Ahoy, mates! Lots of skippers know way more about this than us. For the benefit of those, like us, interested in this sort of thing and still trying to figure it out, here’s how the trip down Delaware Bay worked out o one day, 4 June 14.
The current through the C&D Canal seems to have little / no logical relation to currents down Delaware River / Bay, as in, riding the current eastward through the canal does not lead to a favorable current down the Delaware. That’s why Steadfast turned left at the canal’s east end and went up the mile-and-a-half to Delaware City. That proved to be a good point from which to stage the departure the next morning, a whole lot more fun meeting the folks at Delaware City Marina than anchoring behind Reedy Island. You can get a great pizza at La Matesinz’s, too, and it’s just three blocks away from the marina.
Steadfast is a Com-Pac 27, waterline 26.9′, pushed by an 18 HP Westerbeke diesel turning a three-bladed Campbell Sailer prop. Normally, she’d do 5.5 – 6 knots in flat water, slack tide. Anyway, here’s how–with the help of the nightly “seance” conducted by Tim-the-Dockmaster–the trip evolved:
| Time | Location | Speed* | Cumm |
| 0600 | Delaware City | 3.5 | |
| 0700 | G-3 Reedy Island | 7.1 | 5.5 |
| 0800 | R-6L | 8.0 | 13.5 |
| 0852 | Ship John Shoal | 8.8 | 21 |
| 1000 | Elbow Cross Ledge | 7.4 | 30.1 |
| 1044 | Miah Maull Shoal | 6.2 | 34.6 |
| 1145 | 14 Ft Bank Shoal | 5.1 | 40 |
| 1336 | Cape May Canal | 5 | 49.5 |
| Avg speed over ground | 6.5 |
*Professional driver. Closed course. Specially prepared vehicle. Do not try this at home. Taxes, tags, dealer prep and undercoating extra. Actual results may differ from test.
Experience indicates the north-bound trip, Cape May to the C&D, can be made with greater ease, i.e., it’s possible to ride a favorable current most if not all the way from the Cape May Canal to Chesapeake City or beyond if you time it right.
Good luck!
Steadfast out.
At Sea with Steadfast 
Recent Comments