Current
Position: 39° 57' 79" N 75° 58' 88" W
We
left Chesapeake City early to try and get ahead of the rain which worked for
about an hour. We “buddy boated” with
our new friends David & Kim on Overtime.
The rain caught up with us but luckily we didn’t have to go far to the
marina. We got a bit wet as we keep the “window”
open for better visibility. Bob did
close it part way when the rain got too heavy.
The C&D
(Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal is one of the busiest in the world. It was built over a number of years starting
in 1804 and finished in 1829 due to many financial problems. Do you know of a tunnel in Seattle that is following their pattern? When it was done is was 14 miles
long, 10 ft deep, and 36 ft wide, with 4 locks – 2 going up and 2 more coming
back down. Loss of water in the locks
due to leakage and evaporation was compensated for developing a steam operated
LARGE waterwheel to lift 1,200,000 gallons per hour into the canal from
surrounding rivers.
They deepened the
canal to 12 ft and were able to remove the locks. They also straightened the route of the canal
at the eastern entrance changing the entrance from Delaware City to Reedy
Point. In the mid 1970’s the canal was
enlarged again to 35 ft.
The
marina we stayed at is on the old canal.
There is a very low bridge blocking the east side entrance to the marina
so we had to go all the way to the new entrance at Reedy Point then come in the
old canal from Delaware Bay. Docking at
the marina was wet work as the rain was coming down in earnest. We fueled up
first and then moved to our dock. The
guys that work the marina are really great.
The current is very strong through there so they tell you exactly where
to steer the boat to get to the dock safely.
They catch the lines and then flip your boat around using the lines so
you are faced back toward the entrance – One way in, one way out. Here they are
flipping our “buddy boat” Overtime.
One
of the joys of being in a marina is a long, hot shower. Imagine my disappointment to find there is
only one ladies room, so a long shower is out and then to find out the water is
cold
was doubly
disappointing! At least I have clean
hair J.
We
don’t often know when we’ll be near a grocery store so I try to stock up when
we are. There wasn’t one close but they
had a bus that took me to a Food Lion 25 min. away. I brought my bags with me for easier carrying
and picked up as many groceries as I thought I could carry. The bus stop was right outside the grocery
store but about ¾ of a mile from the boat.
The groceries got heavy real fast so I called our friends and they
walked down to our boat and asked Bob to meet me. My hero! I met three wonderful people on the journey –
the clerk and both bus drivers. The Loop
was new to them so I hope they read my blog to find out more.
At 5:00 the marina hosts a "briefing" on the condition of Delaware Bay for the next day. They go over wind, waves, and currents. The Bay is very shallow in places and many ship wrecks that you must be careful of as well as the commercial traffic - you don't want to get in the big guys' way!
The consensus after the briefing was the next day looked good but if there was fog it was a no go. Many of these boats had been here waiting for several days so the hope was high. We were so blessed that we only had to stay one night.
Docked at Delaware City Marina
Here's a couple videos I forgot to post:
This pool was behind the marina office at Solomon's. Both ducks and geese enjoyed the pool, but this goose was getting into his groove!
This is an oyster boat with a conveyor belt to sort the oysters.
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