Chesapeake City

Andrew had looked at the wind and tide and current and weather and even asked Grok for his opinion, but when we woke up on Thursday morning, we noticed the two other boats that had been in Warton Creek with us had already left. So instead of leaving at 8:45 like Grok had suggested, we left at 7am. The current was with us all the way and our top speed was 8.2 knots!!

It took us 4 hours to get to Chesapeake City where we dropped anchor in a small anchorage. It is much noisier here than where we were last night. The noise from the bridge goes all through the night and there are boats and cars and people in the nearby restaurants making typical city noises. Something we haven't heard for a while.

Upon researching Chesapeake City we discovered that it is in fact not a city at all, but a rather small town with no supermarkets nearby. 

We discovered that we were low on eggs. Bear in mind we eat around 7 eggs every day for breakfast. Andrew had a look at getting an Uber but it was going to be expensive. 

One of the boats, Scoot, that we had seen along the way was also in the bay and they came over to us on their way to shore. They have bicycles so it makes it a lot easier for them to get around. She mentioned that some of the supermarkets deliver if you buy online. Andrew was a bit concerned about that because we had tried to purchase online and his credit card is never accepted.

Then Andrew had a brainwave - Uber Eats!! We had used Uber before and paid with Andrew's credit card, so Uber Eats should work! We ordered some supplies and lo and behold a couple of hours later we went ashore to meet the delivery guy! Bonus!

On the way back to their boat, Sam and Jane stopped off with a dozen eggs for us! So thoughtful of them and so kind!

Why is Chesapeake City called a city? 

When the C & D canal was opened to traffic in 1829, there were only three building on the south bank at the western end of the canal. As ship traffic increased, more people came to live in the town, growing it into a busy commercial community, with the north and south parts of town connected by a drawbridge. In 1839, the town called Village of Bohemia, which at that time had a population of 400 people, was renamed, Chesapeake City. The powers that be thought it would grow into a big, flourishing city. 

And it did for the next 75 years until, in 1927, the Canal was dredged to a sea-level waterway, eliminating the need for ships to stop for the locks at Chesapeake City. Economy in the town dwindled. To compound matters a freighter drove into the drawbridge in 1942 and destroyed it, leaving townsfolk only able to cross the canal by means of a ferry for seven years.

A new bridge was opened in 1949, however, this did nothing to improve the economy of the town, as the new bridge needed to be high enough to allow supertankers through, which resulted in cars and visitors no longer stopping in the town but driving over it, high in the sky.

 

In the 1960s 39 homes were destroyed as the canal was widened to make space for bigger ships. By this stage the Canal was a very popular route through the Chesapeake towards Delaware, making it the third busiest in the world. Although it is a popular route there are only around 750 residents. Most of the buildings have been restored to their original architectural design and are open as restaurants or bed and breakfast spots. 

On Friday we all went ashore for a walk around the town. It was so nice to see the buildings looking as beautiful as I am sure they were many years ago. We stopped at a brewery for a beer and I got my crab cakes at the famous Tap Room. Crab is an interesting taste. 

Not sure I will go for it again. Plus it was the most expensive thing on the menu. I don’t understand how as we are constantly dodging crab pots down the canal. It should be cheap!

By nightfall the rain had returned and we hunkered down after a weather warning of strong winds, hail and even a tornado. 

Andrew was up a few times in the night as the anchorage is quite tight and Elboe had anchored quite close but far enough away to not bump if we swing. But there was no hail, a few strong gusts of wind and thankfully, no tornado.

Once again Andrew had been researching the tides and wind, asking Grok the best time to leave. Well, Andrew discovered that Grok had got it a bit wrong, so he decided to do his own research. There is a lesson in that, AI and Grok are only as good as the information you give them!

We were going to leave at 5am on Sunday morning, but finally decided to leave on Saturday and stop over at Reedy. Then make another hop to Cape May on Sunday.

After a brief overnight stop at Reedy Island, which is basically just a place to drop anchor in a shallow patch off the beaten track, we woke before sunrise and sailed on to Cape May. 

