We left New London late in the afternoon to stage up for our offshore passage to the mouth of the Delaware River. We anchored off of Fishers Island in the northeastern corner of Long Island Sound. While it only got us about 9 nm closer to our destination, it made for a faster departure the next morning. We raised anchor before dawn, knowing we had about 225 nm to travel (258 miles).
Our trip took 38 hours and took us offshore on the most direct route from the mouth of Long Island Sound to the mouth of the Delaware River. We share watch duty overnight on these offshore runs, relieving each other at the helm every 3 hours. For most of the way, we didn’t have enough wind to be exclusively under sail, but we were able to motorsail much of the way. When motorsailing, we use both the wind and one or both of our engines. This moves us at a good speed while using much less fuel. We anchored at the mouth of the Delaware in the dark, our first time anchoring in the dark on Tilia. We were thankful it was a familiar anchorage (we had spent the night there in June on our way north). It was great to get a good night’s rest after our 38 hours at sea!
The next morning we got up before dawn again to ride the tide up the Delaware River. We timed it right and were able to travel up much the length of the river and then through the C&D Canal to arrive at an anchorage in Chesapeake Bay before 4 PM. From that anchorage, it was a very doable day trip to Annapolis.
We have crafted our travel schedule to ensure our late September arrival in Annapolis. The annual sailboat show runs October 10-14, and we knew we’d have to arrive well ahead of the show to secure a mooring ball in the Annapolis Harbor. The sailboat show is a big deal for sailors: think of it as a combination of Parade of Homes, State Fair, and an annual reunion. We will see sailing friends from across the US and some from Europe as well. We bought our first boat, Guidance, at the Annapolis Sailboat Show in 2017. While we aren’t in the market for a sailboat(!), we will tour many boats and see what various vendors have to offer in part for fun and in part to get ideas for Tilia improvements.
We thought arriving nearly 3 weeks before the sailboat show would mean we could snag a mooring ball (first come, first served) in the harbor for a front row seat to the show. We were disappointed to find all the balls were occupied but found a nice anchorage up a creek a short distance away. In essence, staying at that anchorage would mean a 30 minute dinghy ride to the show — this had always been our backup plan.
Fortunately for us, the Antares community is an active and generous one. Another Antares owner had been on a mooring ball for some weeks, and the morning after we arrived, he saw a nearby boat leave. In a quick thinking move, he hopped in his dinghy and tied up to the open ball. Within 20 minutes of his call, we were on our way! We’ve now secured that mooring ball for a front row seat to the sailboat show. It couldn’t be better!
We are settling in for a few weeks in Annapolis. We’ve got some boat projects to work on together. Anne will spend a few days visiting Rose in Tacoma and Grace in Mammoth Lakes and then will meet Jim for a family wedding in Kansas in early October. Then back in time for the boat show!
