We left Baltimore about 0630 on July 28 in order to catch the current at the C&D canal and the forecast was for storms later in the day. As per usual there was no wind to speak of so we motored down the Patapsco River and up the Bay to the mouth of the canal. The Bay was fairly quiet because it was during the week. Had we made the trip on a weekend day it would have been bustling with watercraft of all kind.
The dawn's early light over the glass water in Baltimore harbor by Fort McHenry.
As we got close to the entrance to the canal we began to see our speed increase as the current was turning in our favor. In the C&D the tide floods to the east and ebbs to the west unlike the usual pattern in the western hemisphere where the tide generally floods west. Since the current in the canal can run up to 2 kts that can make 4 kts difference in speed. For us that means doing the 15 nm of the canal at 9 kts or 5 kts.
As we made our way through the canal the skies turned threatening and the thunder storms that were predicted for later were upon us earlier than expected. We had hoped we could get to the anchorage with the hook down before it hit but it hit. We thought about ducking into a marina but we tried calling them but they didn't answer. We found out later the power was out in that area. So we motored with only a few more miles to our anchorage.
The channel in the Northern Chesapeake Bay.
The squall abated as we headed into the Delaware River with thunder storms around in many directions. We planned to anchor behind Reedy Island which is just a few miles south of the canal and in relatively deep water and fairly protected. There was only one challenge. The area is protected by a stone dike that runs from the south of Reedy Island for a few miles but there is a cut through that is marked with lighted marks and there is at least a knot of river current on both sides so while you won't touch bottom you could crash into the rocks. So when we began to approach the cut a new squall blew up adding a few more challenges to getting through this narrow cut. So with high winds, fast current and heavy rain we made it through to a calmer inside but we motored around until the squall ended before we tried to anchor.
With it still raining but not blowing as hard we dropped the hook and I began paying out chain. With about 25' out I had Linda try to get some power back to help get it set and when she did the anchor caught with such force that I thought we must be fouled. But we got it set and put to bed thinking I may need to swim on it in the morning if it is caught. Squalls continued all night with winds up to 30 kts and lots of rain.
When we awoke in the morning the squalls were continuing but the winds had shifted from SE to NW and a ketch that had gone in after we did was now much closer than it was when we went to bed. With 20 kts of NW wind the boat bobbed closer. Fortunately the current was going the other way so there was some resistance to its movement. There was nobody on deck and we had no way to contact them so I blew the air horn several times to try and rouse them but to no avail. The noise of the wind and rain made it unlikely they could hear it at their distance.
View of Hope Creek Nuclear plant across from our anchorage showing the ominous skies and wind blowing the steam.
The Town of Cape May from the ocean. Good to be back on blue water again.
When the current began to abate we pulled up the anchor before they got closer and to our surprise it came right up. We weren't fouled which we hoped would be a good omen. With the wind behind us the current soon changed and we tried to sail but it soon dropped to less than 10 kts dead behind us. Given the distance and weather threats we opted to continue motoring.
About half-way down the Delaware Bay we began to notice flies attacking us. We started swatting them but it seemed like the more we killed the more there were. Pretty soon there were flies all over and around the boat that came from nowhere. We continued swatting them, used insect repellent but nothing seemed to reduce their number or intensity. Soon there were so many fly corpses we couldn't spot the living from the dead. This continued until we got close to the sea breeze by Cape May Point and they started to disappear. The few remaining ones we quickly dispatched and going up the Cape May coast was relatively peaceful but the cockpit, the coamings and rails were covered in fly entrails. A guy at the marina said the storm the night before blew them offshore and they went for the first thing they could find.
Enjoyed a nice couple of days at Cape May riding out the remaining storms with plans to leave Monday for Block Island. But the weather for BI Sound didn't look good for Tuesday so after extensive consideration we decided to leave Cape May on Sunday with the threat of storms. A decision I hope we would not regret. There was another boat in Cape May from Annapolis named Discovery and they were doing their first New England trip and planned to leave Sunday for Newport.
Sunday morning we were still checking weather and it looked like we might have wind to sail before motoring. Also looked like storms to our north would be clearing out so we opted for leaving around
Sunset in Cape May.
8 rather than sunrise. We left at 0820 on a heading of about 060 which took us just off the Jersey coast line. We saw showers all around and one did go over us but didn't last long.
Threatening skies the night before departure. Partial view of Discovery.
Wildwood from the sea.
Atlantic City from about 5 miles off shore.
There was no wind to speak of for most of the day but about mid-afternoon we caught a moderate easterly breeze that helped us motor sailing with some lift but so far so good. We used our Go and checked weather about 2100 and the forecast was still the same. About midnight we saw storms passing by in different directions but none right where we were. Then about 0100 we had a squall pass right over us with lots of wind and lightning. Not much rain but it kicked up the seas and the wind was right on our nose.
A squall behind us as it got late in the day.
The seas became confused with wind generated chop coming right at us with a previous southeasterly swell to our beam and the seas were building. The winds were running 25-30+ kts directly on our nose. +/- 10 deg off the bow. Swells quickly built to 6-8' with some waves probably 10'. We slogged on although I brought in the sails because they were just flogging in the wind. Hoping that we might catch a break at sunrise.
As the sun rose it only made the wave heights more visible but no relief. By this time we were about 12 miles off the coast of south central Long Island so I fell off the wind and pulled out the sails to get lift and we went more northerly hoping that being in closer would reduce the chop against us. It worked and with the sails we improved our speed and as we got in close the waves became less punishing. We tried a tack or 2 but the lift gained was not enough to improve our speed getting back out into the bigger waves so we stayed in and followed the shoreline with the wind close but waves manageable.
Montauk light at the end of Long Island.
As we continued the wind calmed down to 10-15 and we kept a decent speed. We made it to Block Island about 1730 Monday. Last year in absolute calm we made it here in about 30 hrs. This trip took us about 33 hours even with the conditions.
Boats anchored in Great Salt Pond on Block Island upon our arrival.
We had 2 radio conversations with Discovery during the trip but after the squall hit I didn't reach out to them again because we were too busy with everything going on as I'm sure they were. We lost contact with them but hope they also made it. Hope we see them again.
We left Baltimore knowing the weather could become challenging and it did. We left Baltimore in nearly 100 degree heat and got to Block Island it was in the 60's. The weather front that came through made all the difference and the challenges for us. It made some long days and nights. We lost a boat hook that got washed off the boat but it was a cheap one that was on the boat when we got it. We still have the good one we brought over.
We celebrated another successful passage and look forward to having some fun on these islands with no palm trees.
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