Sun May 30: Philly to Delaware City Marina

 In which we discuss things that go bump in the night ...

Rick here:

We had a rainy, cold, gray night with wind and lots of current.   Many times during the night we heard debris bump-bump-bumping along the boat on the way downstream. In the morning we found this enormous log that had wedged itself between the dock and the boat next to us.   Luckily there was no damage so, aside from being cold, all was fine.   We timed the tides and currents again but this time in order to be able to back out of the slip and arrive at our next marina with a minimum of tide to make docking easier.    We waited until about 11:30 am and let the lines go and easily backed out of the slip to head down the Delaware River. 

 

 

Did I mention it was cold? 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to the rain, we decided to steer from the lower helm station.  Melanie took advantage of the sofa and a comforter to stay warm!   We passed a couple of large freighters but mostly spent the 3 hour trip dodging debris!  The rain washed all kinds of junk into the river and we had to be careful not to run over anything that might damage the propeller.  There were trees/branches, tires, bedsprings - all kinds of trash.  

The Delaware City Marina is located on the “Delaware Branch Canal” that was actually the original entry point for the C&D canal.   The canal now starts at a newer, larger opening (see map below), but the original canal is still there.  

And, you guessed it, the Delaware City Marina is right in the middle of Delaware City!  This was once a booming town with commerce and shipping of all sorts of goods, foodstuffs and people coming into and out of the C&D canal.  Now it is a small touristy spot with lots of weekend and summer residents. 

One of the local restaurants!

You can see Blue Horizon in the background!

Just in front of Delaware City in the river is Pea Patch Island.  This is home to Fort Delaware.  The fort was built and opened in 1854 and operated to protect the entry to the Delaware River.   Once the Civil War started the fort became a POW camp for the Union and today is a State Park and a preserve for herons and other birds.   Due to the bad weather the ferry to the island was not running so we did not get a chance to visit. 

Is this really a word?!

As we entered the marina, which was just one long straight “face” dock, we were met by two dock hands who nimbly used the current to spin the boat around and position us perfectly on the dock.  They made it look so easy!  Also at the marina were about 8+ other “looper” boats and we once again experienced the camaraderie of our fellow boaters as almost everyone stopped by the boat to introduce themselves and visit with us about our journey.  

It's a cute little marina, and clearly one with a sense of humor:

 It's quite a sight to see all the trawlers lined up one behind the other!

We felt really lucky to be tucked up tight with a good group of people - and one of the boats had my FAVORITE BOAT NAME EVER!  I didn't get a picture of the boat, so you will just have to trust me.  Bear in mind that both the owners and I LOVE the movie Princess Bride....

InconSEAvable