We left Tidewater Marina in Havre de Grace at about 7:00 AM. The plans for the next few days, were going to be largely controlled by the current which is dictated by the tides. The Chesapeake-Delaware Canal connects the Chesapeake Bay (through tributaries) to the Delaware River, both of which open to the ocean. As there are no locks on the canal, all the water is a sea-level and subject to tides. Because we have a very slow-moving boat (we are usually travelling at 6-8 knots), a current as strong as 3 knots can have a very negative impact on our progress if we are trying to travel against it. Likewise, it can be very helpful if we are travelling with the current. So, our plan was to enter the canal, and stop at Chesapeake City, which is near the beginning of the Canal, because they had a free dock where we could wait for the tide to turn favorable to take us east through the canal. On the other end, we would spend the night at an anchorage near the opening to the Delaware River, and the next morning, take the favorable current south down the Delaware River to Cape May. Even with the help of the current, this plan would keep us on the water longer in the evening than we are generally comfortable with, but it would get us through this tricky part of the journey.
The day started out cold and gloomy again. We had to leave the Susquehanna River, and cross the very tip of the Chesapeake Bay, go around Elk Neck and head up the Elk River to the Back Creek Channel which leads to the Chesapeake-Delaware canal. Right before Chesapeake City, we passed under a huge bridge (which will be involved on another adventure later in the day). Right after the bridge was a small harbor with a marina, the Chesapeake Inn with its own docks, and the Chesapeake City docks. The city docks had plenty of small slips for small motor boats and jet skis, but only about 150’ of bulkhead available for larger boats like ours. A potion of that was reserved for a commercial boat which takes people out for party cruises, leaving only enough room for three boats of our size to dock. Luck was with us, as there were only 2 boats currently at the dock, however the space that was open, was between the party boat and a sailboat, so we couldn’t get in easily from the end.
Captain Mark first attempted to pull in with our port side toward the dock, but the currents were not working well in his favor, so he quickly circled and changed to an approach on the starboard side. The owners of the other two boats came out to help, as they often do (if for no other reason to try to protect their own vessels LOL), and Captain Mark pulled into the slip without incident (with a little help from his bow thruster). We secured the boat to the dock, which turned out to be a great dock in a great location, right in the center of town and it was free for up to 24 hours.
In talking about our next move (which was to wait a few hours for the tide, go through the canal and anchor out overnight), we had a change of heart. The dock was in such a nice spot, and more comfortable than an anchorage, that we decided to alter our schedule and stay put for the day, even though we’d only traveled about 3 hours. That way, we could get up early, pass through the canal, and be at the anchorage where we had planned to spend the night before heading south on the Delaware River. The problem with this plan was that it would take too long to travel the full length of the Delaware before nightfall. If we are honest with ourselves, we were already worried about getting to Cape May too late, so Captain Mark researched and found an anchorage midway down the Delaware where we could spend the following night. In a nutshell, this means we turned 2 days of travel into 3 days of travel, but with more time to explore our local surroundings. Ahh, the benefits of being retired.
As a result, we had nearly a full day to spend in Chesapeake City, which was enough to see the whole town; it was a cute town with lots of historical buildings. Nearly every home in the main center (3 block by 3 block area) had a plaque in front of it describing the history of the house and the residents in the 1800’s. There were several shops full of antiques and artsy gifts. Down by the water was a display explaining about the history of the canal and it’s importance to early commerce. It saved hundreds of miles of travel to get goods between Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay. One thing that Sidekick Sue noticed was that everyone in town drove super-slow; it was really peculiar. Later on the walk, a sign explained that perhaps this is the motto of the town.
After our walk, we still had more time. The weather had cleared to be a lovely day, and since we were conveniently at a dock, we got out the folding bikes and headed toward a paved trail along the Chesapeake Delaware Canal. The only problem was that in order to get to the trail, we had to cross the aforementioned bridge that we had motored under right before arriving in Chesapeake City. It is a huge long bridge carrying thru traffic at high speeds from one side of the river to the other. Captain Mark did a little research and determined that there was a pedestrian walkway, so we decided to cross. Well, it turns out there was a pedestrian walkway, but it was basically a narrow, raised concrete sidewalk, with no railings to separate us from the cars and trucks whizzing by only feet away. For safety safe, we opted to walk our bikes over the bridge to get to the bike path on the other side. Once on the canal trail, the ride was awesome. After a few miles of biking, we passed into Delaware and had to stop for a “Kodak moment”. While the entire trail spanned about 15 miles, we only went to the halfway point before turning around to head back. Sidekick Sue made sport of trying to run over spotted lantern flies that were on the pavement. For those unfamiliar with the pest, they are an invasive species from Asia that spreading throughout the northeastern states and are causing serious damage to trees and crops. Once again, we had to walk our bikes back across the bridge, but it was less scary with the traffic heading towards us, than it was with the traffic at our backs.
After the bike ride it was time for dinner. Afterwards, we walked through town again, expecting that this “Mayberry-like” town would have a blue mail box to take care of some bills, but we had no luck. Seems that something that once seemed so familiar is now becoming a thing of the past.
It was another nice, relaxing evening. Sidekick Sue cut out some screen for the second cabin door, but can’t star sewing until we are somewhere with AC power (or when we are running the generator). We moved up the fly bridge to enjoy the beautiful weather and the fantastically lit up dock around the Chesapeake Inn. As has happened before, we were treated to a concert, by a local band performing at the nearby inn. While it was nice to have live entertainment, the Explorers agreed that this band was maybe only worthy of a C-. They really killed (in a bad way) some great musical pieces from the 70’s and 80’s. Maybe they shouldn’t have tried to cover Pink Floyd. LOL
