"South for the Winter" : Cape May, NJ to Chesapeake City, MD

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Nov 5. Cape May, NJ to Chesapeake City, MD
We hauled up the anchor at 0830. At 1012 we were leaving the fuel dock. We put 189.2 gallons of diesel at 2.99 a gallon. We burned about 20 gallons per hour yesterday.
At 1017 we entered Cape May Canal which is about 8nm long.
At 1107 we entered Delaware Bay which is one of Ximena’s favorites sites of the journey. The horns located in place of the red markers are pieces of maritime art. We were running at 7.5 knots average so she got time to take incredible pictures of five of them:
At 1212 Fourteen FT Bank.
At 1236 Miah Maull Shoal.
At 1304 Abandon LH (Ruins)
At 1321 Elbow of Cross Ledge
At 1335 Ship John Shoal.
We saw a couple of big cargo ships go by.
We pass the Nuclear Plant at 1614.
For a while we had a following current and the wind on the stern so we took the stress off the autopilot, turned off and decided to steer by compass. Were surfing the swells and it was very difficult to keep course. But Ximena got to practice hand steering and range bearings.
As we were going inbound Delaware River with a following current and 15 kts winds on our stern we collided with the current coming out of the river, against us, so the swells were humongous in the area were the currents were opposing. As we were turning we saw a navy aircraft carrier coming out, we had to keep clear and maneuver outside the channel which really require seamanship in those sea conditions. A couple of its planes were flying around it. One of them came very close to us to check us out. It was incredible.
At 1702 we entered the famous C&D canal at Reedy Point. We went under a few bridges. At 1818 changed state again: we went from Delaware to Maryland. Once we found the special anchorage in Chesapeake City, MD it took us an hour to anchor. The CQR wouldn’t hold. We were about to move to another area when Vitto decided to change to the danforth anchor. And that one held just fine.
Then the generator quit working. Which means no stove, no microwave and no heater!. The generator wasn’t pissing water so Vitto knew it was overheating and it wasn’t electrical. The strainer was clean. Hoping that intake wasn’t clogged by seaweed or a plastic bag or who knows what Vitto decided to pull the water pump from its vey tight home. He spent a few hours in the engine room that night. Pulling the water pump and changing the gasket and the impeller. Got it working and then a sparse supper of hotdogs and beans.
We logged 65 nm today.

more pics

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