We tried to get out of bed this beautiful Saturday morning at 5:30 for a 6:00 am departure this morning. Our goal was to reach our destination of Summit North Marina in Bear, Delaware to watch the Women’s World Cup Soccer championship. The good news was we made it in time…bad news, we were a day early. We learned as we sat in front of the TV in the restaurant that the USA plays Sunday, not today. Getting old is so hard, as best I can remember. I think I can fit it into my Sunday schedule, which at the moment is pretty open. 🙂
Today’s trip took us from the Sassafras River, back into the bay, then NE into the Elk River, then to the Back Creek and through Chesapeake City. Chesapeake City marks the beginning of the C & D (Chesapeake-Delaware) Canal. Pretty and peaceful, it provides some of the most relaxed cruising. Boat traffic is minimal, surprisingly, and the man-made canal is protected from the winds, so generally, the water is smooth as glass. As a bonus, we had a 3 knot current in our favor. That means our normal cruising speed of 7-7.5 knots bumped up to 9-9.5 knots, at lower RPM’s. For cheapskates like me, I get to save fuel by running at lower RPM’s and make better-than-expected times.
Chesapeake City Bridge in the distance 
Approaching the CCB 
A beautiful vineyard that also serves as a venue for weddings.
I just love bridges. Crossed a few and burned a few in my life, but the perspective from the water is always a high for me along the way.
The Summit North Marina is far from the nicest of marinas where we have sought refuge. Most of the boats are permanent residents. Many, it appears, live aboard. As a result, not many dock hands available for transients like us. However, kind management, friendly neighbors, a pretty good restaurant, and no current (a nice feature for a rookie captain fitting into/out of a tight slip) makes for a nice stay. Looks like we will stay here until early Tuesday morning to get a good weather window. Our next leg of the journey into the Delaware Bay will be a long one, as there are few opportunities to “tuck-in” if the weather gets ugly.
Sunday: We are enjoying “attending” our home church of Compassion Christian by logging in on Sunday mornings to compassionchristian.com at 9:00 am. I encourage you to check us out. The services are streamed live at 9 and 11, and archived shortly thereafter, to be watched anytime. The music and teaching are always encouraging; watching always makes us feel connected to our home church.
As you already know, our women’s soccer team defeated the Netherlands by a score of 2-1. How fun to see them win, especially with our very close connection to the team. Our daughter is good friends with the sister of the goalie. We practically have one of our own children playing. It has been a nice quiet day.