Blooming Flowers by Sassafras River and Visiting Georgetown, Maryland

(September 11 to 16, 2016): The C & D Canal connects the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake Bay. Both bays are huge and look like open ocean. Without the canal, it would take a long time for a ship going from Philadelphia (Delaware Bay) to Baltimore (Chesapeake Bay) or vice versa. This canal shortens the travel distance like all other canals such as Panama Canal and Suez Canal. We expected to see big ships crossing the C & D Canal but we didn’t see any.

A sailboat is not fun for motoring. We prefer sailing but didn’t have much luck with wind. We have been motoring most of the time along the Jersey Shore to Cape May (New Jersey), Delaware Bay, Reedy Point (Delaware), C & D Canal, and Chesapeake Bay. Somehow, it seems US East Coast cruising is more like motoring than sailing.

Entering the Chesapeake Bay and reading the charts and books, I picked a place to rest, Sassafras River! ‘Tranquil and Secluded Place in Beautiful Nature’. It really is. We liked cruising up the Sassafras River and settled in a calm peaceful place enjoying the lovely fragrance of flowers, maybe ‘Nightly Blooming Jasmin’. Fresh water! I quickly jumped in the river. Unlike swimming in the ocean, I felt clean after swimming in the fresh water. It even motivated me to clean the green growth on the side of water line of our boat.

Next day, we explored Georgetown along the Sassafras River and stopped by the Sail Loft Shop in Georgetown Yacht Basin. They told us that if we use their service, we don’t have to pay a dockage charge. Convenient location to inspect the sails. We brought the boat into the marina and had the Genoa and Main Sails inspected, repaired, and re-enforced while staying in the marina for three nights. It cost US$1,055 for two sails to be re-enforced. (Labor US$70/Hour) Time to sail to next destination but no wind to sail…