After meandering through the Chesapeake and spending some fun and relaxing time with family, we set our sights north. The seas of Delaware Bay and the New Jersey coast can produce lots of no travel days, so when we saw good windows setting up for both, we moved from Baltimore quickly (at 7 knots!) to stay in good weather. We did need to dodge a few thunderstorms leaving Baltimore, but had great cruising in the C&D canal, the Delaware Bay, and the entire Jersey shore.
We had an extended visit to Cape May, NJ last fall, so decided to bypass another visit, drop the hook for the night, and rise with the sun the next day to head to Barnegat Bay, NJ. We found a quiet anchorage in Barnegat behind the lighthouse and it set us up for an easier ride the next day to Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Barnegat inlet can be sporty in the wrong conditions, but we timed our entrance and departure to minimize too much excitement.
It was not the best weather forecast with scattered rain and thunder showers being predicted. Since the seas and winds were predicted to be low, we ventured out.The weather turned bright and sunny for our transit in the C & D Canal (Chesapeake/Delaware Canal)After dropping the anchor in the Anchor Basin of Chesapeake City, we ended up a little to close for comfort to the neighboring sailboats. The prediction of thunder storms overnight and the fact sailboats and trawlers don’t swing alike, we called the marina across the canal for a spot on their dock. Within 10 minutes, we were tied up safely. at Schaefer’s Canal House. Since the best crab cakes were just a few steps from Three Sons, a delicious dinner ended the night. The Delaware Bay is known for strong currents. We planned an early departure and rode the ebb current through most of the bay with as much as 3 knots pushing us along at points. Other than this light house and the Nuclear power plant in NJ, not much to look at – but a good cruise .We dropped the hook outside of the Coast Guard Station in Cape May Harbor and enjoyed a delicious steak dinner on board. A casualty of Barnegat inlet – even though we had current with wind leaving the inlet, we had a few rogue waves crash under our bow.Barnegat Lightsunrises are early in June, but we managed to see a few on this tripA sporty day on the water but so worth it because we are meeting Chris and Paul in Atlantic Highlands for the weekend!
