Time Flies, Even on a Slow Trawler

October 7 – 15

I can't believe it's been over a week since the last blog post! 

After leaving Barnegat Light with our repaired engine we had a safe run down the 40 miles of coastline to arrive in Atlantic City at 4:30 p.m.  We sure were surprised to find out we were the first ones to pull in to anchor in The Pond for the night.  3 sailboats had entered the inlet ahead of us, and we just figured at least one of them would head into The Pond, but none of them did.  We had just finished our anchoring drill when another trawler pulled in, and then within half an hour, 4 more trawlers arrived.  The other 5 had all come from Sandy Hook so they had had a really long day like we would have had if we hadn't broken down 5 days earlier.

The next morning we got going at first light, amidst a stellar sunrise, because we had a long way to go, most of which would be traveling up Delaware Bay where the tidal currents can be very strong if they are against you.

The ocean was almost like a lake.  There wasn't a cloud visible anywhere in the sky.  I say that that is how cruising should always be like and then we all laugh out loud knowing I'm just having some kind of fantasy.

When we popped out of the Cape May Canal and saw 6 tug and barge rigs anchored on the west side of Delaware Bay, we knew we were in for a long, slow ride up the Bay against a strong outgoing tide.  The big rigs like that will wait for the outgoing tide to slow so that they can get up the Bay more economically than trying to fight the tide.  We heard one tug captain report that there was a pod of at least 3 whales at the entrance to Delaware Bay, but we were headed in the opposite direction.

Even with no fish it's still a great day

This Cape May party boat was fishing right next to the Miah Maull shoal light.  Notice how calm the water is and how the sky is perfectly clear and bright. We haven't seen many days like that on our numerous transits of the Delaware.  I wondered if the people fishing were bothered by the long, low horn sound coming from the light.  That is so you can still know where the shoal is in the fog when the light isn't visible.

We finally dropped the hook behind the Reedy Island dike right as the sun was setting down over the tree line, making it a sunrise to sunset day.  With the current having been against most of the day, it took us 1.5 hours longer than the previous time we had made the same run from Atlantic City to Reedy Island with a more favorable tide.

The next day we had an easy transit through the C & D Canal, only had one commercial ship pass us.  However, there was a LOT of debris, and we had to be on the lookout all the time so that we didn't hit anything.  At least with the calm water it was easy to spot all the junk.  The highlight of the canal passage for me was seeing the zebras again.  I wrote about them when we were eastbound, telling you I saw them in a barn, and the guys couldn't see them.  This time, they were clearly visible grazing in a hillside pasture.

A sailboat named N TITLED 2 crossed quite closely in front of our bow.  We all sadly commented how that name appropriately reflects the current attitude of many Americans.

Our destination for Sunday. Oct. 9 was to reach the Corsica River, off the Chester River, so that we could position ourselves in closer proximity to cruising up the remainder of the 26 mile long Chester River to Chestertown, MD on Monday.  A noteworthy landmark on the Corsica River is the rural country retreat for the Russian Embassy employees.  In the 1920s the man who built the Empire State Building built a mansion at the mouth of the river.  The estate was purchased in the 1970s by the Russian Embassy.  The bright, old brick buildings are obscured by large trees, so I couldn't get any photos.  The roof tops didn't look like they were covered with spy surveillance equipment, so maybe the place is strictly used for R & R.

Cruising on the Chester River provides an opportunity to see the rural Maryland countryside's gently rolling hills and riverside farms.  The river is up to 3 miles wide in some places, so you don't have a feeling of being closed in.  We saw thousands of Canada geese in the plowed under fields and along the river banks.   Huge flocks flew in from over the treetops joining the others, honking endlessly.

We waited until Monday afternoon to anchor off of Chestertown.  Since we knew it was a popular weekend and holiday destination we hoped that the Columbus Day crowd would have left.  There were only 3 other boats anchored out in the river.  However, we couldn't get a good set on either of our anchors; the bottom was just too soft to give us secure holding under the backdown pressure.  Since no winds were in the forecast, we figured we would be fine for the night especially since we would be aboard FLUKE if the anchor started to drag.

The next day, we called the municipal marina and made arrangements to tie up to the dock for the day while we went sightseeing in town.  That way we wouldn't have to worry about if the anchor was going to hold while we were away from the boat, and we wouldn't have to bother launching the dinghy.

Brief history of Chestertown

Our first destination was the Kent County Visitors Center to pick up a brochure entitled “Walking Tour of Historic Chestertown”.  Chestertown became prosperous in the early 1700s because of seafood and agriculture.  With easy access to the river and nearby extensive farmlands, Chestertown became a major trading hub.  The FLUKE crew is in agreement that Chestertown is the most well-preserved, small historical town we have visited this summer.  It is worth a visit by land or by sea.

River life of the past

Merchants prospered allowing the building of superb homes featuring many architectural styles: Georgian, Federal, Italianate, and Queen Anne.  Scores of these original homes from 1700 – early 1900s have been lovingly restored and preserved. 

