The currents rip through the C & D canal!
The C & D (Chesapeake and Delaware) Canal was conceived in the late 1700’s but it took until the 1800’s and action by the legislatures of Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania to get the project started. Connecting the upper ends of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays saves some 300 miles of travel and after 5 years of work by some 2600 men, using mostly hand digging, the canal was completed in 1829 by the C & D Canal Company, a privatized consortium that did not go without a bankruptcy and lawsuits that had to go to the Supreme Court (and we think privatized infrastructure projects are “the way” of the future!).
Originally constructed with several locks at both ends, cargo barges were pulled by mules. The locks were later removed and canal has been widened twice since it’s original construction and now is 450 feet wide after the latest widening in the 1960’s. Still, because of strong currents, collisions between big cargo ships passing in the canal have happened. You never want to be in the canal when two big guys are crossing!
Our transit of the canal happened on a Sunday and was uneventful. Our stop that day was at the Delaware City Marina at east end of the canal and included a daily briefing (like what we took advantage of with Hank in Southport, NC) of updated navigation alerts, weather/currents/tides and general cruising info for folks unfamiliar with the area, by “Tim” at 5pm with a cold drink in hand. Our session included 3 other couples who were all loopers and was very worthwhile indeed as we learned that we could save an hour of travel time and improve our mileage/speed almost 20% by heading down Delaware Bay at the right time of tides/currents!
The next day we cast off at 6:30 am and completed the run to Cape May, New Jersey. Arriving at the marina we immediately encountered fire engines and a hazmat team actively working to remedy a sailboat that had filled their bilges with gasoline due to a broken fuel line……. Scary!
Thanks again to AGLCA’s network of Harbor Hosts, we were able to get a free courtesy car to go shopping and restock the fridge! All is good!!
The Delaware City Marina is on a side channel of the D & C
I think we had oysters, clams AND crab for dinner here........................ cold beer, PBR's!
Staying out of the way of the big guys is important!
We were "screaming" down the bay with the currents!
Out in to Delaware Bay, the early morning fog makes the big guys appear surprisingly out of nowhere!
