An end to the storm layover and an ebb tide fight north on the Delaware then south to Rock Hall MD

As the wind was going to shift to the south on Tuesday , and the national elections choosing other winded folks, we delayed our departure from Cape May yet one more day and enjoyed another terrific breakfast at the Lobster House.. This time it was a split of their outstanding chipped beef on toast, a side of “grapple” – a spiced liver patty, and a grilled cinnamon roll, amazing!!. This complex is  also amazing with raw bar, retail fish market and lots of outdoor dining. After breakfast another walk around town viewing the marshes and the harbor in the sunshine. The sun is out and we leave at dawn.

 Tuesday brought one heck of a long day as we traveled north on Delaware  Bay constantly chasing ebb tide all the way as each hour we motored north caught up with the flow at about an hour delay for each 7 miles. The boat was moving at 9.45 mph and yet with the flow our speed over ground was more like 5 and sometimes less. Finally after 11 hours we reached the Delaware – Chesapeake Canal as the sun set, arriving about 2 hours later than predicted. No other choice as we had to wait to get off the ground (literally we were about a foot buried at the slip) with a minus tide at Cape May the night before, and the sun to rise to be able to navigate the shoals around the bottom of Cape May’s peninsula. Even then there were some unmarked obstacles getting out of the marina that we “bumped” with the keel. The saying goes if you are in New Jersey you will be in the silt at some point. Lots of interesting boating traffic along the Delaware, and with others we talked about the length of ebb tide many agreed an odd occurrence. Arriving at Summit North Marina to some peace and quiet in this state park( even the kitties enjoyed the slower pace)

we were looking forward to a night out in celebration of a long trip but unfortunately the restaurant was closed so we dined upon lasagna leftovers after Cindy took an ankle spraining fall on the rustic planking stairway up to the restaurant.

  Wednesday was terrific as we decided to shorten the day to something like 30 miles (rather than the 60 the day before) and with the more minor tidal 1.5 ft versus 4-5 on the Delaware we made it to Rock Hall (across the bay from Baltimore) by 3pm.  There we met some fellow cruisers , Mike and Linda, and locals Jim and Jo for some chat before going to Waterman’s Crab House for a crabcake sandwich for Cindy and grilled flounder for Jay. With light rain tonight predicted and a storm moving late Thurs. eve to Friday we will go to Annapolis tomorrow to lay over for a day or two, and to get our sewage macerator installed. There are some great anchorages nearby we hope to explore more of them when we don’t have a bit of a time press to get south before cold weather. A few cute places in Rock Hall (one of the more original was a house with fore and aft of a boat stuck out each end)

but a fairly closed up town in off season. We have noticed how much the descriptions of places in the guides are all the same and that perhaps a more realistic version is needed.