Wednesday, July 9.
We tried to get up and out
early, but we barely made it at 9 am. After a stop to pick up some juice
and a croissant, we headed toward the Aquarium. The layout is very
interesting. There is a huge tank that occupies the whole first floor with
sharks, manta rays, and turtles  swimming around. It is very deep in the
middle, but most of it allows you to view all the creatures. There are
ramps and bridges so the viewer can look down from all angles. Aquarium
personnel are stationed here and throughout the facility to give talks and to
answer questions. We watched a diver feed the turtles and rays Romaine
lettuce. Escalators take you up from level to level, and at all times you
can look back down to this large tank. Each of the five levels focus on
different subjects or areas. We think their displays are better than the
Chicago Aquarium, and that had had our top marks. Maybe because this one
is smaller and more concentrated we were not overwhelmed. Baltimore's shark and
seahorse exhibits are excellent; and the Atlantic Coral Reef and Ocean takes you
from the top all the way down to the bottom while you view the aquatic
environment. Their dolphin show is in a separate building. We sat
far enough up to be out of the splash zone and to be able to see the whole
arena. The Aquarium is constructing a new exhibit building.
We stopped to pick up some gyros which we ate on the boat before leaving the
dock. We headed back down the Patapsco, past Fort McHenry, past the red,
white, and blue buoy, and back to the Chesapeake. Did I say that seeing
the buoy and visualizing all that Key saw that evening and the following morning
was almost as moving as watching the movie at Fort McHenry about the creation of
our National Anthem and then turning to see our flag flying so proudly in the
morning sunlight?
The wind died during the afternoon and the Bay was absolutely flat. We
headed toward the C & D Canal and were only a mile or so from the entrance
when we saw the ripples on the water and the wind came up. Pearce realized
that the storm that was behind us was moving faster than we were. Since
there were weather warnings for severe thunderstorms with hail throughout the
upper part of the Chesapeake, we ducked into the Bohemia River for
shelter. We sat out the torrential rain at the entrance to a cove and then
decided to anchor a bit further in. There were three sailboats and a small
power boat there, and we all sat out the thunder, lightning, and rain.
Fortunately, the winds weren't severe, and we spent a cool and quiet
night..
Thursday, July 10. We headed up the C & D Canal on a cloudy and cool
morning with occasional rain showers. There are street lights along the
canal to mark the shoreline. It was so cloudy that most of them were still
on. It's a good thing that we didn't continue on last night in the hopes
to tie up at the free public docks in Chesapeake City. That doesn't seem
to be an option any more.
At the end of the Canal we turned north to Delaware City to pick up our
mail. It used to be a busy shipping port when it was part of the C & D
Canal.
It became a sleepy town when they moved the canal entrance two miles south in 1927.
There is no public dock, although they are rebuilding the land side of the
waterfront. It would be nice if they put in a dock to attract the water
people. We went on down the original canal to the one marina and walked
back five or six blocks to the village. There's a little grocery store that has a
bit of everything. They were low on produce, but we were told there is a
green market that would open at 3 pm if the rain doesn't cancel it. We
bought some very sad Romaine lettuce and some very nice tomatoes. On the
way back we stopped in a working forge where Blacksmith Kerry Rhoades was
creating iron roses for a special order. With only a few hours left of the
outgoing tide, we headed down the Delaware River to the Bay.
Kibon stayed outside the channel because there are some very big ships traveling up
and down here. The guidebook suggests that pleasure boats can travel
across the flats after they pass the Ship John Shoal. By the time we got
there, the tide was coming up river, so we had to  decide if we would stay near
the channel where there was less chop or go across the flats where there was
less current. We hung out for awhile until we could make a straight line
for the Cape May Canal, and we headed for it. We came through the Canal at
dusk and anchored in front of the Corinthian Yacht Club. Time for a
well-deserved cocktail and supper.
Friday, July 11. We slept well last night and spent a lazy morning opening
the mail and paying bills. We went over to a marina to drop off some mail
-- for those old fashioned businesses who insist on paper checks. We got
some diesel and filled the water tanks, and we headed up the ICW. Low tide
was at noon, and we could see the water birds walking on the shoals. We
picked our way very carefully and wiggled through the marshes.  There were
some fishermen out and only a few pleasure seekers. We passed houses of
all description. Some small shacks, some high on stilts a distance from
firm ground, some rather elegant, with stretches of marsh in between. The
green flies were voracious along the marshes. We tried Deep Woods spray,
flying insect killer, Skin-so-soft. The latter seemed to work if we
applied it very liberally. The flies tried to land and just skidded right
off!
We took a look at the ICW crossing at the Great Egg Harbor Inlet. Waves
were crashing, and the boats were rocking and bouncing. We took a look at
the alternate route and decided that without marks it was no alternate.
