May 2

Chesapeake City to Colhensey River (about 30 north of Cape May)

Due to no Phone or WIFI in Hancock's Marina I am posting both May 2 and May 3 together..


The Book the Looper Companion Guide that Dianne’s relays on heavy (sometime it feed her fears sometimes it calm them) told her to time our time on the C&D canal to the tides and then coordinate that with the Delaware River currents.  It was a tough lot of research and took a lot of reviewing with her.  But it did pay off, big time saving us hours of travel time.  On the C&D canal we hit a top speed of 9 knots/hour and arrived at our dock in Hancocks Marina at noon.  Just as we were leaving the Delaware the slack tide was ending and our speed slowed to 5 knots/hours.  So the Chesapeake crab pots are all behind us and now we just have to find out where the New Jersey fishermen lay their traps for us.  


Clearly the season is just starting here as the restaurant and store in Greenwich NJ are only open Friday and Saturdays afternoon and we are the only boat in the Marina at this time.  


After arriving it took some time to calm the watch man that someone named Scott knew we were here.  Then Pat arrived and everything turned out OK.  No fuel though.  The guy that hooks that had Hip surgery and they are waiting for hime to recovery.  


After that we did the standard boat stuff, check levels, pump bilge and record the log for the trip.  Fuel gauge is still messed up.  Finished today with a higher indicated level than we left with.  It was true I could sell this boat for a fortune.  But alas I believe it is a bad gauge. Completing those tasks we took a 7 mile ride into town here and saw several home build in 1730s.  Really a nice little village but not a lot of other stuff.


Seen today

  • 3 ships (it was misty and I stayed out of the Delaware channel to Philideliphia as it was busy, but watched radar all morning)
  • 4 bridges
  • 1 sailboat
  • a peacock
  • 2 eagles
  • 1 power plant

This was Cabin boat built about 1870 and used until 1900s



See I told I saw one

May 3 


Colhansey River to Cape May 38 miles


Start out from Marina with the current so it flushed us out very quickly.  As the river is all curves it was little scary trusting the auto pilot but it does a better job with the current than I can as it moves faster.  


Again we were moving before 7am to take advantage of the current and get better seas.  The plan worked for the first 2 hours of the 6 hours total we to be out.  After that the wind picked up and tide shift to slightly against us.  Two problems became clear when this happened, it was rougher than we like it and it was going to be long run to Cape May.  Everything moved around the boat including us but nothing fell down that was breakable.  There was not a Small Craft advisor but it sure felt bumpy enough to be one.  


Navionics Auto routing put us through a small canal for the final 200 feet to the marina.  Only problem was a low bridge only 100 ft from the dock.  I had to turn around and come down the from the main harbor.  


Looks like tomorrow we will run down the Atlantic Coast to Atlantic City.   That should be an experience.  What I am learning is even we do not move fast most things move about the same speed and therefore there is little to worry about.  Plenty of time to fix all the directions needed to avoid problems.  This makes me relax more while driving.  


Stuff seen Today

  • 11 small fishing boats
  • 1 large fishing boat
  • 10 ships
  • 2 barges
  • 1 bald egale 
  • 4 crab pots
  • 2 nets (at least that is what they looked like)
  • 1 small tow working on laying pipe along the canal
  • 1 shallow water warning due charts being miss labeled (or me not listening to Dianne) 



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