3 May 2026
Depart: Tidewater Marina, Havre de Grace, MD 7:20 a.m.
Arrive: Cape May, NJ anchorage 5:40
Distance: ~ 83 nm
We planned an early start given we had a long way to go today. One issue with staying in a marina when time is of the essence is the amount of work involved in leaving. Instead of just pulling in an anchor, power cords have to be pulled in and stowed as do multiple dock lines. It's not complicated, but it eats away the minutes.
To preclude any unnecessary delay, we decided to eat breakfast underway. Since we had a chilly morning, I planned to make Clark a hot breakfast of an egg sandwich that he could easily eat while piloting the boat. I had a nice hot cup of tea planned for me to help me warm up!
To save space in the holding tank, we walked up to use the marinas heads instead of the one onboard. The sun was low in the sky as I walked up to use the facilities. I thought about how different this marina would look when all the sailboats currently "on the hard" would be in the water instead of sitting on dry land.
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| Sunrise at Tidewater Marina Havre de Grace, MD |
Our travels today took us from the marina at Havre de Grace, Maryland in Upper Chesapeake Bay around Turkey Point onto the Elk River to the C&D Canal. We exited the C&D canal at the Delaware River which took us south to the Cape May Canal with the state of Delaware to the west of us on the Delaware River and New Jersey to the east. As we exited the Cape May Canal, we could see the water tower for the US Coast Guard station where we would search nearby for a place to drop our anchor.
Once again, I took far too many pictures. As we covered over 80 miles today, there was a lot to see along the way.
Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I have a weak spot for tugs, so ...
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| busy working on the Elk River |
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| Remote Camera? |
We saw buoys with a different shape than we are used to seeing -- skinny top and wider base.
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| Another structure |
On shore we could see a few houses with huge tents. The first one we saw made me think they had a backyard wedding over the weekend, but then we saw another house closer to the shoreline where the structure looked permanent with steps and landscaping.
I suggested that perhaps it is an elaborate pool cover. The houses associated with these structures show signs of wealth.
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| Huge tent on a private property |
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| Another one gave us a closer look |
One thing for sure, the osprey have been very busy along here. I felt sorry for them as they were all hunkered down in their nests keeping their eggs warm. It was a breezy and brisk day!
Many of the aids to navigation had nests upon them with an osprey tucked in tight.
We enjoyed a fast ride through here at 10.6 knots with the current. That is a full 2 knots above normal cruise speed at similar RPM.
We turned onto the C&D Canal and first passed Schaefer's
with pilot boats nearby to assist the freighters that come through the canal, and then
Chesapeake City. Clark point out that the free, town dock here had plenty of space today. Normally when we come by, we find it full of boats.
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| Free, town dock at Chesapeake City, DE |
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| Chesapeake Inn, Chesapeake City, DE |
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| Chesapeake City, DE |
As we passed under the various bridges spanning the C&D Canal, I wondered about the construction of the canal, the explorers who decided a canal would be good idea, the surveyors who helped make it happen, and the major accomplishment of building it. Per the internet, much of the canal was dug 10 feet deep and 66 feet wide by Irish immigrants.
The idea for a canal to be located here dates back to the 17th century. Construction of the canal was completed in 1829. Opening this 14-mile long canal cut over 300 miles off the water voyage from Philadelphia to Baltimore!
As we approached the Delaware River, we could hear and see a helicopter hovering just beyond the trees. We could not see what was holding his attention and keeping him stationary.
Clark said he thought he saw something being lifted up to the helicopter, but I could see no cables.
Shortly thereafter, we got our first look at New Jersey and the power plant located there.
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| Ahoy New Jersey! |
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| Fisher people braving the chill in the air |
Our trip down the Delaware River was uneventful. We passed a yellow can marking an anchorage
The tide at the northern end of the Delaware River was against us by a knot or so, but the further along we went the less pushback we got. Until the tide was with us and our speed increased as we moved southward.
Several miles later, we found ourselves at the entrance to the Cape May Canal with the entry blocked by an exiting ferry on its way to Lewes, Delaware. They have priority and we waited our turn.
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| Birds following along |
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| Bye bye ferry |
Once he was out of the way, we could continue onwards.
