39°31′17″ N 75°7′12″ W

(Our current position at this posting)

We left the Bohemian Bay marina at 6:00am this morning. It was cool & calm with the sunrise on our stern as we headed out of the bay.

We had a few miles to go before entering the C&D Canal & there were no other boats around.

The canal is about 20 miles long. Several high bridges cross over the canal. The water was as smooth as glass & plenty deep from end to end so we had no worries about running aground.

For the entire trip through the canal we only saw one other boat & it was a workboat from a nearby marina.

At 9:00am we left the canal & entered the Delaware River.

There’s big ship activity on this river. We have met several large ships & ocean going tugs & barges.

Our course even took us past a nuclear power plant (in the background of the photo above).

We were lucky & caught the tide going out towards Cape May. Our speed jumped from 6.5 knots to over 9 knots. That has lasted for a couple of hours & the tide is now turning so our speed is dropping as well.

Ed & I did not have much for breakfast & as we passed the nuclear power plant I remembered that we still had some Spam left over from yesterday’s gourmet lunch. So, now’s the opportunity to have some Spam & eggs for breakfast!

We dined on fried Spam, scrambled eggs & fried Minute Rice with canned mushrooms. Yummy! If anyone wants the recipe I’ll be glad to share it with you:)

It’s now approaching 1:00pm & we have about 26 nautical miles to go. That will take us about 4 more hours – unless we get another boost from the river current & tide.

I think I’ll use the time to search on the internet for some more Spam recipes.

Cheers!

39°29′9″ N 75°53′45″ W

July 30 – Bohemian Bay Yacht Harbor

Photo above – entrance to Bohemian Bay Yacht Harbor

We left Chesapeake Beach this morning at 6:30 am. Our dock neighbor Tami came down to see us off. That was a nice farewell from a new friend.

The weather forecast was for winds from the north below 10 knots with occasional gusts into the teens. These winds created whitecaps & wave patterns that met us head on as we travelled north up the bay. It resulted in a lumpy ride but I’d rather meet waves head on then have them coming at us on our port or starboard side. I like rock n roll but not in a boat!

We passed under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge which is actually a twinned structure with each bridge carrying traffic in a single direction. It is very impressive from the water.

Today was a beautiful day for sailing & through the morning & afternoon we saw dozens of sailboats out enjoying the wind & sunny weather. I cannot recall ever seeing so many sailboats on the water in one day.

Today we also passed some important milestones. First of all, we have now travelled the Chesapeake Bay from “bottom to top” &, more importantly, the first can of Spam on this boat was consumed for our lunch!

Ed & I dined on a gourmet luncheon comprised of Spam, processed cheese slices & Minute Rice – slathered in yellow mustard & all wrapped up in a soft tortilla! Talk about healthy eating-we know how to do it up right.

We arrived at the marina in Bohemian Bay at 4:30pm. It took us 10 hours to travel 61 nm. Not bad considering that we were heading into the wind & waves for virtually the entire journey.

It’s a half moon tonight & we are retiring early. Tomorrow is a big day – we will get up at 5:00am for an early start to travel through the Chesapeake & Delaware (C&D) Canal & then on to Cape May, NJ.

Cheers!

38°41′27″ N 76°31′55″ W

Chesapeake Beach

We arrived at Chesapeake Beach Rod N Reel Resort & Marina at 3:30pm yesterday afternoon.

The last 90 minutes of our journey was in a heavy rainstorm. Thank goodness that the wind did not come up too strong during that storm. The wind came shortly after we docked though so our timing was good!

We encountered several problems yesterday. First, when we saw that the rain was going to reach us before we arrived at the marina we started closing up windows, etc. & prepared to move to the inside helm for the last few miles.

Just a few minutes after we got set up at the inside helm station I asked Ed to take over steering while I turned on the navigation lights & fine tuned our course on the chartplotter.

When the rain started coming down really heavy Ed began to have a lot of trouble keeping the boat on course. At first we thought it might be the current combined with the wind but no matter what we did the boat just wanted to go in a circle.

This was getting frustrating & dangerous so I donned a raincoat & went to the upper helm station to see if it worked any better. Thankfully the upper helm steered the boat properly &, other than me getting soaking wet we were able to get into the marina safely.

Marina staff met us at the dock & helped us tie up. By then the rain was still coming down heavily & the wind had also increased quite a bit.

After changing into dry clothes we had a drink to unwind & think about dinner. It was a short discussion & we both agreed that dinner at the marina & resort restaurant was our preferred option.

It was dark by the time we got back to the boat & the situation was not good. The wind was very strong & the boat was rocking wildly from side to side & banging up against the dock.

