Plastic Classic Forum

I found a good boat in NJ and am thinking about sailing it back to the Chesapeake. I'm searching and reading what I can and appreciate any advice. Any experience coming around Cape May and through the channel?

I've never been offshore and cant think of a better time to give it a go!

Thanks for any thoughts

Being from the Left Coast, I can't be of any help ..... but would sure like to hear about the boat you found!

we sailed Annapolis-->Staten Island last year,
via the canal. Three cautions
1. get the canal current right
2. give Cape May a wide berth
3. maybe fog on Chesapeake

Thanks

The more I read the more I realize the trip is ruled by the current in the canal. Lot's commercial traffic doesnt sound all that fun, but who knows. I am always looking for the experience and this sure sounds like an adventure.

The boat is an Alberg30. I've wanted one for so long I forget when I first started looking. The deal isnt done, but I sure hope I can make it work.

I used to sail the Great Ocean race. Annapolis to annapolis via the atlantic ocean and the delaware bay. You had to take your time entering teh canaland report it to the RC then the time getting under sail at the exit.

Current is a big issue. Don't fight it just go with the flow. Ships are fine...you can't miss them and you can get into shallow water so they can't get near you. Tugs and tows area actually more nerve wracking!!

Nothing like looking out over the shore and seeing a HUGE freighter in the middle of a cornfield...in the ditch around the corner!!

Now the delaware bay? That is a place I am glad I don't go regularly!! Current, traffic, underwater obstructions., big ocean affect from waves....just be careful!

What kind of boat do you have? What is your bridge clearance and your draft?

You will want to come in at Cape May on the ocean side and take the Cape May Canal to avoid the extra 4+ hours going around the Cape. There are a few fixed bridges in the Cape May Canal, but you shouldn't have a problem if you are under 55 feet which is the minimum clearance. The water gets a little thin on the Del. bay side of the canal because of the wash from the Lewes ferries. Just pay attention and you should be fine. Running aground there is more of an annoyance since it is just mud.

You definitely want to time your departure from Cape May to coincide with a flood tide to carry you up Del Bay. The problem is that the tidal current in the C&D Canal follows the Chesapeake tides and will be different. So running with the tide up Del Bay may mean you will be against the current in the C&D. While the C&D tidal current is stronger, it is only 10 miles long.

My preference has always been to make a quick trip up (or down) Del Bay regardless of the C&D currents. In the end it makes for a much faster trip. AND since you are going UP Del. Bay, you will have a flood tide with you for MUCH LONGER than you would going the other way. Stay in the deep water-- just outside the shipping lanes perhaps-- and it will be a quick ride. Note, however, that if there is a strong northerly, it will kick up some serious waves. Make sure your boat is up to it because you'll be bashing into square waves-- but at least you will be going fast!

My only other advice is to time this so you do most of this by daylight-- especially the C&D canal. It can be a tight squeeze and a little unnerving when you encounter a big ship through the C&D. At night your depth perception will be compromised and it will look scarier.

Good Luck!

Absolutely concur with Ceasar.

Going around Cape May without worry is a good deal farther than a route that's fairly close to the Cape. Look at the chart, there's plenty of water in close but shoals for a considerable distance out before the deep channel. I decided to go through the Canal; a friend of mine habitually takes the ship channel.

Additionally, study the approach to Cape May from the ocean. You don't have to round the sea buoy, but you must be on line with it and the itty-bitty lighted buoy at the inside end of the channel between the jetties. Easy to screw this up at night since that inside buoy is not very important, bright, compared with almost anything else on that shore. Your only anchorage is just inside to the south of the entry channel, opposite the Coast Guard Station, however, there is lots of alternating current due to the tides. Makes anchoring more interesting. You can also take a slip.

Go with the tide up Delaware Bay. Winds that are southerly will make this shallow featureless trip less unpleasant. I've gone both north and south well east of the ship channel.

Stay out of the exclusion zone around Salem Nuclear Power Plant. Lots of crab pots south of Salem.

There are anchorages south of the C&D Canal. Off Port Penn, they looked dangerous, and inconvenient to me so I stayed out of them. The usual anchorage is north of the C&D Canal, but south of Delaware City. It's marked on charts and is deep enough for big stuff. It reportedly has a foul bottom. Weather permitted, so I've anchored in the river south of Pea Patch Island. Plenty of depth but not enough for ships! It's quite open and unprotected. You can take a slip in the rump of the old C&D Canal that runs in south of Delaware City; watch your depth. Less than 7 ft at the entrance.

Always best to run with the tide through the C&D Canal. It's a couple knots, so that's a trip at 4 kt or at 8. There are two anchorages along the way. One's at Chesapeake City that's full of powerboats and drinkers and is small. The other's a marina about halfway on the north side.

Always best to run down the Chesapeake with the tide, and order up anything but a southerly.

Thanks great info.

I found crew today so things are looking up. The decision now is to get this done ASAP or wait until spring. Maybe I'm getting old and cautious, but I'm leaning towards a spring trip.

I'd say that you are OK till mid November, but you'll have to make that call. Plan your trip so that you can choose your weather and duck in somewhere when you have to. There really isn't anywhere to duck in in Delaware bay of any significance. Again, depending on your boat, you should be able to do Del. Bay and the Canal in one shot.

Quetzal is right about whats in the Canal. If you don't want to stop at Chesapeake City, anchor in the Bohemia River on the other side. I've never been to that marina in the canal, but word is the water is thin there. Too bad Schaeffers is no more.

I've done Ocean City, MD to the Bohemia River (other side of the C&D) in under 15 hours. Del bay and C&D were less than 8 of those hours because we played the tides. Depending on where you are going in the Chesapeake, you can do it in a weekend... or a long weekend if you take your time.