We have a couple of weather-related false starts before we depart Atlantic Highlands. Originally we were going to leave Wednesday, but the winds were forecast to be pretty strong and we knew that once we left Atlantic Highlands, we wouldn’t have many options for protected places to stop before Cape May. A little frustrating since we wanted to take advantage of the long Thanksgiving weekend to make some serious progress, but once the wind starts picking up, we are glad that we waited an extra day, .. Sailor Jerry once again joins us.
On Thursday, it’s a bit chilly (40 degrees) but clear and sunny. We have perfect wind out of the west/northwest all day and night and are able to make the whole trip to Cape May in ~21 hours on a single tack with a full main and jib. This trip is top shelf: we have a whale sighting, we manage our first [moderately] successful attempt at sailing in shifts of 2 hours, and the Boat Chef makes her debut preparing a full Thanksgiving dinner while cruising and heeled over to port (our galley is on the starboard side).
We reach Cape May at 1:30am the following morning and drop anchor for the night right by the USCG.
The next morning we set out at 7am, following other cruisers’ advice on how to ensure good timing for Delaware Bay and through the C&D Canal: if you leave Cape May at approximately two hours after low tide, you’ll have favorable current both up the Delaware Bay as well as through the C&D Canal. Worked perfectly as we motorsailed up the Bay, we were going 9 knots by the time we reached the Canal! The water is calm, the sun is out and the weather is a balmy 50 degrees; I celebrate by wearing a T-shirt.
The C&D Canal is a lot like the Cape Cod Canal. We stop at Schaefer’s for fuel, a beer, and a “snack”. Jerry was so excited to be back in Maryland that he couldn’t resist getting got a softshell crab sandwich. (And admittedly, I was so excited about all the Old Bay and crab items on the menu that I wanted to try all the appetizers.) Naturally Jerry knows the owner of Schaefer’s through some completely random set of tangentially related friends.
From the Canal, we continue on for an hour to our planned anchorage in Veazey Cove at the top of Chesapeake Bay. It’s now after dark and trusting that the chart depth (9ft) is not too inaccurate, we should be able to squeeze into the anchorage unscathed. Nope! When we are about 10 min from the anchorage, we suddenly stop and realize we are stuck in the mud! We sheepishly drop anchor right there and decide to leave early AM before low tide — and before everyone wakes up and sees us.
Next morning we have another sunny day, this time with a bit more wind (8-10kts) and sail for about 6 hours down the Chesapeake towards Annapolis. Jerry is beaming the whole way down the Bay.
The spread:
Creeky in Annapolis!