Wednesday, 4 June
It is an accepted fact: when cruising, certainly when cruising on a small sailboat, do not try to keep to a schedule. Just…let it be. It’s the old Zen thing, being about the journey not the destination. So what happens when you shove off from Delaware City and say “Cape May or bust?” If it’s Steadfast today, she’s in Cape May by 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
True to his word, Tim-the-Dockmaster at Delaware City Marina was on the pier and cast off Steadfast–among others—on time at 0600. When released, the current spun her 180-degrees, as Tim had said, and she motored smartly out into Bulkhead Shoal Channel of the Delaware River. As Tim’s “seance” last night had divined, the ebb gave a nifty boost to Steadfast and a couple of other southbound boats. By 0700, she motored along at better than 7 knots, speed-over-ground, while Little Red loafed along at 2400 RPM. Not bad. Half-hour later, it was up to 7.6, then into the 8s and shortly before nine o’clock topped out at 9 knots! Sweet.
It’s hard to describe what a 9 knot current looks like but note the angle at which the tide has tilted this buoy.
The weather favored the trip, too, with bright sun and a one-foot following sea pushed by a light nor’westerly. Still, Tim’s tea leaves had foreseen the fair current to run out somewhere around Miah Maull Shoal and sure enough, it did. By a little after 1000, speed was down to a more modest 6 knots and for the last two hours, water speed and speed-over-ground were about equal at 5 knots or so.
Other than the barges and cargo ships that run the channel, Ship John Shoal Light is about the biggest thing on Delaware Bay. Cool name, too.
By 1330, Steadfast was between the jetties at the west end of the Cape May Canal and tied up at Utsch’s Marina (we like this place, despite some mixed reviews) having covered a total of 53.2 NM at an average speed of 6.5 knots.
In conditions like this, Delaware Bay is simple: just follow beside the channel and stay out of the way of the shipping. Still, “destination sailing” is not the usual nor preferred approach aboard Steadfast. Nor is Delaware Bay–with it’s dearth of desirable harbors or anchorages–the sailor’s preferred cruising ground. But this day at least, it all worked! Next, it’s up the Jersey Shore and on to New York City and Long Island Sound.
For now, though, we’ll just savor being in Cape May.
Steadfast out.
At Sea with Steadfast 
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