Unfortunately this marina is right on the shoreline & there is virtually no shelter from the wind or rough water. To make matters worse, the breakwater in front of the marina has a low profile & it does not take a lot of wind before the waves break over it & the water in the marina dock basin gets very rough as well.

The boat was in serious risk of significant damage from banging against the dock so I called the Dockmaster & asked permission to move to another slip, much further in the basin.

Unfortunately by the time we were ready to move the wind was even stronger. There was no way I could safely move the boat without risk of colliding with other boats in the marina so we had no choice but to stay put & tie the boat up as best as we could.

People in two of the neighboring boats (who are locals & livaboards) saw that I was in trouble & they came out to help – God Bless their souls. They stayed with us for almost an hour in the pouring rain & helped us get the boat tied up in the best position possible.

After we were done I thanked them profusely & invited them on board for a drink. They politely declined & headed back to their own boats, saying that my thanks was all they needed & that boaters should always help other boaters in need.

The photo below shows me with Tami & her husband Tim on board their boat. They own the boat in the slip next to me. Tami was one of the Good Samaritans who lent a hand when I needed it most.

Ed & I were so exhausted after wrestling with the boat that we said goodnight to each other & went to bed – even though the boat was still rocking heavily – but at least we were secured safely midway between the dock posts. We both spent the rest of the night trying not to get pitched out of our bunks.

This morning was not much better & the weather forecast predicted even stronger winds through the day. The Dockmaster suggested that I move the boat further into the basin so we gave it a shot but things did not go well. The wind was too strong for the boat to maneuver in & we ended up crossways between the outer dock posts.

After about 30 minutes of messing with extra lines, forward & reverse & the bow thruster I finally got the stern of the boat into a slip just 3 spaces from where I started out. This was not an ideal location but it was better that the other one, so we called it quits & tied the boat up to as many posts as we could reach.

You can see in the photo above how much the boat “rolls” in the slip – but even this motion is less than what we experienced last night.

During our relocation into the dock the wind pushed me backwards into one of the dock posts. The photo above shows the results of that encounter. 😩 Oh well, the swim platform can be fixed & the damage could have been a lot worse.

The photo above shows the results of what another boat did to one of the dock posts during a previous storm. So you can imagine if the post looks like this then what does the side of that boat look like?

The weather forecast for tomorrow looks promising so we will head out as early as possible & try to make it to the Chesapeake & Delaware (C&D) Canal, near the top of Chesapeake Bay. That’s about 55 nm from our current location.

Keep your fingers crossed for us & stay tuned for our next report tomorrow.

Cheers!

37°53′3″ N 76°15′7″ W

July 27 – Smith Point Marina

We arrived at Smith Point Marina last evening at 5:30pm & left this morning at 6:30am. This marina is in a beautiful little bay but it’s off the beaten path – no cellphone service & limited wifi connections – so we had a pretty quiet night.

It rained hard around 2:00am this morning & the weather forecast for the next few days is deteriorating. As a result we want to get as far north as we can today while the weather is OK.

I use an app on my iPhone called “Windfinder” to help me figure out the weather & wind forecast. Over the past several years I have found it to be quite accurate. The screenshot below shows the forecast for tomorrow at Chesapeake Beach. I’ll check the forecast again tonight but if it doesn’t change then we will spend an extra day at this marina because the winds are going to be strong & that will result in very rough water.

The forecast for Sunday looks much better.

I also use another app from Waterways Guidebook that shows you locations of marinas, marine supply stores, etc. It’s been really helpful to me when looking for the next day’s destination.

So tonight we will be staying at the Rod “N” Reel Dock Marina in Chesapeake Beach. The chart plotter tells me that we should be there around 3:00pm. I’ve already phoned ahead & reserved our dock slip.

Ain’t technology grand? It’s sure making this entire trip a lot easier for me. 👍👌

Cheers!

36°50′28″ N 76°17′29″ W

July 23 – Tidewater Marina, Portsmouth VA

We left the marina at 6:45 am this morning. I copied the photo above from the Waterway Guidebook. It shows the Tidewater Marina near the top centre of the photo.

Our trip today will be about 61 nautical miles.

On our way to the Chesapeake Bay we passed a lot more naval ships, including several aircraft carriers.

It’s just coming up to 11:30 am & we have now travelled about 1/3 the distance to our next destination. The Google Maps screenshot below shows our position right now (blue dot) & the red dot up near the top of the picture shows the relative location of our destination-which is just at the mouth of the Potomac River.

Other than a few freighters anchored at the mouth of the bay & some fishing boats we have not seen many other boats. It’s cloudy & cooler today with a light breeze coming toward our port side, which is great for this long passage.

I will post another update after we have tied up on the dock. That should be sometime between 5:00 & 6:00 pm.

Cheers!