Solomons MD to Delaware Bay and Great Kills NY

 

We departed our anchorage on Mill Creek, bound for St Michaels VA. The weather quickly misted over with temperatures falling to chilly. Seas were reasonable as we once again crossed Chesapeake Bay from the western shore back towards the eastern shore.

All along the waterways, we see ospreys nesting on the channel markers

All cruising plans are written on the sand shore at low tide, meaning they can change or be wiped out by tides at any time. That being said: this was one of those days. We reasoned that visiting St Michaels in the rain would be no fun, and given that we had reasonable seas, now would be a good time to continue north bound to Kent Narrows, where we would be well positioned to transit the C & D Canal in the morning.

After a restful night at anchor, we were ready for an early departure and a favorable tide to push us through the C&D Canal, allowing us to arrive for an overnight at Delaware City Marina. Here, we were well positioned for the run-down Delaware Bay to Cape May NJ.

Delaware City Marina was our overnight stop. It is rustic, but has all services required by boaters. Especially valuable to visiting cruisers is the Dockmaster’s 4pm weather and tide briefing for those departing the next day. He has spent most of his life on the water and his knowledge was invaluable and spot on.

No favorites here! 

Two Democrat chairs on the left & two Republican chairs on the right.

Delaware City as we departed

Another 6am departure, to leave the dock at slack tide without incident, and to capitalize on the tide, receiving a push down stream. As predicted, Delaware Bay was like glass, the best condition of the year so far! Two days ago, the waves were six feet, that is UGLY! It was a misty, rainy morning, but no wind. There is little to see on a good day on this body of water and even less today.

Passing by the Salem Nuclear Plant

An interesting lighthouse on Delaware Bay

The occasional large vessel that we encountered

We made good progress, reaching Cape May NJ (at the southern tip of Delaware Bay) earlier than expected, and with calm seas, even in the Atlantic, we opted to make time and run outside in the Atlantic Ocean to Atlantic City, where we spent a calm night anchored across the river from all the casinos.

The next day in Atlantic City was spent with a diesel mechanic aboard, fixing a problem that was supposedly fixed (at great expense) in Norfolk. This was a partner company, who sent a seasoned mechanic, who had the part changed and fixed in a few hours. We are firm believers in, it’s not what you did, but how you made things right and this company certainly did that. Kudos to them and especially to Marty the mechanic. Later in the day, we were up and running, putting a few miles behind us before sunset. 

We anchored in Beach Haven for the night.  Lots of beachfront homes but a quiet night was spent anchored out front. The sunset was stunning.

 

The New Jersey coastline has miles of gorgeous sand beaches. 

Every coastal town seems to have the requisite ferris wheel.

 The inside route was precarious with many shoals. Although well marked, these shoals move constantly, so what was marked from yesterday may not be so today. The marked channel was narrow and shallow, with us touching bottom a few times. Thankfully the bottom is sand and mud. 

Manasquan NJ

After a big drink of fuel (350 gallons) we headed out the choppy inlet, back into the Atlantic for the 32 mile run to Great Kills NY. There is no inside route here, so everyone must pick their weather window carefully. Today was a good day, but winds did pick up later in the afternoon, by which time we were almost into our anchorage at Great Kills Harbor.

A day of rest beckons before our early morning departure to transit New York City.

We slept well, and late for us, woke to a stormy morning. 

Weather cleared later in the day and we spotted what we thought were swans swimming in the distance with some young chicks. 

After research we learned that some species of swan (not the trumpeter swan) are native to NY. One of them, fiercely and diligently chased away any bird that came close to the young family. An enjoyable, restful day before our 6 am departure for NYC.