Done: Delaware Bay!

A stunning sunrise or warning to be heeded: early morning sky over Cape May.

Thursday, 11 September

“Heroic Leader. Heroic Leader. This is Full Tilt. Do you copy?”

The call goes out again, with a bit more urgency, this time. “Heroic Leader. Heroic Leader. This is Full Tilt. Do you copy?” A third call is made, tension audible in the voice of Full Tilt’s captain, before the response is heard.

“Are you the catamaran or the other one?” The skipper of the car carrier Heroic Leader is all business. Full Tilt thus identified, he dismisses any concern.

“Don’t worry cap’n. You won’t catch me.”

Kate keeps in mind that “Objects Astern May Be Closer They Appear,” as is the case with NYK’s Heroic Leader.

So ends another brief encounter, cargo ship and recreational vessel, on Delaware Bay. The Bay’s busy this day, far more traffic of all types than seen the last week while transiting the Jersey shore.

Conditions this day, not ideal for Steadfast but the best foreseen for the next several days: south-so’west 15-20, gusts to 25, a good bit of wind, again on the port quarter. But seas would stay in the two-to-three-foot range, NOAA assured, all deemed doable by those aboard. Thus, after so-o-o-o-o much study of forecast and chart, she eased out of the slip at Utsch’s Marina at 0645, turned into the Cape May Canal and caught the first of the flood current to carry her up Delaware Bay.

Miah Maull Light is the first landmark when heading up Delaware Bay from Cape May.

On a good day, Delaware Bay’s a bear. She’s wide open to the Atlantic with nary a desirable anchorage the full length of her 50-something-miles. Once you’re into Delaware Bay, you just have to suck it up and sail on.  Options are virtually nil.  The shore is far from scenic, unless one’s idea of scenic includes nuclear power stations.

And Delaware Bay can be anything but docile. When wind and current meet, it makes for a nasty chop. Chesapeake Bay shoals from the shore, but nothing like the “Del.” From the west end of Cape May Canal, it’s 16 nautical miles due west to the Delaware shore, much of which is just 12 or 15 feet deep. Less than a third of the way up her length, she narrows and yachts and fishing boats of all kinds share the deep water channel with tugs, tankers, car carriers and container ships all bound for sea or for ports up the Delaware River, like Philly, Camden and Wilmington.

The Big Guys are deep draft and move fast. The channel’s fairly narrow so there shouldn’t be an issue. Little guys like us, just stay out of their way. Some days, it works well but others, it’s quite the show. Today’s one of the latter. Lots of conversation on marine radio. Good listening.

The nuclear plant at Salem, NJ, was downwind so no one aboard glowed at night.

No close calls for Steadfast, though. She motor sails, sails for a while, motor sails some more, making great time, 7-plus knots over the bottom. Then about 1400—approaching the east end of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal—sails furled, Red takes over one her own and speed at first drops to near five knots. Not long thereafter, though, the current grabs her and Steadfast hurries westward near eight knots. Ninety-minutes later, she turns to port and the now shoaled entrance to the basin at Chesapeake City, MD.

On her way in, Steadfast passes that German-flagged Jeanneau and the classic cutter, both first seen at A-C. They’re bigger, faster and they’ve long since settled-in. For Steadfast and crew, it’s one of the longest days of the summer, 63.2 NM, but the combination of current and quartering wind help her cover that at an average of more than seven-knots overall. Not bad.

Best of all…dreaded Delaware Bay now lies behind.

Steadfast out.