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| Scene at the entrance to the Cape May Canal |
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| Ferry Terminal |
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| Wading birds = Low tide on the canal |
A green ball was anchored and floating on the canal; its purpose was unknown to us,
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but, perhaps, it has something to do with the dredging operation nearby.
Many homes sit along the edge of the canal, and some industry-related structures as well.
Many of the homes had stairways down to the canal.
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| Overgrown with trees and weeds |
We passed by a decrepit, old railroad bridge no longer in use, and hoped no parts would fall off as we came through the opening in the bridge.
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| We passed to the left side of this section of bridge. |
Later, we passed by a marina with many, many boats "on the hard". Soon all those boats will be buzzing around on the canal!
We passed some docked USCG boats.
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| "Angel McShan" and "Rollin Fritchin" |
In peak "migration" season, it can be hard to find a spot to drop anchor here. A few boats were already anchored as we approached, and another dropped anchor as we made our way towards the anchorage.
We dropped our anchor twice. The first time it went in Clark decided our stern was too close to shore and we needed to be further out. As the anchor came out of the water, I signaled Clark to stop. A horseshoe crab was clinging to the anchor line. It looked like a baby compared in size to some I have seen. A few seconds later it dropped off back into the water, and I signaled for Clark to continue lifting.
The second time we lowered the anchor, we decided it would be okay. Clark was a little concerned with how close we were to the channel, but we had no issues throughout the night.
Later, Clark ran out an grabbed a sunset picture for the blog! We had taken one a little earlier, but this one was much richer in color.
4 May 2026
Depart: Cape May, NJ anchorage 7:00 a.m.
Arrive: Atlantic Highlands, NJ anchorage 8:10 p.m.
Distance: ~ 114 nm
Clark said we had to travel all the way up the coast of New Jersey to Sandy Hook today, or we would have to hang out somewhere for some unknown number of days until the ocean behaved itself enough for us to move.
The prediction for today was waves 3' to 5' in height from a southerly direction, so they would be pushing us along. Predictions for the next day appeared to be from a northerly direction and 6' and higher in size. We definitely saw some of the 5' flavor. It was a bit rocky for a while until we had the boat pointed in the same direction as the waves were traveling.
114 nautical miles translates into about 132 statute miles. Our speed varied by about 1.5 knots depending if a wave was carrying us or had deposited us back down. The numbers registered from 7 knots to 10 knots. It took us just over 13 hours to cover 130 miles, so we must have averaged about 10 mph.
Temperatures yesterday were rather chilly, and we were not on the ocean yesterday. Our full enclosure is normally not quite a full enclosure as we leave out one small panel blocking the doorway to the stern. I suggested that it would be warmer if that panel was in place, so Clark retrieved it from storage and installed it.
Great! We were definitely warmer since it cut off the northern breeze blowing up our stern, but it also cut off access to me stepping outside the enclosure quickly to take pictures. Thus today, pictures were at a minimum since I had no easy access out of the enclosure and very little but waves to look at!
I grabbed a sunrise picture before we got underway!
with a view of the USCG station as well.
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| USCG Station early morning |
We were several miles offshore for the entire day. The only picture I took while on the ocean was of the rides in The Wildwoods.
As we rounded Sandy Hook, NJ, I looked over to see the VZ bridge and NYC. They were buried in a haze.
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| Verrazano Bridge, NY |
Coming into where we planned to anchor near Atlantic Highlands, NJ, we saw a long-standing and familiar building.
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| Eastpointe Condominiums Highlands, NJ |
The sun was set by the time we dropped anchor in Atlantic Highlands. Clark and I debated the whole way up the coast, should we anchor or should we try to go all the way home. I made the final decision as we rounded Sandy Hook that we would not be docking in the dark tonight, so dropping anchor became the plan.
Covering 114 nautical miles in 13 hours of travel was quite sufficient for one day! Combining that with the 10 hours we traveled yesterday and the 83 nm covered, we racked up almost 200 nautical miles (230 statute miles) in 23 hours! It was time to catch our breath before the final leg of the voyage.
Just before I took on anchor duty, I snapped a sunset picture of the sailboats moored here at the Atlantic Highlands marina.
I cooked enough meat and vegetables last night to be able to have leftovers tonight. We had the anchor down at 8:10 and food on the table by 8:30! Yay me! Anxious to get the last Havre de Grace blog update published, I focused on that task for the remainder of the night while Clark watched a movie on television.
