After being holed up in Solomons waiting for the gale to blow through and the high water to recede, we were ready to move out and move on. Getting to the bottom of the Chesapeake, and entering the ICW proper, was our agenda.
October 31 – November 1, 2021 Location Days 20 – 21
We had stayed one “extra” day in Solomons. The gale had pulled away the day before and a lot of folks had headed out, thinking conditions would be OK. We had scratched our heads, assessed the finer points in the forecast, and concluded that with breeze still fresh out of the south, the bay could use another 24 hours to lie down. This decision proved correct, as the boats that had left the day before all scurried for cover in whatever creek was available not long after getting under way. The bay was, as we suspected, still rather gnarly.
We enjoyed an extended stay at Solomon’s thanks to — can you guess? — the weather. Two lovely days, one one day of gale conditions and historic flooding. We picked a good spot to ride it out.
October 28 – 31 Solomons, MD Days 16 – 20
We left Annapolis behind as the clouds cleared out, the sun began to shine brightly and a stiff northwest breeze pushed us down the bay. Small Craft Advisories were up. It was blustery — 15 – 25 knots — but as it was behind us, we were pretty comfortable. The current was erratic, first against us, then with us, then against us. The sea state got a little lumpy when it turned against us off Jefferson Island at the entrance to Eastern Bay, so we pushed up our speed for twenty minutes or so to get beyond it, and life became happy again.
We took a break from cruising for about a week to hang out on the boat in Annapolis, visit with friends, get some exercise and re-charge. And then we got delayed — by weather, naturally.
October 22 – 27, 2021 Annapolis, MD Days 11 – 15
Just when you are getting ready to toss the lines and get under way again, the weather stops you. We had enjoyed five days in Annapolis and were ready to move on, when a gale descended on Chesapeake Bay. We decided one or two more days would be the wise choice.
The Delaware Bay gave us it’s common treatment: messy. Fortunately we had waited until conditions had begun to abate and we made it up the the C&D Canal without drama.
October 20 – 21, 2021 Cape May, Bohemia River and Annapolis Days 9 – 10
OK, so we had been sitting in Cape May for two days and three nights. We had waited long enough for good weather. Conditions were forecast to be better than previous days, although far from ideal. We were ready to move and accepted the fact that we would be bashing up the bay, at least for a while.
Partially because we enjoy the stop, but mostly because the Delaware Bay was a mess, we cooled our heels for a few days of R&R in Cape May.
October 17 – 19, 2021 Cape May, NJ Days 6-7-8
We arrived in Cape May knowing the forecast for traveling up the Delaware Bay was not awesome, and wouldn’t be awesome for the foreseeable future. That was actually OK with us, for a while anyway. We had been traveling every day since leaving Rhode Island a week ago and were ready to chill for a day or so in one spot. And if you’re going to hang, Cape May is a good place for it.
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