Two Bays and two Canals and a layover in the Solomons

Once again we are underway. We are leaving Great Kills Staten Is. NY under sunny skies and fair winds. We have to arrange our departure time so that it will be in our favour to arrive in Cape May NJ just after noon tomorrow which will allow for the current and tide. That means we will be sailing overnight when the winds will be about 5 knots so it will mean a motor sail again. We have done a lot of this type on sailing on this trip as the winds are usually against us most of the way but it's okay as long as we can sail once we get south.

Jack and I have been taking turns at the helm and the coastline of New Jersey looks quite sandy.  We were sailing about four miles off shore and there in the distance was Atlantic City.  Looking back at NYC after it got dark, you could see the Empire State Building lit up for thirty five miles.  The night was very clear , no cloud cover at all and I ( Jack ), thought that there was a lot of stars out until I looked at them with the binoculars, there was millions of them.  I've never seen so many.

We were told by several people if we were going to go into Atlantic City to watch for the shifting sandbars.  Marinas in the area could be reasonable but you would have a ways to go to get to the action.  The marinas to access Atlantic City with no commute run about $6.00 per foot.  Whoops there goes my gambling money. As we had great sea conditions, we continued on to Cape May and saved ourselves a few dollars. In the early morning I took a picture of Atlantic City as the sun was rising. It looked like it was coming out of the water and following us down the coastline as we passed it. When Jack got up he said it`s still here.  You have it in view for about 14 hours or more.

Atlantic City at Sunrise

Finally Atlantic City disappears and Cape May comes into view.  Well I held my breath for a bit as I can here Ron`s voice telling me how terrible it was for him and Meg when they arrived here. Fortunately the wind was down the tide was right and once again we came in without any problems.  Ron it must be the time of year. We found a nice place and got some much needed sleep.

The next morning we went through the Cape May Canal and headed up Delaware Bay. Well stayed in the channel and saw lots of water but had to fight a bit of current against us.  When we got to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, we anchored outside of the shipping lanes for the night.  I was a little uneasy about anchoring here as we seemed to be in the open and too close too the shipping channel.  Right after we anchored, a rather large tugboat and barge anchored about 400 yards away from us  and they were lit up like a small city.  That, and Jack's assurances that we were in a good spot eased my mind.  Needless to say he had no problem through out the night, even with the tides changing direction.  In the morning our time for a favourable tide to help us through the C & D Canal was 1000, so we had a little bit of a sleep in until 0700.

 Cape May

 C & D Canal  What is wrong with this picture? Answer at bottom.

Bald Eagle in the C&D Canal

It was uneventful, no large ships or tugs with barges, just a few bridges that were about 135 feet high to go under but that was about all.  We have been very surprised that we have not run into more commercial traffic, although we did have our fair share of it in Delaware Bay.

The  C & D Canal took us to the Chesapeake Bay.  The first night we went up the Sassafras River and found a nice spot to anchor.  We stayed there for two days just to chill out and wait out a bit of weather. Our next stop was Annapolis and sent three days there on a mooring ball as the weather was going to be stormy for a day or two.  We also met up with a Dave and Lisa aboard Ki Ola Ki who we first met in Quebec and then again in Halifax.

I must say the perspective coming into Annapolis was quite different than from shore. From shore it looked huge but coming into the bay it seemed quite small but it was a nice spot to send a few days.

 Approaches to Annapolis

Moorings at Annapolis

We had to get some groceries and beer so we thought that we would go ashore and grab a bite. Of course football rules in these parts, so we stayed and watched a half game and had a couple.  Each different bar around here supports different teams.  The locals go to their team bar to watch the game.

One day we went ashore and did the Annapolis Naval Academy Tour.  It was quite an interesting place to visit.  On our way back to the boat we went for a walk and did some site seeing and started looking for a place to stop for a coffee and tea but took a look at the sky and thought better of it and headed back to the dinghy. When we got to the dinghy we had to wade through three inches of water that was over the city sidewalk to get to it.  That was surge water from the high winds that day and the high tide. When we left it there it was up against a wall, now it was floating above it and it hadn't rained yet.  As soon as we stepped on our boat the heavens let loose. We were lucky again with the timing.

General Meeting Area at Naval Academy

 Cadets Residence

Inside Cadets Residence

Cadets at lunch. By the way girls they are all single, no married men or women allowed.

Dome inside of on site church.  Everything is on site.

After three days in Annapolis we went to St. Michaels MD. It was a cute spot but we anchored and were not too comfortable with the site we anchored at so the next day we moved on to the Solomons Is. MD. That is where are now.  We went up to the top of the river and found a nice spot for anchoring in shallow water but it was quiet and pretty. We heard that some bad weather was coming in and swells were going to be 3 to 4 feet and we were in less than 8 feet of water so we decided to move up to where there were some mooring balls in about 11 feet of water.

 Solomons Bay

View of Solomons from Bridge

 

We met a very nice couple, Mike & Willie (Wilma) McCarey, that have been keeping a boat in the Solomons Island area for forty years.  They drove us to the grocery store and picked us up when we were finished, then took us to dinner where we exchanged sailing stories of our trip getting here and of their favourite places along the Chesapeake.  The Chesapeake is such a great place to sail and gunkhole.

Tiki Bar or Easter Island?

The answer to the question in the blog, "what's wrong with this picture?"
There is a golf cart on the dock.