Heading Down Delaware Bay - Post 2

Delaware Bay has the reputation of being a difficult body of water to traverse for several reasons. There is a lot of commercial traffic with cargo ships and barges and it is a very shallow body of water which can be problematic, particularly for deep draft vessels. Lastly, the current can really make for a challenging trip, particularly for sailboats.

Rosalind

The distance from our anchorage just outside the C&D Canal to Cape May, New Jersey, was between 52 and 57 nautical miles (96 and 106 km) depending on whether we got to Cape May through the Cape May Canal or the ocean inlet. Our strategy was the following: get out at first light and head down the Bay as fast as we could. By doing so, we sacrificed the first two hours of favorable current but avoided starting out in complete darkness. Even though we have radar and receive automatic identification system (AIS) signals, we felt the risk of confusing aides to navigation with background lights was still significant. So we decided to start at first light and take the current/tides penalty at the end of the trip when we neared Cape May.

The unanticipated challenge was raising the anchor in almost 3 knots (5 km/h) of current. We had been warned to really set the anchor well to avoid dragging because of the swift current. Now we had the challenge of getting the anchor unstuck in that same swift current. It took us the better part of half an hour, and as soon as the anchor was dislodged, Cheryl had to get Rosalind pointed south and get some water flowing past the rudder in order to get some steerage. We had coordinated our plan and it all worked out; the anchor was up and we were soon heading south. Leaving the anchorage at first light was definitely a wise call as the area around Delaware City was full of shore lights and shipping traffic.

Main Channel Light #32 (with Northbound Current), Delaware Bay

We flew down Delaware Bay occasionally reaching 8 knots (15 km/h) via the combination of sails, motor, and current. Shipping traffic was light and visibility was good, and in early afternoon we were at the entrance of the Cape May Canal. This canal is much narrower than the C&D Canal, is shallower, and has a vertical clearance of 55 ft (17 m) limited by two fixed bridges. 

Cockpit, Motoring down Delaware Bay

We selected to go through the Canal, given our mast clearance of 46 ft (14 m). With strong current against us, it took a while to get through the 3 mile (6 km) canal. Going though the Canal was challenging not only because of the adverse current but because of the wakes caused by very fast moving powerboats. There are the remains of a old swing bridge in the canal, and while the bridge no longer needs to be negotiated vertically, there is only room for one way traffic between the remaining dolphins (foundations). Powerboats were flying in both directions and we had a particularly large boat pass us just before we got to the remnants of the old bridge. The wake caused a mess, tossing all 18,000 lbs (8,200 kg) of Rosalind for a wild ride and it took some effort to hang on. What was amazing was that the offending captain was completely unaware of the mess his wake was making and cheerfully waved to us as he zoomed by! It got a little hairy in the canal for a while but we were finally through it.

Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey Ferry

When we left Galesville we were so excited to head out that we did not pay much attention to the calendar. So here we were heading into Cape May on the weekend before the Fourth of July. It was getting late in the day, and with the strong current, we were not about to go wandering around the congested harbor to look for a place to drop the hook. There is really only one good anchorage with limited space. So, with the holiday approaching, we decided not to take a chance but to see if we could get a marina for a day or two to provision and stage for our offshore trip north. It took several calls but we finally found a marina that had a slip and enough water to accommodate our five foot (1.5 m) draft.