Flemish bond brickwork

Having used brick for home construction enabled many of the homes to be better preserved and restored.  I really liked the look of the Flemish bond bricks with the glazed headers.  This home is used by Washington College, the first college chartered after the Declaration of Independence.  The main campus of the private liberal arts school sits just outside of the old part of town.

Holiday decoration

One of the old homes with a magnificent entry from the street had this beautiful holiday decoration above the set of big front doors.  The variety and color in the gourds and their arrangement above the door was very artistic.  Chestertown is a haven for several renowned artists, and there are numerous galleries and studios throughout town.

Downtown

It is a pleasant exercise to stroll around town, whether in the residential section or the “business” section.  The brick walkways are lined with trees and beautiful planters.  The storefronts are varied and inviting and are next to the in town park.  Restaurants, inns, boutiques, and soft commercial business all blend well to give a warm and inviting feel to the town.  We ate a delicious lunch at Play It Again Sam, where we could sit at a table on the outside walkway, more convenient for us since we had Ursa along.

Chestertown Public School

Originally built in 1901, Kent County offices now occupy this Colonial Revival style building.

While there are no commercial waterfront businesses that reflect those of the past, Chestertown is home to part of the historical heritage of the riverfront days of yesteryear.  The  public dock areas are permanent locations for the skipjack ELLSWORTH and the buyboat ANNIE D which are owned by the Echo Hill Outdoor school.  We had toured both of them when we were in Rock Hall for Fall Fest a couple of year's earlier.  The SULTANA, a reproduction 18th century schooner, is also berthed at the Chestertown waterfront.  She wasn't there for our visit and we were disappointed to miss seeing her.

With rain and wind predicted for later that night and the following day, we decided to head back to the Corsica River to anchor out for the night after we left Chestertown.

The following morning while I was at the helm watching Eddie pulling up the anchor, a bald eagle swooped down just beyond the bow, wings fully spread and  the fat, feathery legs with long talons outstretched.  It went right into the water, but didn't get a fish.

Since the winds were out of the east, we thought the water would be the calmest in Eastern Bay, and we would spend a half day cruising to our next anchorage on the Wye River.

Kent Narrows draw bridge

The shortest distance for us to reach Eastern Bay was to go through the Kent Narrows.  That meant we had to get an early start to catch the high tide.  The channel from the north that accesses the Narrows is shallow, and we wanted as much water as possible.  As it was, our depth alarm still sounded a couple of times.  Vessels having the current behind them, as we did, have priority through the narrow bridge opening, and the accommodating bridge tender lets cruisers know if boats are on the opposite side since visibility is limited.

Pump pieces

We found good wind protection and good holding in Lloyd Creek, off the Wye River.  Right after lunch, the W & E Marine Maintenance Team took action to try to diagnose why the generator water temperature had been creeping up a bit too high.  The most logical place to start was to take apart the cooling water pump and look at the impeller.  The photo above shows what was left of it, i.e., not much!  Since that is a common part to have to replace, we always carry spares, and the WE Team is well-versed in the repair process.

We pulled up the anchor at first light the following morning because we had about 83 nm miles to go.  The Bay conditions turned out to be worse than forecast.  We spent most of the gray, misty day beating into the waves which gets to be very tiring.

Black and white

I thought this sailboat looked interesting, because everything, including the sky and water, was color coordinated in gray scale colors.

A bright spot in the mist

We noticed that the spinnaker on this sailboat was set off the aft mast, as compared to those we usually see off the forward mast as in the previous photo.

Always room for one more

Notice how the cormorants align themselves so that the lower ones aren't in direct line to get pooped on by the ones above them.  I bet you never wondered if that was a problem for birds, huh?

As the sun was setting, we dropped the hook just inside the southern point at the mouth of the Great Wicomico River,  our 5th time anchoring there.  5 sailboats anchored for the night too, our first time having company (other than off Chestertown) in any of our Chesapeake anchorages. 

A 6:00 a.m. wake-up call was scheduled to check the weather to see if we could make some progress heading south.  Small craft warnings were forecast starting at 2:00 p.m., so we decided to give it a try up until about noon.

Once we left the anchorage and got out on the Bay conditions were worse than forecast, but we toughed it out, with water regularly coming over the bow and slamming us forward.  We traveled about 15 miles to the mouth of the Piankatank River.  Another 7 miles upriver brought us to Berkley Island.  It is well-protected from the high winds that are blowing up the Bay waters as I write this.  We are all busy with plenty of boat chores to keep us occupied the day and a half we expect to be holed up here. 

We really want to be able to transit the Norfolk and Portsmouth areas tomorrow, Sunday, since the numerous bridge openings are more favorable for boaters on the weekends.  Plus, we want to get a jump on the many boats that will be leaving from Power Boat Show in Baltimore on Monday.  However, the weather forecast is borderline because of high winds, so we will have to get an update early in the morning and make the decision to move at that time.