Kibon headed up the Great Egg River to find a nice anchorage for the
night. The Inlet should be a bit quieter in the morning.
Saturday, July 12. The Inlet was still a bit rocky this morning with the
wind coming in from the southeast. The herb pots took a tumble, but
everything else was stowed away. We ate our cereal while we
cruised past Margate City, Ventnor City, and right past people breakfasting
on their porches in Ventnor Heights. While we were waiting for a fire
truck to clear one of the low bridges  in Ventnor Heights, we spotted some rowers
out for their first day in a scull. The bridge tender at the next low
bridge must have stepped out for breakfast. Kay finally called the
telephone number listed on the bridge and reached the tender back in Ocean
City. Meanwhile Pearce called back to the bridge we had just come
through. The both called the missing tender who came rushing to his post
to let us through. Right after that, we passed the  Sculling School and
watched several sculls-of-eight. Not too farther along the ICW we came to
the railroad bridge. The guide book said that it was usually open unless a
train was due. It was closed. Pearce called and found that a train
was due any minute. The road crossing was also closed, and soon we heard
the whistle of an approaching train. Shortly after it passed, the swing
bridge began to swing. This is all amazing because the bridge is remotely
operated from Philadelphia. After we passed through, the bridge closed.
We also passed Atlantic City. As we approached Great Bay, Pearce warned
Kay to stow everything again because we were also approaching Little Egg and
Beach Haven Inlets. The Inlets were a piece of cake, the terror was the
boaters. This is the weekend, and every fisherman from 20 miles around was
out in the middle of the channel. Cruisers were traveling north and south
with little regard for the fishermen. What is it with these people in New
Jersey? They don't slow down for the small boats, and the small boats yell
at the big boats because they come too close. Pearce was negotiating
between two fishing boats in the channel and an oncoming fast cruiser. As
we passed one fisherman by only a few yards, he said, "What's the matter,
can't you come any closer?" How many people put their lawn chairs in
the middle of a two lane road? How many fishermen believe that they can
sit in the middle of a narrow waterway?
We cruised up Long Beach Island -- what a mélange of homes, businesses, and
docks. Kay spotted Morrison's Restaurant and Marina and decided that would
be a good place to take a break. Pearce was beginning to feel the strain
of avoiding boaters, and he agreed. Kay's mom and dad used to swear by
Sunday lunch at Morrison's Cafeteria (no relation). They would get enough
for lunch and take home for dinner (good deal in their book). We had a
nice lunch -- crab meat again. We filled up with water, dropped off the
garbage, bought some bait for Pearce, and headed north toward an anchorage --
out of the channel -- where Pearce could catch fish. Up the ICW a  piece
Pearce spotted Brant Beach Yacht Club. He remembered that they have a
Mariner fleet and that our two yacht clubs (Narrasketuck and Brant Beach) have
raced against each other a number of times. Kay called Narrasketuck YC and
found that the Mariner National Championships are scheduled for Brant Beach next weekend. We put into the dock, were invited to tie up for the night,
met their Commodore, and were given a tour of their facilities. Very
impressive. We walked over to the ocean and watched the surf. Now
Pearce is out fishing -- or is he feeding the fish? Whatever, it's
relaxing. Maybe tomorrow we'll watch the Mariners race in their regular
Sunday series.
Sunday, July 13. We watched the sailors gather for the morning race.
Mariners and Lightnings were launched, the Crash Boat went out to set the marks,
and the Committee Boat shot off the gun as it left the dock. The bay they
race on is huge, but it is also very shallow. Much as we would have
enjoyed watching the races, we  couldn't
get out there. So we headed out along the rest of Long Beach Island.
Boat traffic began to pick up so that when we reached Barnegat Bay, Pearce's
radar was covered with little spots. There were so many boats going in
every which direction that we couldn't see the next mark, so we took compass
headings. There is more room here so the boats didn't have to pass too
close to each other, and the fishing fleet was concentrated where the channel
from the Inlet met the cross bay channel. When we came to the bascule
bridge at the north end of the bay there were six or seven boats waiting on each
side for the next opening. It opens every 20 minutes, and there were so
many boats waiting to go single file through the small opening, that it must
take almost 10 minutes from gate down to gate up. The cars trying to get
over to the ocean beaches don't have much of a chance.
We read someone on the Looper Website referring to a place as the Maytag washing
machine. Barnegat Bay certainly qualifies for that same description.
We came into the Metedeconk River and have anchored in a cove. We have
been rocking and bouncing and are eagerly awaiting dusk when the river traffic
should slow. We tried to contact some marinas, but this is a beautiful
summer weekend and there are no places. We hope that everyone will go
home, and we can find a place for tomorrow so we can meet our son Jon who is
going to help us with the crossing from Manasquan to Amityville. We're
almost home.
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Cruisin' The Loop Aboard Kibon