Chesapeake City, Maryland

I woke up this morning and once again the first thought in my head was "where are we today", this will pass in a few weeks when we stop traveling everyday but in the meantime it does make me think in the mornings. Everyday brings new challenges; this morning was how we were going to cast off the lines with a wind blowing us off the dock and a current without dock staff and no other boaters around. If I took too many lines off then the boat would drift too far to get back on the boat. With just the 2 of us, Ted is at the flybridge helm and me handling lines, no easy feat with just to people. At least today the boat is pointed in the right direction. At 07:20 we decided that we had no choice but to wait for dock staff. Then one neighbours on a 65 foot boat in front of us named Unforgettable.. oops Unreachable (private joke in case Bill is reading) showed up and with Bill's help we were away no problems.

Next...We managed to find the deep water in the channel however we ended up behind a sailboat. The current was running with us which limited our steerage and the sailboat was going slow so we kept slowing down too. Then, UK couple aboard the sailboat decided at the last minute that they couldn't clear the 55 foot fixed bridge, so they stopped directly in front of us. We blew the horn to remind them that we were there and that they were standing in the way of danger because we could not stop on such short notice with a current. If we had tried to stop we would have been sideways under the bridge and likely hit the bridge abutment.  They were half a boat length in front of us when they decided to go in reverse and get between us and the bridge abutment on our left side. How they did this so fast and without hitting us or the bridge remains a mystery. We yelled to them that they had room to get under the bridge, so the pulled along side us (in a very narrow channel) and went under the bridge beside us. We press the throttle to get out of the way before they did something else stupid. We later heard from our friends John & Nora who had dinner with this couple the night before, that the couple was grateful that we caused a wake that helped them get under the bridge. Go figure. What they should of done was:
 1.) radio us that they were unusure they could clear and bridge and we could have spotted for them. You can't spot a bridge for looking up.
2.) radio us that they were unsure and then safely turn around and follow us under the bridge giving themselves more time and space
3.) If they knew it would be tight to get under the bridge they should have planned to go around the other inlet. They should definately have checked the charts firsts, knowing what their mast height was and understand the currents. Once you get that close under a bridge you are committed. We were lucky there was no damage. They seemed surprised that we were behind them, next lesson check behind you. We didn't just suddenly appear, we pulled in behind them on the last turn, they had the right of way but given the situtation they should have let us go first. We hope they read this blog and learn not to put themselves and us in danager. Can you imagine trying to explain to your insurance company that the boat infront of you was going in reverse and hit you.
Definitely too early to be staying in a narrow channel and dodging sailboats, I hadn't even finished my first coffee yet.

Had a great cruise up Delaware Bay with the help of the tides we were going 10 -11 knots all day. We usually cruise at 8.5 if we are lucky. We are now at dock in Chesapeake City, Maryland which is halfway between Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay on the C & D Canal. This is a historic little town with B & B's, shops and taverns circa 1780. Mark this one on your places to visit list too. Half price pizza at the Chesapeake Inn Restaurant and Marina but we stay on the boat for dinner. We had drinks with our friends John and Nora aboard Saber Tooth from Port Credit. We have been in all the same cities as them but first time we have drinks.

One of the exciting pastimes on the C & D Bay is dodging crab pots. We actually refer to Chesapeake Bay as Crabpot Bay! What the heck is a crab pot you ask?

The Maryland crab pot is a large metal frame of wire weighing about 15 pounds with four openings where the crabs enter to eat the bait. It’s simple, the crab gets in and can't get out. They are lifted out and checked daily by commercial fisherman. People referred to them as crab pots but the pot is actually on the bottom and what you see at the top of the water are small floats (which are attached to these massive cages) which are sometimes barely visible until the last moment. Sometimes (often) there are rows of these crab pot markers and then the next thing you seen another row. It's bad news for the propeller and running gear to snag a crabpot. You will hear more about these little demons as we continue our travels down Crabpot Bay. The question is why do they put them in the channel instead of off to the side... the answer - cause they can. 

This is what a crab pot (float) looks like.

Delaware Bay Light House - can't miss these!