Friday, June 01, 2007
From the Sassafras River, MD, to C&D Canal.
Wednesday and Thursday, May 30 and 31. Somewhere after we left Baltimore, Bob noticed that the port engine was overheating a little. He had a mechanic change the impeller while we were in Georgetown, and Bob cleaned some wood chips and oyster shells out of the strainer. We hoped that would fix the problem.
The Chesapeake treated us kindly when we left the pretty Sassafras River on Wednesday around noon, heading north toward the C&D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal. The C&D canal, originally opened in 1879, cuts through the Delmarva Peninsula, saving 300 miles of extra travel for commercial and recreational boats traveling between Pennsylvania and Baltimore. In World War I its strategic value became apparent, and the U.S. government expanded it to its 450-foor width and 35-foot depth. It looks a lot like the Tenn-Tom Waterway, with rip rap, woods, and occasional houses on its banks. We were happy to hear on the radio that Barry and Sheryl on Seaquel were right behind us, with the plan to rendezvous at Summit North Marina about halfway through the C&D. It was fun to catch up with the Lillys.
On Thursday we buddy boated with the Lillys through the rest of the canal and headed out to the mouth of Delaware Bay, passing a fair number of barges and cargo ships as we got out in the Bay. We certainly lucked out on the weather. This huge bay can be treacherous when the wind kicks up, but we glided right through, all the way to popular Utsch’s Marina in Cape May, NJ. Good dinner at a restaurant nearby called Lucky Bones Backwater Grill. Unfortunately, the slight overheating problem is still with us, so Bob arranged for a mechanic to look at it Friday morning.
