re-entry..............from P

Tomorrow we re-enter our atmosphere. That is, the Chesapeake Bay. As we sit tonight at anchor in a narrow marshy river in the Delaware bay the old familiar and welcome odor of a salt marsh wafts through the cabin. It conjures up images of our familiar waters but it also ignites thoughts of places we have been, and sharpens the contours of the differences between sailing in the northeast compared to sailing in the mid Atlantic. Impressions from the northeast trip that I will never forget include: Crystal clear water from Connecticut on up. Apparently it is fashionable in New Jersey and New York to sail with all your fenders hanging over the side (yikes!). Mooring balls - hundreds of them in "special anchorage" areas in every town, plus the launch boats that run constantly throughout the mooring fields ferrying people back and forth from their boats - a great concept. Rocky shoals. Cliffs and "mountains" crowding against the shoreline. Brown jellyfish. Different speech habits on the VHF radio - they don't bother to say "over" up there. Accents on the VHF radio - entirely undiscernable words spoken way too fast in NY, more friendly in MA - but of course you hear "pushing a bahge tru the stahbahd hahbah channel" and such. Tidal ranges that are just unreal - nine and ten foot tide drops are common. Grass on the anchor, rather than mud. "Clean out" boats that will come to your boat and provide a septic clean out - free! Flag ettiquette - only club burgees are flown from the spreader, the stars & stripes must fly from a stern mount unless you are from another country in which case you fly your country from the stern and the stars and stripes from the spreader as a "courtesy" flag - and don't get this wrong! Also, each large marina fires a cannon at sunset as a signal to "strike the colors" (lower your flag). Big long rocky breakwaters. Waterfront mansions - more like castles. Currents that flow in directions which make no sense relative to the tides. Currents that rip along at 3, 4, sometimes 5 knots. Deep, deep water - it is unusual to be in water less than 30 feet, more common to be in water 90 to 150 feet, and we actually saw a reading of 360 feet on our sounder. Except for New Jersey, channels were very well marked and easy to follow. Expensive marinas - expect to pay $3 to $4 per foot per night, essentially double the cost at home. Floating docks. Great little islands with stone breakwaters to anchor behind - all along the coast. A noticeable pattern of large powerboats using the marinas and sailboats mostly using the mooring balls or anchoring out. Huge power yachts with hired crews - everywhere. Hinkley sail yachts everywhere. Charming towns with pubs on the street that keep their windows wide open, no screens necessary - you could step right in through the windows sometimes. Perfect August temperatures. Last but not least - sailboats everywhere! I think the sailboats actually outnumbered the powerboats. But alas, no salty marsh odor.

Island along the coastline

Two of the modest abodes along the Long Island Sound

The tide still has another three feet to drop here. You have to be really careful to account for this when you tie up or anchor.