Daily stats
Start: 5:30 AM- Ocean City, MD
Finish: 3:00 PM - Lewes, DE
Time: 9:30 Hours
Daily dist: 32 miles
Total dist: 3000+ miles
Companions: None
Weather: NE wind 10 mph high in mid 70’s mostly clear (nice)
Notes: Made much better time on the inside today than I did on the outside yesterday. Nice to be able to hide from the wind.
Today I got smart and ran up the sheltered inside bays and canals rather than spend another long day beating against the wind and waves. Consequently my mileage went way up over yesterday and I had a great time putting in the miles. One very important link in my route today was the Assawoman canal just north of Ocean City. On my charts it shows that it was only a foot and a half deep in 1977 (old charts I guess). Being that shallow I wasn’t sure the canal would be passable. Thankfully I was able to call my brother Luke the other day and he checked into it for me and learned that it is presently being dredged. He also read some blog posts from people that said they’d run the four mile canal on jet skis and in shallow draft pontoon boats. With that info I was feeling good about giving it a try. When I got to the jet ski rental place yesterday I asked them about the canal and they said it was indeed passable for something like a kayak.

Picture
Calm water through a tunnel of trees on the Assawoman Canal
I got a very early start in order to catch the strong incoming tide flow and made good time despite the NE headwind that hadn’t stopped blowing since Sunday. A few hours into the day I crossed the state line and added Delaware to the rapidly growing list of states I’ve paddled in. An hour or so later I found the entrance to the Assawoman canal and started a four mile long run through what turned out to be one of the prettiest bits of water I’ve seen over the last several days. The mixed pine and hardwood trees touched over head creating a tunnel of green. The air smelled like pine mixed with very fragrant flowers and animals of all sorts darted in and out of the woods. Paddling the very narrow canal was like being encapsulated in nature along a man made ditch. The dredging operation Luke had read about on line was indeed going on and the dredge had to actually stop and loosen one of it’s control cables to let me pass, the canal was that narrow.

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The dredge had to stop to let me pass.
From the Assawoman canal I continued north across a couple more open bays then finished the day out by running the eight mile long Lewes and Rehoboth canal. By sheer luck of timing I ended up with a nice outgoing tide pushing me all the way out the inlet in Lewes to a beach on the southern edge of the Delaware Bay. As I sat in my tent watching the car ferries come and go across the bay I remembered that this was the first place I ever saw the ocean. It was on a family trip to Washington DC over 22 years ago. We had driven up to New Jersey to see one of my dad’s old Vietnam buddies and took the scenic route back across the Delaware on a ferry and on to Rehoboth Beach. I don’t remember much about the experience except trying to body surf the large jelly fish filled waves that were coming in that day. My brothers and I would get a short ride then get wiped out and rolled in to the beach in the dumping surf. We’d be stung up from the jelly fish and had sand forced into places it doesn’t belong but we were so excited to be “swimming” in salty water we’d just shake out the sand tough out the sings and go right back out for more.

Picture
I played 'Leap Frog' with this boat on the ICW all the way across North Carolina. Today i passed it up for the last time in it's home port of Lewes, DE
 


Comments

Aaron Stachovak

05/25/2010 9:39:18 pm

1st of all thanks for the birthday wishes :)

2nd my 8th grade mind was having a great time reading about the ASSAWOMAN canal!

have a great crossing tomorrow..

ps... next time you pass an expensive yacht, tell them to quit playing with their dingy for me :)

 

pa

05/25/2010 10:28:54 pm

 

pa

05/25/2010 10:35:59 pm

Hello Jake,
Funny you should mention Paul Presgraves in this last blog because when I got home from Greenbay yesterday I had a package from Paul in the mail.He had put all his Viet Nam pictures on a disk and sent me one.Anyway I sent him your blog sight so he could see how close to them you are.
Weather is cooler tonight plus we got another window air conditioner installed in our bedroom.
Love ya,
Dad

 

Lyn Stachovak

05/26/2010 8:45:52 am

I don't remember the Jelly Fish? I probably was scared of them so I blocked them from memory! I do remember being so excited about seeing the northern regions of the Atlantic Ocean and running to the beach only to be greeted with what looked like Lake Superior. Oh well. Once you can't see the other shoreline it doesn't matter if it's an ocean or a really big lake I guess.
I also remember the water being just as cold as Lake Superior too.

Keep on paddling. You're getting closer and closer to home and I'm getting anxious for your return. Dad and I love you.

Mom

 

George Greer

05/26/2010 2:44:32 pm

Jake,
You're going to get to Cape May before I do. Higbees Beach just south of the jetty at the west end of the canal is good camping. Paddle the canal unitl you almost get to the harbor. Turn right up the creek to a small fishing marina and dock at the ramp behind Lucky Bones restaurant and say hi to my friend Toby Craig or his son, the manager, Michael.
~Happy Trails, George

 



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