GL: Running Delaware Bay

[chesapklady at comcast.net]

We are relatively close to the Delaware Bay, but there's so much wonderful stuff on the Chesapeake that we haven't done the Delaware very often. In fact, I've "Run the Delaware Bay" only three times in the last ten or twelve years. 
The first time was when I was bringing a new-to-me Bayliner 3288 down to the Chesapeake from Lake Champlain. As a relatively new boater I was nervous about what might happen. . . no, what was expected! . . . on the Delaware Bay. Our approach to Cape May was crowned by dolphins jumping across our bow at the inlet, and we knew that our voyage down from NY on the outside was successful! What a wonderful feeling. 
For the trip up that dog-leg back north up the Delaware we had a lovely day. The Bay must have been at slack tide and the wind at zero (what did I know??) It was a mirror flat and reflective surface, with barely a ripple. Lovely. Truly lovely! I recommend that kind of "running of the Delaware Bay." 
The second time was when Hans and I were planning a long weekend in Cape May aboard Aqua Vitae -- the boat we bought after the Bayliner 3288. We left Chesapeake City just before slack tide, going against the tide all the way through the canal and into the Delaware River/Bay. (Big deal, we lost a knot maybe two.) Then as we turned south we clicked with the wind and tide and our eight knot boat slid down to Cape May at 10-12 knots! WOW!! We felt as if we were flying! Again, I recommend that kind of "running of the Delaware Bay." 
The return trip was a different story. We headed north from Cape May thinking oh, what the hey, just how bad can it be, against the tide. . . with the wind opposing. . . well. 
It can be bad. We travelled alongside but not "with" a 42' Grand Banks, that was several hundred yards off our stern on the starboard side. At one point we radioed them to tell them that their bottom was completely clean, in case they were wondering. They never responded (where oh where was their sense of humor??!) but we were pretty sure that someone on our port side on that trip could have told us whether or not our bottom was clean. The boats were being lifted and smashed against the seas, in a very (did I say "very??" ) unpleasant way. 
We'll "Run the Delaware Bay" again but we'll pick our times. We'll never do it again with a schedule. NEXT time we'll go with the tide and wind , and look for that mirror surface. I mean, NO ONE needs opposing tide and wind on the Delaware Bay! You don't want to be there. 

Okay, and compare it to the Chesapeake???? Well it's like a model railroad compared to the "real thing." If it can be "that bad" on the Delaware Bay it can be that much worse on the Chesapeake, which will take you five days to travel, not one, and has distances and fetch at least five times the Delaware Bay as well. Both bodies of water can be friendly. One can be traversed in one day (under any number of favorable or not!) conditions, the other will take several days at trawler speed and you'd better by god be ready to hold off for a day or three or five or a couple of weeks for weather. Either way slow down and LIVE IT! Experience it. . . we've lived and boated on the Chesapeake Bay for a while, and recognize the importance of living with local knowledge. 

And really, what's different from anywhere else that we cruise? We plan it carefully, choose our windows. And it can be great . . . or not. We just have to know our own limits. 

Peggy Bjarno 
Aqua Vitae, 1986 Albin 43 classic trawler 
Baltimore, MD 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: great-loop-request at lists.samurai.com 
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Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2009 12:00:00 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Great-Loop Digest, Vol 78, Issue 3 

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