Northern Chesapeake (17/4/13)

Leaving Annapolis, we immediately passed below the Chesapeake Bay Bridge which joins the east and west coasts of Maryland. The wind had turned squally and was against us as we tacked hard up the bay past the Magothy River. By evening, we had reached Baltimore. We had been alongside her namesake in Annapolis and had been invited aboard for a tour of Pride of Baltimore II by her captain. She is of similar vintage to the Amistad which we saw in San Juan. Such fast schooners were made illegal after the war of 1812 due to their exceptional performance, so those that continued to sail tended towards smuggling and privateering.

The original Pride of Baltimore had been involved in action against the British. The Americans had declared was on Britain by invading and occupying part of Canada, as they believed the British to be too preoccupied by Napoleonic France. They were wrong and the British retaliated by burning Baltimore and taking the flag. A poem written by a witness to this fall was later put to music and became USA national anthem, 'The Star Spangled Banner'.

Higher up, the Chesapeake narrows and becomes less populated again. The perpetual trip hazards of the trotlines and bait pots in the water lessen and the water becomes much quieter. We anchored in Still Pond (actually a small bay) overnight then continued up into the Elk River. This soon leads into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal or C&D Canal as it is known colloquially. Given the cold, overcast and wet day, we decided that it better stood for the Cold and Dank Canal. Even the ospreys looked bedraggled and needed to shake off the rain in flight.

Leaving the canal into the Delaware Bay, it is obvious this is a very different body of water. The Delaware is saltier and once again we have to contend with currents and tidal ranges. There are few creeks and rivers and its shores are very shoal with just a narrow ship channel through the wide bay. There were few vessels other than the ships and tugs running up to Philadelphia or through to Baltimore, and no signs of fishing.

The forecast was for decidedly miserable weather to come and so we steamed against the wind and tide to escape the Delaware and head up the New Jersey coast before the forecast winds would cut us off from New York.