Our First Weekend Off....In Months

I know some of you are chuckling, thinking that we are off having a grand ol' time, a great adventure, and an extended vacation. And your right, but holy crap its a lot of hard work, with very few days off.

I want to apologize to those who have tried to leave comments and can't. One of my frequent readers, (hi Mom), mentioned to me that she tried to leave comments and couldn't. So I finally got around to figuring it out, and it was a setting, that has now been set to everyone. Which means everyone and anyone can leave comments!! However, there are some readers of this blog that are of an influential age, so some of you should refrain from telling me what you really think of me. Please remember of the children, and comment responsibly.

Well, it has been quite the bag drive for the last 4 days, from leaving New York to arriving in Chesapeake City. But we have covered the longest trips we need to make. The only one left now is the crossing from Florida to the Bahamas, but not for a little while. There are four really long trips on the way south; crossing Lake Ontario, New York to Cape May, Cape May to the Chesapeake, and Florida to the Bahamas. Most of these can be broken down into shorter trips, but sometimes its just easier to get er' done.

We left Cape May at 06:50 in the morning. We would have been earlier, but I found the fuel leak in the engine, and it was getting bad, so it needed to be dealt with. Way back in the summer I found that the bleed screw on the fuel filter had some issues, and now it wouldn't seal at all. Good luck finding a screw to replace it, but as I was looking at the engine, thinking we were going to be stuck in Cape May waiting for parts, I noticed that a screw holding a fuel line bracket looked awfully close. Ta da..... the screw was slightly longer, so it got into some of the virgin threads on the fuel filter port. Problem solved. Unfortunately it means we need to replace the engine mounted fuel filter when we get to Annapolis.

So we left a little late for the outgoing tide. Thanks to our new friend Ron, and despite our lack of understanding of tides and currents, we had a good window to make the run through the notoriously nasty Delaware Bay. South west winds, and a favorable 8 hour + current. We traveled through the Cape May canal towards the bay, but when we got there, the winds were coming out of the west, causing a wind against tide situation. I'm thinking to myself, didn't really learn huh.... It was nasty, not as bad as the Sandy Hook New Jersey situation of a previous blog, but bad enough in its own right. And just to add to the excitement, a large ferry was trying to make the exit as well. We hear on the radio, "small sailboat leaving the Cape May Canal, this is the Ferry bla bla bla...". So I returned, "Ferry leaving the Cape May Canal, this is the small sailboat Vita, over".

Ferry: Captain, is that as fast as you can go
Me: Yes, I am topped out
Ferry: I am going as slow as I can, can you please move to the north after passing the end of the breakwater
Me: Roger that, I will move to the north as soon as I clear the breakwater, Vita out.

You'd move too.

Because of the shallow water throughout the bay, the Delaware is known for its horrible nasty chop when the wind picks up. And it was bad, but being a Bay of Quinte sailor, it was like being at home. We managed to motor sail with a yankee and reefed main, but we couldn't keep a fair course. That lasted for about 3 hours, and finally the weatherman started being a little nicer, it was never good, but at least things quieted down and we managed to make the entire run to Chesapeake City, including a stop for fuel at a local marina within the normal 12 hr time frame.

Now this is a channel marker!

Things I learned about the Delaware Bay.

1. Travel on the incoming tide;
2. Watch out for crab pots, they're everywhere, marked with floats of some colour;
3. Its only 50 statute miles, everyone says 50 miles, but they don't tell you which kind. (a statute mile is quite a bit shorter than a nautical mile)
4. Watch out for oyster beds, marked with white pipes or sticks;
5. Its probably going to be choppy;
7. Serena can still cook lunch in bad weather; and
6. Watch out for crab pots, I mentioned that, right?.

Chesapeake City. We love Chesapeake City, if only because it is a chance for us to relax after such a hectic start to our trip south. They like boaters here. The City dock is free for one night. The anchorage is free for 3 nights, the marina charges $5 for a shower to those at anchor, there is wifi, and, no one has made us feel unwelcome yet, which is nice. The unfortunate thing is that there is nothing here. Some very over-priced restaurants, and a pile of antiques. But no hardware store, no groceries, not even a convenience store. No pump-out for the poo tank, limited marine supplies(very limited), and we haven't found the laundry yet. We'll have to ask at the town hall tomorrow. There is gas and diesel, but it is in the canal, and you want to be very careful at what time you get fuel, the currents here can get very strong. However, its quiet, there are no wakes, no wild winds, and so far, knock on wood, no bugs.

You should have seen this baby trying to dock with the current throwing her around like a rag doll. Very pretty ship though.

Tomorrow we relax some more, get some boat projects done, and maybe walk to the gas station down the highway. We here it isn't all that far, and it is supposed to have a convenience store. We'll have to see how that goes. But bread and milk would be nice.

Under protest, and the threat of warm beer, I enter the following exibit, A. The plantif, (Serena), says that some things never change.

However, in my defense, when the dowel that holds the roll went flying and landed under the grated floor, I was not going fish it out in the rough seas we were bashing through on the Delaware. I did get out another roll and place it on the seat beside the toilet. She took the picture because she forgot to take a picture of a alleged event or two that may have taken place in the recent past, where the same toilet paper holder was left unfilled. Of course, with no documented proof that said situation(s) occurred, she made an attempt to falsify the evidence in this particular instance to prove a point. Although, she was the one who eventually fished out the dowel and dried it and replaced the roll.

Rob and Serena - Cruising in paradise.