Refer to these messages here, then please post responses in this thread.
Well the feeling's mutual - the currents oppose you almost as much as you oppose them! :laugher (Only "almost as much" because your motor power allows you to make some headway against them.)I am all in favor of currents when they help me get where I want to go; I am strongly opposed to currents which prevent me from going where I want to go...
Certainly not the first time I've been guilty of that!You guys may be ovethinking all this. You are certainly making my head swim...
Yes, I use OpenCPN both at home and at the helm. It's a fantastic tool, and predicts both tide levels and currents at all the NOAA sensors just by right-clicking on the chart. However, it defaults to showing a graph for the present day. In order to bring up the tidal current graph for a day 4 months in the future, I need to click the "Next" button ~120 times. And I need to redo that every time I bring up a different graph. (Maybe a different commercial package would do this better, but OpenCPN works perfectly for almost everything else that I do.) So the old fashioned current tables, whether Eldridge or NOAA, are the best thing I have right now for future planning.Rick I thought you had Navionics or any other program since you have your computer at the helm. It tell you tide and currents and vector arrows direction at specific spots along the way or even at your location...
Any route on the Delaware that lasts less than 5 hours is pretty simple to predict - just time it to stay in the favorable current. But when you go out for more then 5 hours (downriver) or 7 hours (upriver), planning becomes more difficult because you'll encounter a tidal swing during your trip. And turning into the canal makes it even more complicated because its ebb and flood are on a different timetable than Chesapeake or Delaware. That's why you (Dave) have to stop at Reedy Point every time on your way to the ocean, and why I suggested stopping off heading from Philly to Chesapeake. As you've noted before, going the opposite direction (ocean to Baltimore or Chesapeake to Philly) can be timed to proceed without a delay at the eastern end of the canal because the currents at the canal entrance are in sync with the river currents in that direction....I know how to figure out with Eldridge and all, but in todays world where I know you are comptuer savy there is an easier more efficient less time consuming way.
My best was last year actually. We left Cape May 1.5 hours before max Ebb at the CM Canal entrance and flew up the Delaware at 8.5 SOG, hit the tide perfect going through the canal all the way to Still Pond going 8+ again. We still had 5 hgours of dayilight so we booked for our dock in Rock CreekCertainly not the first time I've been guilty of that!
Yes, I use OpenCPN both at home and at the helm. It's a fantastic tool, and predicts both tide levels and currents at all the NOAA sensors just by right-clicking on the chart. However, it defaults to showing a graph for the present day. In order to bring up the tidal current graph for a day 4 months in the future, I need to click the "Next" button ~120 times. And I need to redo that every time I bring up a different graph. (Maybe a different commercial package would do this better, but OpenCPN works perfectly for almost everything else that I do.) So the old fashioned current tables, whether Eldridge or NOAA, are the best thing I have right now for future planning.
As I already mentioned, this whole thing is a learning process for me, but one that is worth it because I expect to be making a lot more transits through the canal going forward, and the lunar calendar is rather predictable so I can leverage what I learn for many future trips.
Any route on the Delaware that lasts less than 5 hours is pretty simple to predict - just time it to stay in the favorable current. But when you go out for more then 5 hours (downriver) or 7 hours (upriver), planning becomes more difficult because you'll encounter a tidal swing during your trip. And turning into the canal makes it even more complicated because its ebb and flood are on a different timetable than Chesapeake or Delaware. That's why you (Dave) have to stop at Reedy Point every time on your way to the ocean, and why I suggested stopping off heading from Philly to Chesapeake. As you've noted before, going the opposite direction (ocean to Baltimore or Chesapeake to Philly) can be timed to proceed without a delay at the eastern end of the canal because the currents at the canal entrance are in sync with the river currents in that direction.
That complication is the reason I cobbled together a spreadsheet planning tool for the Philly-Chesapeake. I haven't seen another tool that does this.
James,Even though I had 10-15 knots out of the ESE, I motorsailed the most of the way up the Delaware Bay and Delaware River to the C&D, so I could make the 8 knots over the ground necessary to ride the current for 14 hours. The difference was the boat never slowed down, so the P28 would hit 8.5 knots surfing down the front of the chop and not slow down to 5 knots on the back.
You can hear the engine running (and my rudder clicking) in the video, while I sail at maximum speed: Glorious day on the Delaware Bay... - YouTube
Please let us know what they say - it will be interesting to see what they are willing to tell you. I have the Bluechart mobile on an iPad at home, so I just looked at its current predictions. It's still so new that it hasn't become my go-to device (I still use OpenCPN for mostly everything), so I'm just learning....I've posted a note with Garmins tech support team and will let folks know what they say. I suspect it'll be related to either their source data or their underlying model...
Good show,I've reached almost exactly the same timetable you've laid out, Chef. Sneak out of work on Friday (work by phone) and meander up the Bay, through the C&D to behind Reedy Island. Then catch the dawn tide shift to ride it through the Delaware.
I've done the Delaware at night and it's not my favorite. Although it'll be a waxing 1/2 moon around the beginning of June.
Yeah - I'm not too worried about powering hard if we need to. In fact, I would be OK bucking the current for a slow ride through the Canal at night if need be to catch the ride down the Delaware at first light.
The huge unknown, of course, is the wind. And no way to know that until June comes. I'm plotting out the departure times for all the weekends in June figuring that one of them will offer a good weather window.
We are also 53 ft and have never had trouble in the Cape May Canal. Just make sure its not a full moon and high tide.Just can't get enough, huh? Tentative plans are early to mid-June. Don't know brokesailor - will have to look him up.
We live in Annapolis, but keep the boat at Herrington North. Have done the round trip once as a family. But also the North-then-West one way a couple times. Last time we stopped in Cape May for a night's sleep, but we had 3 weeks for the trip. This time we may be limited to 2 weeks so am considering not stopping. Our air draft (53') is cutting it close for the Cape May Canal anyway. If we have to go around, then I'm inclined to just keep going for Block.
Funny story - when we came through the canal at night, I was asleep below and my wife was on watch. She yelled that a big ship with a strange light configuration - 2 whites in a horizontal line - was heading right towards us really, really fast! Turned out to be a truck driving on the access road next to the canal. But a serious enough adrenaline shot that she was very alert the rest of her watch.
I'm trying to talk my wife into taking our little boat down the Delaware River to Cape May for a week-long trip (this year or next year). If we time things right, I'm hoping to go two days each direction from Essington (stop off in Cohansey), and a few nights in Cape May. I assume Utsch's is the place to stay, right? Other recommendations?Further, I love Cape May, N.J., and would spend as much time there as possible, however, if you really want to make a fast Delmarva circumnavigation, stop at the breakwater in Lewes instead of crossing the Delaware Bay and head up from there.