Atlantic City, NJ to Annapolis, MD - October 11 to 18

During our two-day stay in Atlantic City, we were treated to a great sunset.

On Sunday, October 11, the wind finally calmed down and we left Atlantic City via the Abescon Inlet for the 45-mile open-ocean trip to Cape May.  The seas were very calm and it was a beautiful sunny day.

The Atlantic City lighthouse can be seen as we were transiting the Inlet.

As we traveled South, Wildwood could be seen on shore.

We arrived in Cape May at 11:30 a.m. and did a sea condition check on the Delaware Bay.  Since calm seas were predicted to continue throughout the day we continued on, traveling through the Cape May Canal into the Delaware Bay for our 56-mile trip to the C and D Canal. 



As we passed through Cape May, we saw many tour and commercial fishing boats.

The Delaware Bay contains a heavily-used shipping channel through the center of the Bay. We travel just outside the channel, but need to avoid some of the landmarks, like the Ship John Shoal Light.

The NJ Nuclear Power Plant could be seen for miles.

The entrance to the C and D Canal is hard to see from a distance because of a very low breakwater.












We traveled 14-miles into the Canal and stopped in Chesapeake City for the night.





We arrived at Chesapeake City around 4:00 p.m. and John squeezed Duetto into a very tight spot on the town's free dock.  The beautiful, calm weather stayed with us all day, so we were able to have a glass of wine on the fly bridge and saw some unusual travelers in the Canal.

On Monday, we went to our favorite restaurant for breakfast, cleaned the outside of the boat since we had water at the dock, then left around 11:00 a.m. for our 45-mile trip to Annapolis.  Again, we traveled just outside the shipping channel, but the only obstacles to avoid were all the crab pots.  As we reach Annapolis via the Severn River, the US Naval Academy can be seen at the entrance to Annapolis Harbor.

    

As we go by the Annapolis Yacht Club, the AYC racers provide entertainment.

We went under the Spa Creek Bridge and picked up one of the town's moorings.

Annapolis is one of our favorite places to visit, especially during the Boat Show. The City provides boaters with lots of shore access with public docks for your dinghy, dumpsters for trash and readily available pump out boats.  On Tuesday, we put our new bikes ashore and road to the Giant Grocery store for groceries.    You can see Duetto on its mooring by the Spa Creek Bridge in the background.

On Wednesday, Diane took a walk and visited all the unique shops around Main Street. From the top of Main Street there is a nice view of Annapolis Harbor. There were lots of flowers brightening the streets.  John took a bike ride to West Marine and other Hardware stores looking for some parts.

The weather prediction for Thursday through Sunday was for cold, wind and rain.  Unfortunately, the weather prediction was correct.  It has been the four most miserable days we have spent on the boat.  Temperatures averaged high 40's to very low 50 degrees and heavy, constant rain.  Most of the time we didn't go outside, except for hot showers, which is about 1/8-mile dinghy ride, then a couple of blocks of walking.  Needless to say, it was hard to think about going out, but the hot shower sure felt great!  Plus, Diane threw any wet clothes in the dryer.  John got up each morning to turn the generator on for heat, which we would run all day long.   Sunday morning was the coldest; 46 degrees inside the boat.  The windows on the boat were constantly fogged, causing them to drip; made for a damp feeling inside!

We have made good use of our time to develop our second BLOG posting, which requires lots of time due to learning curve!

On Friday, we ventured out to the Power Boat Show.  It was bone-chilling cold and the rain was beginning to flood parts of the area.  We were glad we wore our boots.  After the show, we met a couple for dinner at Middleton's, which was nice and warm.  

The current weather prediction is for clearing Sunday night.  If that happens and the seas are calm, we plan to travel to Solomon's Island to visit cruising friends we met on our first ICW trip South, then make our way South to Norfolk by Thursday. 

We will be in Norfolk for a couple of days.  John has to install a new hydraulic steering cylinder and we'll be visiting our "PDQ" friends who live there.    After Norfolk it's full speed ahead to get South into, hopefully, warmer weather!