DAY 37 -- HAVRE DE GRACE, MD TO CAPE MAY, NJ

                                 DAY 37 -- HAVRE DE GRACE, MD TO CAPE MAY, NJ

            We got underway at nine because we had a long day ahead of us, running 95 miles to a marina in Cape May. The weather was sunny and clear with a light wind out of the north, so it was a good day for boating. It was also a long day, as we pulled into the marina fuel dock at four. And it was an interesting day, as we experienced a variety of waters -- the far upper reaches of the Chesapeake, the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, the Delaware River and Bay, and the Cape May canal. Lots of pictures ensue...

            Here is the lighthouse at Turkey Point. The big bay at the mouth of the Susquehanna is left of this point and the tail end of the Chesapeake is to the right. 


             There were lots of beautiful big homes in the upper reaches of the Chesapeake, and also a really nice trailer park...

The C&D canal had some handsome bridges...



And some interesting work boats...



But unfortunately, we didn't get to pass any big commercial vessel transiting the canal, even though it is supposed to be the most intensely used canal in the country. 

            We did see a fair number of commercial vessels transiting Delaware Bay, but we were running down the east side of the bay in shallower water to save mileage, so we weren't close enough to get names or take good pictures. I now regret this decision, as I'm sure do our many readers who love seeing boat pictures. As consolation, here are pictures of the Salem nuclear power plant at the head of the Delaware Bay and one of the Cape May - Lewes ferry boats.



            After filling up with diesel and getting a pump-out, we left Craunological II at the South Jersey Marina and drove up to Dave and Sue's condo in Sea Isle City to spend the night. We had a great dinner at Mike's Seafood (established in 1911), then went back to their place to eat ice cream and watch the end of the Phillies-Braves game (which the Phillies lost).



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

8/29/22 -- Southwest Harbor to Rockland

Image
                                                       8/29/22 -- Southwest Harbor to Rockland               This was not our proudest boating day. After all this time boating in Maine waters -- where boaters are constantly dodging lobster trap buoys -- one finally caught up with us. We were about an hour out of Southwest Harbor, headed for as far west as we could manage while the weather was good because the forecast was turning bad, and of course that turned out to be the day that we got tangled up with a lobster buoy line. A lobster boat was laying traps in an area that was already rife with buoys, and we saw him but obviously didn't give him enough room, because all of a sudden, I saw a 20+ foot plus length of line laying on the surface right in front of the boat and ran right over it. By the time I slowed down the line that I'd caught on the boat caught two other lines (this area was just full of pots), and we were dragging three traps and their rigs. The lobsterman wasn&#
Read more

FIRST POST -- BACKGROUND INFO

Image
                                             FIRST POST -- BACKGROUND INFO OUR QUEST To take Craunological II up the East Coast --safely and happily -- all the way to the Canadian border at Eastport, Maine. OUR VESSEL Craunological II is a Ranger Tug 31-CB of a traditional design sometimes called a pocket trawler. She was built in the Seattle area in the fall of 2021. She left the factory November 29th, delivered to the dealer in Ft. Meyers on December 13th, and we picked her up at the dealer on January 2nd. Her hull dimensions are 31' length, 10' beam and 2.5' draft. Overall length with the anchor pulpit and swim platform is 35'. Height is 18'2" with the mast up and 10'3" with it down. Dry weight is 12,500 pounds, but with full tanks and gear she probably weighs more like 15,500 pounds. Hull, decks and cabin exterior are all fiberglass. Power is by a single 320 hp Volvo-Penta diesel. Her top speed is 21 mph and cruising speed is 16-18 mph depending on
Read more

9/2/22 -- Portsmouth NH to Beverly MA

Image
                                                         9/2/22 -- Portsmouth NH to Beverly MA               We got up before our 6-a.m. alarm went off due to bridge and harbor noise and perhaps nervousness about our undocking. The marina manager was ready at 6:30 as promised and we got off the dock easily by following his instructions. We then headed across the river to get diesel at the self-serve fuel station on the New Hampshire side. The marina manager recommended it, saying it is a state-run facility where we could get fuel 24/7 (with no one else in the area offering fuel for sale at this hour). This was the first time we had ever experienced a self-serve station for boats, but it worked just fine, and is something that other states should consider (like in Eastport, Maine, for instance!).                We left the fuel dock a few minutes before seven and had a 28-mile run across open water to the tip of Cape Ann. We had swells out of the east, but they weren't too bad, and
Read more