Jersey Shore, Delaware River and C and D Canal

September 24-25, 2017 – We headed out as soon as it was light enough (6:20 am) to see the markers in the channel, leaving Great Kills Harbor, Staten Island, NY. Our goal was an Atlantic Ocean transit along the New Jersey coast to Cape May. After two weeks of high sees because of Hurricane Jose, seas were forecast to be 5 feet for two days then would increase again to 10 to 15 feet and higher due to influence from northbound Hurricane Maria. We had a very short transit window, it was leave today or wait until Maria was long gone. We had Manasquan Inlet and Atlantic City picked out as two places we could stop if the seas kicked up. I had know idea the entire New Jersey shoreline was beach! The beaches looked beautiful from our distance of 1 to 3 miles off shore, and very popular on this gorgeous and unseasonably hot, early fall day. It wasn’t our most comfortable 130 miles of ocean transit but it turned out to be a good day at sea. We arrived in Cape May 12 hours later, just before sunset.

Today we took the 4 mile Cape May canal into Delaware Bay. The Delaware Bay/River leads to Philadelphia approximately 95 miles north. The bay is enormous. So wide that we are unable to see the far shore! We got lucky with very rare smooth water with an incoming current/tide. We had a great ride, the only disturbance in the water was wake from the huge ships & freighters that passed by us in both directions.

Our destination today was the C and D Canal. The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal is a 14-mile-long, 450-foot-wide and 35-foot-deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland. Cargo ships and military vessels from all over the world pass through the canal. The C&D Canal is the busiest in the nation and the third busiest in the world. For all the congestion, daytime passage is remarkably easy. Apart from ship traffic and the equipment associated with the constant dredging, the only potential hazard is occasional debris carried in from Delaware Bay.

We arrived at Schafer’s Canal House and Marina, a real gem on the C and D canal. Our dockage was on the face dock at the edge of the canal and adjacent to Schaefer’s huge bar/dining deck. A great spot to view the passing ships up close and personal! Unfortunately they didn’t pass until after sunset so I couldn’t get decent pictures. They were an amazing and ominous sight from the boat in the twilight! During the day, it was great to watch the passing sailboats fly down the canal (no sails up!!) with the favorable, FAST tidal current. I’m sure it was a wild ride for them compared to their normal sedate motoring speed!

Tomorrow is the start of our Chesapeake Bay Adventure! First destination: Baltimore!