Chesapeake-bound
15 October 2019
megan osler
We left Cape May at 6:30 this morning and dropped anchor at 6:30 this evening on Sassafraz River in Chesapeake Bay. We needed to get a push from the current caused by the flooding tide, which was supposed to give us an extra few knots of speed. It worked out! We sailed up Delaware Bay at top speed 9.4 knots. We loaded the kids up with gravol again because the first couple of hours are out on the open ocean before you turn into a very wide bay. Pretty rocky ride for about 4 hours. But also a great sail with no motor! We were on a steady 25 degree port heel. This time, instead of throwing up, Alistair just dozed in the cockpit for a couple of hours on and off. There was a constant stream of cargo ships passing us by and there are little crab traps strewn all over the bay, in and out of the marked shipping channel so we had to keep a sharp eye out always. The route we’re on is a VERY commonly traveled path by HUNDREDS of other sailing cruisers. It often feels like a parade, especially getting into Cape May yesterday morning and departing today. Bumper-to-bumper sailboats at our anchorage last night. But tonight we are in a more peaceful bay, only 3 other sailboats tucked in here for the night. It seems like half the crews we come across are from Quebec! We haven’t yet experienced the excitement of that first young family for the kids to be shy with for 5 minutes and then best friends with an hour later. The four of us are awaiting that with much anticipation. Annie and Alistair talk about what they miss from home, I do sometimes get worried that 8 months will be too long for them but they have tons of fun high points day.... I think they’ll survive....
We saw our first dolphins yesterday and had our first run-about on a beach. Each and every dinghy ride to Alistair is pure heaven. We chased millions of little crabs into their holes and found a plethora of horseshoe crab carcasses. Some of them were MASSIVE. It appears they get washed up in the dozens with each tide! A&A are keeping illustrated records of every new creature we see. Off to Georgetown, Maryland tomorrow
P.s. the pic is of Hitch, our little ride-along birdie who stayed with us for 20 minutes!