Lyn's Log, 4th June 2007
Chesapeake to New Jersey

Atlantic City, New Jersey.
N39º22', W74º24'
14,806 miles.

On leaving Norfolk on 20th May we made our way into the Chesapeake Bay and were overwhelmed by just how vast an area of water it is. Even Hampton Roads, fronting Norfolk in the south-east corner of the Bay, is large enough. It is too distant to see the 17 mile bridge which crosses the mouth of the Bay at its southern end. We had sailed under the bridge ten years ago, and from one side of the bridge we could not see the other side. Some of the rivers that run into the Chesapeake, such as the Potomac where Washington stands, are also vast. Even their tributaries seemed like large rivers to us. You could cruise here for a year and never visit the same place twice.

We worked up the west side of the Bay. Our first stop was about 50 miles north, at anchor in a place called Fishing Bay. It had been recommended to us and was well sheltered. We walked ashore though the village center was no more than a fuel station. The countryside was lovely with ripe wheatfields and woodland. Our next day took us into the state of Maryland where we ventured up a couple of rivers to other pleasant anchorages and explored towns where the first English settlers had arrived such as St Mary’s City, the original capital of Maryland.

Spring Cove Marina at Solomons’ Island was a well kept marina with plenty of flowers and trees and facilities, very close to an excellent maritime museum which included a renovated 'cottage' lighthouse. The sides of the Chesapeake were now getting close enough to see across and we visited Oxford, on the east side (Cambridge was not very far away). We anchored here two nights, exploring the town, which is small and totally dedicated to yachting, reminding me of Cowes, and also further up the Tred Avon river.

Next we sailed to Annapolis and stayed several days over the Memorial holiday weekend. With its huge Naval Academy dominating the town, this was more akin to somewhere like Portsmouth. Between Solomon’s Island and Annapolis there had been many yachts and motor boats and with the holiday weekend it was beginning to feel very like being in the Solent, with many boats converging on the anchorages and marinas in the late afternoon. In Annapolis we bought a new raw water pump for the engine and found we needed a few extra new bits before we could eventually fit it. There are many yards and places advertising to fix everything on boats and an excellent chandlers called Fawcetts. It would be a good place for a major refit.

Feeling pushed for time we did not visit nearby Baltimore, but continued to the north of the Chesapeake and through the Chesapeake & Delaware Ship Canal to Delaware Bay. My friend Linda was in New York for a week at this time but due to the hold up in Belhaven we could not get there in time to meet her.

That night we anchored behind Rushy Island where the canal enters Delaware Bay, and the next day set out for Cape May on the Atlantic side of the mouth of the Delaware. Delaware Bay is much less benign than the Chesapeake though. We were on a fast ebb heading straight into the wind. The water became so choppy that we could make no progress directly into it. We motor-sailed tacking across the wind and waves getting quite wet. Then, as it was getting late, we took a short cut through the tricky Prissy Wicks shoal at the mouth of the Delaware, and eventually anchored off the Coastguard station in the little harbour at Cape May well after dark.

Next was a very pleasant sail under spinnaker north along the Atlantic coast to Atlantic City where we had to spend two nights due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry passing through. How it rained! The only place with enough depth of water for us was the municipal marina run by the Trump company. Most of the town seemed to be owned by Donald Trump. It was extremely expensive at $144 per night. The town is like Las Vegas with huge fanciful hotels housing massive casinos. At $10 per chip on the cheapest tables we could not afford to play but it was an experience just walking round. We found a Hard Rock Café. This is the well known chain, but the one at Atlantic City is exceptional. Around the wall were memorabilia: gold disks, guitars and clothes from every famous rock group you could think of, from the Beatles on. The house speciality cocktail is the "Hurricane", the largest I have ever seen. Anyone who got through one (me!) was given the glass. Through the wind and rain we saw a part of the famous Boardwalk which runs all along the front, with fair ground stalls and guys pushing people in double wicker seats on wheels. It is the top valued street in the original version of Monopoly.