Chesapeake City and into the Rivers of the Chesapeake

       We got up before dawn on Saturday Oct 15 to make the best use of the tide both in the Cape May Canal and Delaware Bay.  It would be a long day to get up the Bay and into the C & D Canal, and we had contingency plans ready in case we wanted to break up the journey.  It was a misty morning, and very quiet as we made our way to and through the canal.  

Entering the Cape May Canal

We were one of the first boats to leave the USCG anchorage, but most of the other boats are faster and it was no surprise when they began passing us in the Bay itself.  The day turned out to be quite lovely - when the sun rose it was clear and fairly calm, and the tide gave us a fair push for much of the day.  We arrived at the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal about one-forty-five in the afternoon.

Entering the C & D Canal

        

    It’s a long canal.  Many boats break it up with a stop in Chesapeake City, a very small harbor of refuge with a small town fronted by a marina and a free dock.  We didn’t think we’d have a chance at the free dock - far too many boats had already declared their intention to stop here - but we did head in to scope out anchorage.  Many boats were already anchored, and the little place was jumping with a party atmosphere, with live music on the dock ‘cheered on’ by the very loud idling of a cigaret boat or two.  We actually found a spot for Willie amongst the other boats and set the hook.  Many of them cleared out early in the morning to catch a favorable tide, but we opted to hang back for the next one mid-afternoon.

Sunrise in Chesapeake City

We went ashore to explore the very charming small town of Chesapeake City.  The town is very old, with generational inhabitants going way back into the late 1700s/early 1800s when the it was called Bohemia and lived off the river trade of boats passing by.  In 1942 a boat struck the bridge spanning the canal, and forever changed the future of the town.  A new bridge was eventually built (1949, delayed by World War II) which no longer required a bridge tender to open it for boat traffic.  Chesapeake City remains underneath the new bridge, more or less frozen in time.  We learned a great deal just walking around and reading the many plaques in front of circa 1800 houses.  We wanted to visit the C & D Canal Museum, but it was closed.  

We left about two-thirty Sunday afternoon and cruised a short way out and around into the Bohemia River for a quiet night.  We have a few days to explore before we’re expected in Rock Hall, where my cousin Denny and his wife Laura will host us for a few days.  Today (Oct 17) we exchanged the Bohemia River for the Sassafras River, cruising all the way to Fredericktown and anchoring in a protected little basin in anticipation of some strong winds tonight and tomorrow.  There is no end to the rivers and creeks of the Chesapeake begging to be explored.