Delaware Bay.....the Chesapeake Bays Ugly Stepsister!

Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbor, MD 5/18/2019
C & D Canal
​Delaware City Marina, Delaware City 5/19-21/2019
​Farley State Marina, Atlantic City, NJ 5/22-25/2019
​Hoffman Marina, Brielle, NJ 5/25-27/2019

View from the bow of the boat. We got our little chairs out for the first time since Marathon and enjoyed a cocktail on the bow and watched the sunset.

Bohemia Bay
Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbor was our last stay on the Chesapeake Bay.  It reminded us of home.  It was a beautiful, wide river lined with trees and we easily could have mistaken it for the St. Croix.  The marina was so friendly and very family oriented.  The couple behind us on the T head had been boating there for over 30 years.  They offered us their car to get groceries and were so welcoming.  We enjoyed the sunset and watching families playing on the beach.  We stayed only one night as it was near the C & D Canal and we were headed there Sunday.

Busy dad on the beach at Bohemia Bay with all his boys.

A lipstick sunset at Bohemia Bay

Sunday morning was a debris filled cruise thru the C & D Canal.  With all the rain in the area, rivers were flooding and those that run into the canal were dumping lots of logs and branches that we needed to dodge on our way thru.  The Chesapeake and Delware Canal connects the two bodies of water.  It's a man made canal and was made primarily for commerical traffic to get goods thru to interior ports.  We got lucky and didn't meet any barges and got to our destination, Delaware City Marina by early afternoon.  

Coast Guard Station on C & D Canal. We typically have slipped very near Coast Guard Stations all along the trip.

One of many bridges on the canal. You can see just a little of the debris floating toward us.

Delaware City Marina

 It was a gorgeous day, so we unpacked the bag bikes and biked for most of the afternoon.  There is a walk/bike path that runs the length of the canal, 14 miles from Chesapeake City to Delaware City.  It was busy with lots of bikers and walkers and us ;) on Sunday.  ​

Delaware City Marina is located on a canal that reminded us of the Root River!

We came upon the old Delaware Canal lock

Docktails with Looper friends, "Sunshine Rose", Dave & Rose after our captains meeting in Delaware City

The calm before the storm....the beginning of our trip "down bay" as Tim the Dockmaster refers to it. We were rocking and rolling so much near the end of the trip that I wasn't able to take a photo ;(

​Up before dawn this morning to make the trip from Delaware City to Atlantic City. There was a total of seven boats making the trek down the bay and according to Tim, the Dockmaster at Delaware City Marina, the Delaware Bay was going to be the best it could be for traveling.  Tim conducts nightly captains’ meetings for those seeking guidance from a local who knows his stuff!  We attended both Monday night and Tuesday nights meetings and the modes for wind, waves, current and weather predicted a stellar day. 
It’s interesting to us because NO ONE and I mean NO ONE, ever talked about the Delaware Bay being a tricky and icky piece of water.  It’s only 60 miles to Cape May from Delaware City, but it’s can be a treacherous trip if you don’t do your homework.  Tom does a great job with researching the conditions for us so it was very gratifying for him in the meetings to know his findings were correct.
After all the slow boats got off the dock, boats that are going 7 – 9 knots, we pulled up to the fuel dock, filled up and pumped out and were on our way by 7:15am.  We took off.  Seas were great for while….and then they weren’t.  Tim said it could change once we started to slant into the east side of the bay to access the canal and it did!  The last 15 miles were HORRID.  The dingy was taking a pounding and I was afraid it was going to get ripped off the swim platform.  We plowed thru and made to the canal and then stopped in the Cape May basin area got the dinghy pulled back into place, reattached the wench to the front ring, tightened down the straps and added two more to secure it even better.
After regrouping, we headed out the Cape May Inlet with a little trepidation.  Neither of us were interested in getting p***pounded again.  To our amazement, the Atlantic was beautiful.  The waves were less than 1 ft and the farther north we traveled, the more the seas flattened.  Our last 40 miles was a piece of cake and we arrived in Atlantic City at the Farley State Marina at the Golden Nugget by 12:15pm.  Not bad for a 105 mile day.  Sometimes it’s great being able to run fast!

Farley State Marina, Atlantic City, NJ

Well, Atlantic City is exactly like you think it is.  Big casinos, the boardwalk and guys asking you, "How you do'in?"  I'm serious!  I felt like I was in an episode of Jersey Shores and Snooky was going to appear any moment. ;)
We forget that as we are traveling north the boating season is just beginning.  Memorial Day is the kick off for most boaters.  It definitely was that way in Atlantic City.  After we arrived on Wednesday, the boating masses began to filter into the marina.  Large boats and people  ready to party.  We were feeling pretty old.....in bed by nine as the band in the marina was just warming up!

Left: The Boardwalk in Atlantic City Above: Entertainers on the boardwalk in Atlantic City

The beach of the Boardwalk

View from the pool at the Golden Nugget of the marina and Atlantic City

The hotel had a huge recreation area for volleyball, bags, soccer, etc. It was really cool.

Vegas on the water....

The "Boardwalk" was quite the vessel! We never did find out whose yacht this was. Helicopter was out of hand.

One of "Boardwalk's" fenders.....it's as large as our dinghy!

Docktails on Bella in Atlantic City with Looper friends, "Knights Kingdom", Jim & Justine

Really all they sold were silo's.....

Datenight in Atlantic City ❤

Hoffman Marina, Brielle, NJ

Saddly, my only picture in from Hoffman Marina. Walking to church in Manasquan, NJ

You're not suppose to have a schedule when you're on the Loop and up to this point, we've pretty much stuck to that philosophy, but we have family and friends  (Sam, Griff, Dave & Megan Weinhold)  arriving this week on Fire Island, NY, and  come hell or high water 😉 we're gonna get there!  So we took off from Atlantic City early when a weather window presented itself Saturday and arrived in Brielle, NJ.  It was a bumpy ride at first but got better the closer to our destination.
We've only been here two days, checked out the town and reprovisioned but are leaving tomorrow for Fire Island because we got lucky again and have another good weather window.  I can't wait!  We've been put intouch with a friend of a friend, Glen, who boats on Fire Island.  He's been a great resource and we can't wait to meet him, his wife, family and Rob and Sarah (Weinhold) Duke and their family tomorrow.  It's gonna be another great adventure on the Loop!

​More later from Fire Island~