June 18, 2014 Wednesday leaving Chesapeake City

Woke up early to the other boats leaving our anchorage.  Tide going against the direction we want to go but soon to change (in from the Delaware Bay).

Pulled anchor around 0800 and set off east thru the C&D canal (Chesapeake and Delaware Canal) with an out going tide  Weather clear, 80 F. and winds WSW 10 miles/hr.  Speed was average 4 knots.
0900-Pulled into Summit Marina for gas, back on the canal in 30 min.
1030-Exited the canal into the Delaware River, with the tidal current and wind current we did 8.3 kts.  Once past the Salem Nuclear Power Plant speed dropped  to 6.3 kts.  Tide has started turning coming in or against us. 50 miles from the canal to Cape May.  May be a long day.  Charts and information report weather can change in different parts of the River rapidly and is very remote with only few shallow rivers along the sides with it widening out to the ocean and farther from shore and very shallow a few miles off shore.  Waterway Guide reports the skills of the navigator are likely to be tested here since only GPS can be used as navigation rather than the red and green markers.  Big ships might rumble by at full speed, more mindful of their draft than they are of you.  A boat must be able to proceed on her own to a safe harbor some distance away along stretches of coastlines belonging to Delaware or New Jersey. The Bay is reported to be considered by many boaters to be rough, tedious and inhospitable but on the other hand remote and lonely mystique with great appeal for adventurous mariners who enjoy exploring. Very treacherous place to be with varying winds and weather.  We were nervous after the Chesapeake Bay adventure.  Soon after we turned southeast from the Nuclear plant the dreaded flies attacked us.  The waterway guide warned of these terrible biting flies called Greenheads, they appear during the day from the end of June until beginning of Sept, unless wind is coming off the ocean, they are cousins of the horsefly have been known to bite through clothing and leave large painful whelps.  Mosquitos are troublesome after sunset.  Great, we not only get a mystique adventure but flies with it.  And yes, as we passed the Nuclear Plant, Curt brought out the fly swatter and started murdering the regular looking flies that bit like the horsefly.  So we had a bloody mess on the boat, literally bloody mess.  And instead of taking over steering the boat to let the other person rest, we took over killing flies before they attacked us 3 or 4 at a time biting severely, and rested steering.  Weather and current okay but slowly down still, promise of current to change soon and be going out making our speed pickup again.  We were killing flies constantly for 6 hours down this Bay.  The boat was a mess, and they kept coming swarming over their dead to suck out the blood from their own.
2000-Pulled into Miss Chris Marina in Cape May right off the C&D canal, very shallow waterway, in fact the depth finder didn't register when we pulled into the slip, meaning 3 ft or less.  Storms and winds promised for during the night so we took it anyway since it was the cheapest in town.  Actually it is a fishing boat marina with public bathrooms, no showers but tied up in a slip with electricity for the air conditioner since it was in the high 90's today and high 80's as we pulled in.  We can manage for a 1 night stay.  Walked over to the WaWa convenience store for bottled water and hot dogs and chips for supper, good on the grill with potatoes and fresh green beans steamed in the foil pack on the grill.  Sad not to take time to go look around Cape May but too far to walk and too tired and late to get the bikes out.

 Chesapeake City, the Inn and marina in the little basin, we went in to town after making sure the anchor hooked well looking for ice cream, walked into this Rest./Bar and found they had Brick Oven Pizza for half price tonight.  Score! Caribbean Pizza for supper $6.00, large too.  Chocolate Ice Cream cones too, 2 please, reg. size $6.00, ouch, not so cheap.  Good though, hadn't had pizza for a long time.

 Leaving the anchorage in the basin over to the left in the back

 Chesapeake City, South side of the canal, cute old houses that have been redone

 flock of geese walking over to the edge of the park to say goodbye to us

 bridge before Chesapeake City and looking down the canal at two boats going with the current not against like us

 Salem Nuclear power plant

 Ship John Shoal Lighthouse down the Delaware River with multiple other light houses all abandoned but some like below the light still works.  I think this is the Miah Maull Shoal light

 coming into Cape May from the Delaware Bay about 5 miles out we saw tons of dead fish floating on the water approx. 10 inches long, not sure what had killed them but I would guess 100 to 500 hundred total, some areas were absolutely covered with them floating on the water.  Below sundown from the back of the boat.  Settled in as the lightning flashing the horizon and happy our Delaware Bay crossing uneventful. :-)