M/V MAERIN

Our last stopover before making the last leg of this Down East Loop! Our trip up the Delaware began at 0555 hrs. in the dark and fairly thick fog. After some adjusting to relying on chartplotter and radar rather than line of sight, we started to track a straight course through the canal. Visibility was less than ideal; we were able to see the banks, but would not have been able to see from one bank to the other, a distance of about 300 feet! We were able to transit the canal with no problems, and began our northward push after clearing the entrance jetties. Visibility remained poor all morning with periods of a mile or two to a few hundred yards. Timing of the currents was right on, as we rode the flood current the entire run up the bay, and into the C&D canal, averaging right around eight knots the whole run. Sea conditions were very calm, and the trip was uneventful despite the fog. Our plot ran up the shipping lanes, just outside the marked channel so we would avoid ship traffic. We passed a handful of large ships which were very plain on radar. We arrived in Chesapeake City at 1350 hrs, covering the 62.5 nm in just under 8 hours. Record time!

We were lucky to find a spot along the free city floating dock, and tied up after moving one small boat to make a bit more room. A celebratory dinner out of pizza and crab nachos at the Chesapeake Inn was in order, marking our last stop before our arrival tomorrow at Stansbury and the completion of the over 3.000 mile loop we began in June! Just another 45 miles remain. The admiral is 3,000 miles away, but is being kept abreast of progress by phone and visits to the blog!