisions and people) and when we approached the bridge, the water meter (a painted board along attached to the base of the bridge) showed 55 feet of clearance under the bridge – tight but doable. Except for that pesky VHF antenna.

“Clickity, clickity, clickety…”

My mouth went dry. My heart pounded and then we exited on the other side of the bridge. Not wanting to experience the same feeling with the sister bridge, we decided to get a pump out at the Miss Chris Marina and wait for a more favourable tide situation. We waited almost 4 hours as high tide came and the water started to lower again. When we calculated we were sufficiently along in the ebbing tide, we headed slowly back into the Cape May Channel and headed for the second bridge.

We approached slowly, and although our antenna touched again, it was not as pronounced and we were not as emotionally shaken. (Note to self: Low tide only for transit under these bridges).

The delay put us into an unfavourable tide situation. The Delaware Bay was ebbing – an outgoing tide. Although we were able to maintain a boat speed of just over 5 knots, with the tidal current running against us, we were moving forward at just over 4 knots. A 20% reduction in boat speed is significant.

We planned to get to the Chansey River late in the afternoon. It was becoming readily apparent we would be a little later. The wind was over our port quarter (from behind and to the left). We were flying a cruising spinnaker (Gennaker / DRS) and were maintaining a reasonable speed against the current.

The boats that had left the anchorage at low water had cleared the bridge and gone up the Delaware on a flood tide. That means they had a current working in their direction for the 6 hours of the flood plus the difference of tide from Cape May to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal of 2 hours. So for 8 hours the current was in their favour.

We doused the cruising spinnaker and sailed under the main sail for a few hours. As the winds grew and the waves built, we started to surf the waves. 5 knots of boat speed and surfing the wave and 6 knots, then 7 and then finally 8 knots surfing. It was exhilarating and then a little scary.

As we passed the Ship John Shoal light, we decided to drop the main sail. Bruce was on the wheel, Mary on the halyard and I moved to the mast to make sure our sail came all the way down. I looked back and watched the waves and told Bruce when to turn up. The waves were rhythmic. They built. Once a big one passed, I yelled “Now!” to be heard over the wind.  

This photograph below of the lighthouse was one we borrowed from the the Lighthouse Friends obviously taken on a much calmer day.  Definitely something we wanted to avoid in the wind, waves and rapidly approaching dark.

Bruce rounded up into the wind, Mary released the halyard and I (and the lazy jacks) flaked the sail onto the boom. I directed Bruce to continue our turn (rather than reverse back downwind) as we completed dousing the sail. Just before we came back into the wind, a final wave broke over our stern, soaking Bruce and Mary. Standing on the coach roof, I was spared.

Just past Ship John Shoal, we turned towards the Cohancey River, our chosen anchorage for the night. We had waves coming over the starboard quarter (behind and to the right), which made the next 15 minutes a little uncomfortable. It was dark by the time we neared the channel. We realized there was only one light, a green light fixed at the entrance of the river, but nothing as we moved forward.

Bruce took a flashlight forward to pick up the channel entrance and we slowly moved up the river. The Cohancey River is a serpentine entrance to Greenwich, NJ. Bruce called out the banks, and thanks to the nearly full moon and the flashlight, we were able to get around the first two turns into the recommended anchorage

Our GPS, although accurate, has a slight error, with our boat shown a hundred meters or so, out of position. I actually made an adjustment for that at the entrance of the river. From the bow, Bruce told me we were closer to the right bank and I moved over towards the left. From then on, I built that much difference into our course line. It worked and kept us from running aground. As far as alternative anchorages, there were none. It was the Cohancey River or continue in the mounting seas to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal – another 2 – 3 hours up the Bay.

Once we found a suitable anchorage, we set the hook and poured our after anchor drinks.

The evening weather report called for gale force winds on the Northern Chesapeake. We decided we would move up river in the morning to a marina in Greenwich to wait out the weather. None of us felt like cooking, so in the bright moon light we had hors d’deouves of nachos, salsa, cheese and cold grilled chicken we had cooked the night before in Cape May.

It has become Mary and my practice to cook extra food when either the stove or BBQ is lit. This saves fuel and ensures we have something for lunch while underway or a cooked (cold) meal should we not feel like cooking the next evening.

