Around the Delmarva Peninsula, Part One

I have had a dream to sail Breeze On to the Bahamas and spend the winter there. Many people from this area or farther north who sail to the Bahamas do so by taking their boats down the intercoastal waterway (ICW) and then sail to the Bahamas from Florida. We bought Breeze On before I thought about going to the Bahamas so we didn't take her 64'+ mast height into consideration. Since the fixed bridges along the ICW have a 65' clearance it is too close for comfort to try take Breeze On down the (ICW). So, the only other way to get to the Bahamas is to sail on the ocean. We don't have experience sailing several days straight so the thought of that kind of trip is really intimidating. In order to gain more experience sailing in the ocean and sailing overnight, we signed up to participate in the World Cruising Club's Delmarva Rally. The Rally takes a week to circumnavigate the Delmarva peninsula by starting in Annapolis, going down the Chesapeake Bay, out into the Atlantic, then into the Delaware Bay, across the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal, then down the Chesapeake and back to Annapolis. We were scheduled to go with the rally last June but my cancer got in the way of those plans. George and I decided to go around the Delmarva Peninsula on our own. We weren't able to fit that trip in last year so I have been especially motivated to do it as early as possible this year. I wanted to make sure we did it before sailing to the Bahamas this fall.

This past week seemed to be a good time to go. We initially planned to go in a counter-clockwise direction and sail from Cambridge, MD to Cape Charles, VA; Cape Charles, VA to Cape May, NJ; and Cape May, NJ home to Cambridge. Each leg would take 24 hours, plus or minus a few hours. We would rest a night between each leg before starting on the next. The winds seemed to be more favorable to sail in a clockwise direction so that is what we did.

Our goals for the trip were:

• Practice sailing at night and increase my comfort level with night sailing (i.e., reduce my terror).
• See how I coped with lack of sleep. I am a person who likes my sleep and don't cope well when I am sleep deprived.
• Learn to cope with motoring if the winds are too light or from the wrong direction. George and I love to sail and are not especially fond of motoring. We have found that limiting our trips according to the wind has limited how far we have been able to travel.
• See how we manage with sailing in the ocean, where the swells tend to be bigger than in the bay or river.
• Gain confidence in our ability to sail a longer distance.

We set off early Monday morning and sailed down the Choptank River. The winds were in the 20's (knots) and the waves were 3-4 feet at times. It was a wet and wild upwind ride. One wave that broke over the bow was so big that it crashed into the cockpit and got both of us wet.

Once we got out into the Chesapeake Bay the waves calmed down and ride was much more comfortable. We sailed under the Bay Bridge, still a thrill.

 

The winds eventually died down so we furled the jib and turned the motor on. The sun set after we passed Baltimore and I went to bed while George took the first watch.

 

Our plan was that he would sail up to the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal and then I would take over. The canal has lights along both sides and is quite beautiful. George had to drop the main before entering the canal since you are not allowed to sail in the canal. As I was motoring through the canal and enjoying the lights and smell of honeysuckle, I was also beginning to dread entering the Delaware Bay. It was supposed to be much windier there and the bay usually has a lot of ship traffic. I am not very comfortable indentifying ships or boats by their lights at night. It turned out to be not bad at all. The combination of a bright moon and our decision to stay just outside the channel and motor down the bay made it much easier than I anticipated. We had enough wind to sail but if we had sailed we would have had to cross the channel a few times and possibly go farther away from the channel where there are usually many crab traps. We were both comfortable with the decision to motor and even congratulated ourselves for our comfort level.

George took two watches the first night and I took only one. Nevertheless, he slept more than I did. I don't fall asleep as easily as he does, especially if there is a lot going on (movement of the boat, noises, etc.). I probably slept no more than one hour total.

We made good time on the first leg and arrived in Cape May just before noon.

Heading into Cape May while fishing boat is leaving

 

It was earlier than we had initially planned. We had thought about anchoring in the anchorage near the coast guard station but that was already full of boats. Since we wanted to get fuel anyway we continued on to the Canyon Club Resort (where the WCC Delmarva Rally stops). As I was pulling into the slip I noticed I lost all of my momentum. I revved the motor a little more and just inched forward. I looked at the depth indicator and it said 5.2 feet, then 5.0 feet. Our boat draws 5' 8"! We managed to get in and I am sure we dug a trough to help the next sailboat that comes in at low tide. Fortunately, we planned to leave at high tide the next morning.

Breeze On is one of 2 sailboats docked at Canyon Club. No wonder with a 5 foot depth at low tide!

 

We walked to a West Marine about 1/2 mile away to search for a replacement clevis pin that had been lost from the starboard lifeline earlier in the day. We ate an early dinner and went to bed early. George discovered an unexpected bonus from staying at a marina instead of at anchor. We both slept much better than usual. George didn't get up 2-3 times to check on the anchor and we didn't hear the usual noises as the boat moves back and forth on the anchor chain.

We got up early and headed out into the Atlantic for the next leg of our trip.

Cleaning the salt spray off of the Windows

Fixing the broken life line. You can't really tell, but George is wearing a life jacket and is tethered to the boat.

 

 

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