Chesapeake City - at anchor

The anchorage at Chesapeake City

We escaped from Hancock Harbor Marina around 7:00 am and headed to Chesapeake City. The trip was uneventful until all of a sudden we heard a dreadful sound - bang, grind, bang... I put Fleetwing out of gear and coasted to a stop. There was a lot of vibration on the prop, not good. I tried putting it in reverse at low speed and we saw a crab pot appear off the end of the boat, floating away downstream. After that I slowly put Fleetwing in forward and found that the vibration went away and we continued onward at full speed, whew!!

The three free docks were taken!

After that bit of excitement (nothing like hitting a crab pot to wake you up in the morning), we continued and then heard over the VHF that the Chesapeake - Delaware Canal was closed due to fog! Still we continued onward. There were four large barges anchored off the entrance and several sailboats waiting for the canal to reopen. The fog had lifted from the eastern end of the canal but still no word from the Coast Guard. We chose to enter the canal anyway since it was clear of fog on our end and getting later, past 10:00 am so any remaining fog was due to lift anyway soon. Ann called the Coast Guard again and asked for the status and after several minutes of going back and forth ("yes, it's clear here", "yes, we're already in the canal') the Coast Guard finally officially opened the canal. We wondered if Ann's report of it being clear on the eastern end helped the decision along.

The canal was full of debris, much more than the last time we came south. I told Ann it was like playing a video game where you were dodging aliens coming at you. Some of the debris was very substantial, you really do not want to hit it!

Although the three free docks were taken, the rest of the anchorage area was open and we found a calm spot. This anchorage is great for those with pets since there's a free dinghy dock for the use of boats at anchor. I took Ann over to the ice cream shop for dessert after dinner, great place!