At the Mouth of the Delaware Bay

We cast off from the dock at Anchorage Marina at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, bidding a fond farewell to the ever helpful and pleasant dockmaster Wayne Easton. The sun was shining and the Patapsco River was calm. Despite having only a light to gentle breeze on the Chesapeake Bay, we were able to turn the engine off and sail on a broad reach at up to 5 knots speed over ground. It was pleasant to listen to the hull gliding through the water. We anchored in the Sassafras River on Maryland's eastern shore in about 3 meters of water just as the sun was setting across the bay. It is so bucolic there that we were tempted to stay longer than overnight, but we have a weather window to reach New York Harbor right now so we are taking advantage of it.

Sunset, Sassafras River

Unlike our first trip through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and down the Delaware Bay, we carefully planned to use the currents for our benefit. We pulled up anchor in the Sassafras around 11 a.m. on Saturday and headed north up the Elk River and into the canal. In our two previous passages, there have been many commercial ships, but we did not encounter any this time. (Do they take the weekends off?) Out on the Delaware Bay, we motorsailed until 4 p.m. when we passed through a narrow opening in an unmaintained seawall built to protect the beaches, probably in the 1800s, just south of Reedy Island. There we anchored and waited an hour for the current to reverse so we could be propelled by it down the bay. 

We anchored in about 5 meters of water just off Augustine Beach, where a few people were enjoying the weather and water from the shore. There are only a few buildings in this hamlet now, but an old brick hotel still stands. Built in 1814, it was one of several inns at this resort which included a boardwalk, bathhouses, dance halls and other amusements. Augustine Beach was a destination by steamer for people from Philadelphia and Wilmington wanting to escape the summer heat of the cities. It was most popular between 1870 and 1920. Old photos show hundreds of people clothed, as was only proper, from neck to toes disembarking from a large passenger ship at a pier and enjoying the beach (still fully clothed). I suspect the beach was larger when the dyke was intact; only a few patches remain.

When automobile traveling became popular in the early 20th century, vacationers chose other shore destinations and Augustine Beach as well as other Delaware River and upper bay resorts closed. The three-story red brick hotel is no longer an inn but it does house a seafood restaurant. 

Around 5 p.m., we hauled in the anchor and set off for the winding Cohansey River on the northeast shore of Delaware Bay. For about 30 minutes, we were able to sail, but the wind was too light, so we had to resort to the engine. Luckily, the current was strong and was pushing us downstream. With the current and engine combined, we were running at 9 knots. At 8 p.m., having maneuvered through the mouth of the Cohansey River, we found a lovely place to anchor. Our only concern was that the bottom rose up sharply near the shore, from 9 meters to 3 and as we drifted back on the chain, we watched the drastic change on the depth read-out. However, we loved the place, protected from the wind and surrounded by bright green grasses and a few copses of trees. There were pairs of bald eagles on the ground and in flight and an array of lovely birdcalls from the reeds lining the shore. So we stayed and were happy. 

Shoreline, Cohansey River

Sunset, Cohansey River

Showering on the swim platform just after a yellow and orange sunset which dissolved into pinks and purples over the next hour and a good dinner of couscous, corn, roasted red peppers, herbs and parmesan cheese, we closed ourselves inside for the night as a few bugs began to be annoying. Luckily, we were not subjucted to the hoards of biting flies that we have encountered before on the Delaware Bay. Apparently, they are a true torture only in August (which was the month when we first motored on the bay). We were armed with multiple fly swatters but we only killed two all day.

It was an early start this morning to avail ourselves of the current and the northeast wind, which was quite nippy and necessitated long pants and long sleeves. Overhead were sunny skies and the wind was blowing 16-18 knots from the northeast. Out on the bay there were two foot choppy waves. As soon as we were out of the river, we hoisted the main and the genoa and cut the engine. We were flying through the water at 8 knots, sometimes exceeding 10 knots. Because we were on a close reach on a port tack (and the starboard water tank is full), we were heeling quite a lot. I spent most of the few hours in a comfortable position, lying on the downwind side cushions in the pilot house, out of the wind, with a heavy beach towel for a blanket and an orange life vest for a pillow. Peter is amazed that I can read; I am astounded that he likes sitting up when it seems like a struggle to me to keep my spine and head aligned. 

Instrument panel showing over 10 knots SOG

In just four hours, we sailed from the Cohansey River to Breakwater Bay at Lewes, Delaware, just west of Cape Henlopen, dropping our sails in the lee of the seawall and motoring around for 30 minutes until we found a good place to drop the anchor in four meters of water. There are four other boats anchored here. A stubby, red, nonfunctioning lighthouse sits on the end of the breakwater just off our bow. Miles of wide white sandy beach stretch from the tip of the cape as far as we can see along the waterfront properties of Lewes. Two boats, M/V Delaware and M/V New Jersey of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry line, are plying the wide mouth of the bay carrying passengers to and from New Jersey and Delaware. There is no bridge spanning the 52 miles length of the Delaware Bay nor are there any upstream on the Delaware River for many miles, so the ferry service is crucial for tourism and runs May through October. 

Old lighthouse on east end of breakwater

Cape Henlopen was the southern border of New Netherlands and is named for a prominent Dutch trader, Thijmen Hinlopen, who settled here in the early 1600s. Now a Delaware state park including beaches, dunes, ponds and copses, the cape was declared a public space by William Penn in 1682. It is now the eastern terminus for the American Discovery Trail, a system of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails crossing the middle of the United States. (I didn't know that existed! Thank you again, Wikipedia.) Cape Henlopen was also a WWII defense site called Fort Miles, and the observation tower and a battery can be explored. (We would have kayaked to shore, but the wind was still strong until sunset.) 

Sunset, Breakwater Bay

Tomorrow we go out in the Atlantic, heading north to New York Harbor. Our first stop will probably be Sandy Hook. It is time to get more serious about sailing and tie on the jack lines and get out our harnesses (even though we expect calm weather). The wind will be on the stern, and we hope to sail wing on wing.