It was a bit bumpy and lumpy with the seas coming from behind, and we motor sailed all the way as we didn’t want to get caught with the wrong tide going in to the inlet. Turns out it wouldn’t really have mattered as the inlet was very protected and wide. A couple of dolphin were playing at the entrance when we went in. 

In the next installment, we explore Cape May and then prepare Calypso for an overnight sail!

Rock Hall and Warton Creek

The sail over to Swan Creek was quite sporty but the wind was good and we only needed a headsail out to get about 5 - 6 knots of boat speed.

The entrance to Swan Creek is quite tricky as there are a lot of shoals. Andrew had to follow the track carefully.

We dropped anchor quite near the entrance. The wind howled for the next 24 hours. It was not very pleasant and quite cold.

On Saturday Andrew went ashore to get water. We had filled up 50 liters in Annapolis and were worried we would be quite empty. But we only put in 125 liters, which I think is very good going. 

We were sitting in the cockpit on Saturday afternoon when a guy rode past on a jet ski. He stopped and asked where in Cape Town we come from, he sounded very South African. We chatted a bit and he invited us for drinks at his house at the end of the creek. His name is Miles, and he has been living in USA for 25 years.

We had such a lovely afternoon at his holiday house, meeting his friends and family that we forgot to take any photos! 

The funny thing was, he told us he met other South Africans here last year. As he told us more we worked out he had met Grant and Leanne on Ohana and Bev and Andre on Sea Dancer.

The wind finally died down on Sunday, which turned out to be a beautiful day.

View from the braai

We went for a walk into the town, which entailed a very long straight walk down a busy main road. There were a couple of boat yards, non of which had fences around them.

The little town is lovely with lots of small shops and even a market place. As we rounded a corner we found a coffee shop with people sitting on the grass listening to a woman playing music. We discovered later that it was a business crawl music festival! Such a good way to support businesses and showcase local talent! Sadly we had already been shopping so needed to get back to the boat.

We discovered a brilliant free bus called Rock Hall Rides, that runs a loop around the town. It only takes twelve people and it filled up quickly. The bus driver was on her first trip so had her mentor on the bus with her. They were so friendly and helpful, telling us all about the town and where we could go. The bus is paid for by local businesses for people like us, cruisers and tourists, to use.

On Monday morning, Andrew and I went ashore to catch the bus to the Laundromat. Sadly, we discovered that the bus only runs on the weekend. So we walked 3km to the Laundromat only to be told once we got there that the water was turning people’s clothes brown. Eish

We left, prepared to walk back to the marina where we left the dinghy but we were stopped by a couple who had also wanted to use the machines who asked if we were on a boat. After replying in the positive we mentioned that we had walked to get here. They offered us a lift back, which we gladly accepted.

A guy arrived in his dinghy at the dinghy dock, and said that they have a new washing machine and dryer at the marina. While Andrew went to find out if we could use it even though we are not on a mooring or in a slip, I saw a snake swimming past in the water. After looking it up on the good old Google, we discovered that although they can bite they are not venomous. No swimming for me!

And they said we could use the machines!! Bonus. Wish we had known that earlier before walking 3km with all our washing!

I know we could be doing our washing on the boat, but it uses a lot of water. We are not able to make water as the water here is not clear and blocks up the filters very quickly. So we are relying on marinas to fill our Jerries with water and have to be careful with water usage on the boat.

Skipper needs a refill

After studying all the weather, wind and tide models we decided to head out of Swan Creek a bit earlier than planned. The wind was due to pick up later in the day but the tide was going to turn and be against us. 

We set off hoping for some wind but ended up motoring all the way to Worton Creek where we dropped anchor amongst fish pots. Thank goodness the fishermen put flags on their buoys which makes it easier for us to see them.

The bad weather we were expecting arrived at around 5pm and didn’t stop for the next 24 hours!

What do we do when it is raining? We get under the duvet or blanket and watch movies, catch up on YouTube videos and read.

The boat didn't leak as much as last time, which means all Andrew's hard work paid off!

Finally, on Thursday 29th May, the rain had stopped, so we upped anchor and headed towards Chesapeake City.