In the morning light, we could see our course from the night before. We all agreed it was not a river entrance that we should have tried in the dark.

We moved up to the river to the beautiful town of Greenwich, NJ. Greenwich is a historic community that has persevered its heritage buildings dating back to the mid 1700’s.  In the centre of town is a monument to the town’s participation in the revolt against the British tax on tea. It seems not all the tea was thrown overboard into Boston Harbor. A British ship on the Delaware, hid it’s cargo of tea in a sympathizer’s home. The townspeople burned the home as part of the protest and much of the history is based around this event.

We had breakfast in the General Store and Deli, cleaned up the boat, got caught up on sleep and then planned the next day’s events.

October 8, 2009

Greenwich, NJ

We got off the dock at first light, winding down the Cohancey River to the Delaware Bay. The air was cool, but not too cold. On the way out of the river mouth, Sojourn touched bottom in the low tide water. Just a touch!

We motor sailed, making the entrance of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (C&D) around noon. It is permissible to motor sail in the canal, but the vessel must be under power at all times. Soon after entering the canal, the wind came around and the mainsail luffed, so we took it down.

We debated stopping at the marina at Chesapeake City for some crab cakes. Mary and I had stopped there on a road trip from South Carolina a few years before.

We decided to forgo the crab cakes. The Waterway Guide said the Kitty Knight restaurant in Georgetown, MD – our destination for today – served excellent crab cakes.

We motored out of the C&D into the Elk River, following the channel to the Chesapeake Bay. I had re-read two of my favourite books on the bay: Chesapeake, by James Michner and Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner. Although I have visited spots along the Chesapeake quite a bit, I was finally going to sail on it again.

We were able to carry sail all the way down the Elk River and into the Chesapeake. Our destination was up the Sassafras River – the Georgetown Yacht Basin.

Although there are a couple of good anchorages on the Sassafras, we were all in desire of a full service marina. Tomorrow we were renting a car and driving to the Annapolis Boat Show. We had thought we might be able to sail to Annapolis, but with the weather delays, we decided not to push it.

We had dinner at the Kitty Knight House Restaurant: soft shell crab, crab cakes and crab au gratin – sense a theme? I really enjoy soft shell crab. It is the blue crab that has molted its hard shell. Just before it returns to salt water to harden the new shell, it is caught. Steamed, sautéed or fried, you eat the whole thing – shell and all.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Georgetown, MD

Enterprise Rent a Car came to pick us up at the Marina. Back up to Elkton, MD to finalize the paperwork and then down through Baltimore to Annapolis for the boat show. Mary and I had been to the show many times, but Bruce had never been. Bruce usually charters sailing catamarans and we spent extra time on the cruising cats. It is something Mary and I would both like to try.

We met up with Paul Shard (Sheryl always seemed to be off somewhere else) and toured their Southerly 42. What a boat. Their new 49 footer will be ready in January.

We went to my favourite restaurants for dinner in Annapolis – Jimmy Cantlers and ordered – wait for it – steamed crab. We got six large crabs plus a pound of shrimp and made a complete and delicious mess of the crustations. Back to Georgetown.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Georgetown, MD

A relaxing day on the boat with Mary and I running errands and getting all of the ‘little things’ we were missing or kept talking about. Dinner on board and an early to bed.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Georgetown, MD

Yep. We are still here. Off the dock to get Bruce to the airport and then back to the boat. We stayed on the dock until 3pm, doing laundry, topping up the tanks, tidying up and getting ready for a slower pace.

We declared Georgetown as the start of our cruising. Until now we had been passage making – having to maintain a schedule and be in different places at specific times. From here on it – shorter days, fewer miles each day. Each night we would anchor out and come into marina’s once or twice a week – only when we needed to.

We left the Georgetown Yacht Basin (by the way, one of the best equipped and operated marinas I have ever visited).  We motored down the Sassafras River to Turner Creek. Recommended by both of our sailing guides as a good anchorage, we had to motor around a spit of land that was barely inches below the surface.

I took the wheel and followed the directions (watching my GPS and depth very carefully) and rounded the spit to a beautiful, secluded anchorage. We anchored in 8 feet of water on a mud bottom. The anchor held well and we both slept soundly until after dawn. It felt really good to sleep so well.

Mary and Rob MacLeod

s/v Sojourn

En route to the Bahamas