Delaware Bay

Delaware Bay is a passage of 50 miles from the C& D Canal to the Atlantic Ocean that is studded with shallow waters & sandbars outside of the shipping channels. The Bay is notorious for building up short, choppy seas quickly and creating rougher weather than local reports may indicate. Currents can run up to 3 knots.

Tim, the owner of Delaware City Marina, is known locally to be a very good predictor of wind & waves on Delaware Bay. He convinced us to stay an extra day because he thought it would be too windy out on the Bay. He was so concerned about us leaving that he gave us free dockage & said we only had to pay $10 dollars for electric. We are glad we listened to him. Even though we waited an extra day for the wind to calm down, the waves were still bigger than expected. We had a good cruising day because the waves were right on our stern, so we really didn't feel them. Plus we got a big extra boost in speed because we timed the tide right & went with the current right down the bay.

Leaving Delaware City Marina at sunrise.

There were lots of tugs with barges & big ships throughout the Bay.

Lighthouse

Entering the Cape May Canal in New Jersey.

Ferries run across Delaware Bay from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE.

This is an old train bridge. Don't ever take a train to Cape May, NJ. This bridge looks so rusty that I think it would collapse if a train went over it.

We stayed at the South Jersey Marina in Cape May, New Jersey. We used our bikes to ride around & see the town. We bypassed Cape May when we were heading south in January. You can just tell that this place must be jam packed with people in the summer. Cape May is reputed to be " the nation's oldest seashore resort."  The entire town has been proclaimed a National Historic Landmark. Cape May likely has the largest collection of Victorian period houses in the country.