# Figuring out currents for Delaware River/Bay



## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

Hi All -

On our way from Annapolis to Lake Champlain, we'll be leaving the C&D Canal on approximately May 8th and heading towards Cape May. 

I show a 1.1kt ebb flow at 0700 right at the eastern end of the C&D Canal where we'll be entering the Delaware. I'm fairly new at factoring currents into timing. It looks like we'll have the ebb for 2 hours or so, and then we'll start fighting the flood, and we may be fighting that with a 2+ knot current for a good portion of the rest of the way. The problem I'm having is that there is such a drastic difference with ebb/flood timing between the C&D Canal and Cape May. It's difficult to figure out how to compute timing.

For those of you that have some extra time on your hands and tide/current tables, do you have any thoughts as to the best time to get started in the morning (or if I should wait) and how long it may take me to get to Cape May (or specifically Red Nun 10) assuming a cruising speed (with no current) of approximately 6 knots?

Can you walk me through the best way to figure this out so I can do it myself in the future?


Thanks!!


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## foxglove (Dec 27, 2002)

*Hi Labatt*

*I would approach the problem simply by trying to be in ChesapeakeCity at max flood. If I understand the following site correctly, the C & D floods east and ebbs west. Check it out at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ports_screens/cnscreen.shtml under the current section. This site gives up to the minute data about conditions in that area.*

*From the table below, it looks like you might want to be in ChesapeakeCity around noon on the 8th*

*Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, Maryland/Delaware Current*

*8 May 2007*

39.5333° N, 75.8167° W 
2007-05-08 01:16 EDT Moonrise
2007-05-08 01:35 EDT -0.05 knots Slack, Ebb Begins
2007-05-08 05:14 EDT -2.16 knots Max Ebb
2007-05-08 05:56 EDT Sunrise
2007-05-08 08:41 EDT 0.01 knots Slack, Flood Begins
2007-05-08 10:36 EDT Moonset
2007-05-08 12:33 EDT 2.09 knots Max Flood
2007-05-08 15:42 EDT -0.08 knots Slack, Ebb Begins
2007-05-08 18:12 EDT -1.39 knots Max Ebb
2007-05-08 20:03 EDT Sunset
2007-05-08 20:32 EDT 0.07 knots Slack, Flood Begins
You can change the date and get other tide information for Reedy Pt at the eastern end and Old Town Wharf at the western end at;
Site Selection: U.S. Upper East Coast (Maine through Virginia)

Remember, the times of low tide and high tide do not reflect times for slack water.

Good luck

Hope I'm not steering you wrong


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Position yourself to be at the Delaware side 1 hour before Full Flood tide. 
Start heading down the Bay and let the tide ebbing catch you and give you a lift down the bay. As I recall it is about a 10 hour trip so you can't avoid adverse tides but you can play around their ends rather than meet full flow going down the Bay.


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## btrayfors (Aug 25, 2006)

Good advice from Cam.

The distance from the East end of the C&D canal to the point where you can safely turn around Cape May (Red #4, just outside the 3-mile line) is 55.1 NM.

Slack water at the Canal just before the ebb (which you want) is 0620 EDT on Tuesday May 8. Slack water at Red #4 just before the flood is 1023 EDT, some 4 hours later. So, you have 4 hours between slack waters at each end, with no tidal current or a favorable current. That should get you a good 38-40 miles or so of the 55, IF you leave the canal as Cam suggests about an hour before slack water. At the mouth of the Bay, flood current isn't bad, only amounting to a max of 1.2 knots (against you) by 1330 hours.

So...... plan to leave the canal EARLY, before dawn if you can. If the weather is good, you can actually anchor in the river just to the north and opposite the canal...I've done it. Just be sure to anchor outside the shipping lanes and have a bright anchor light showing.

Have a good trip. (Perry-designed boats love this run!)

Bill


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Also, the tidal current is strongest in the center of the channel...weaker on the edges...so you can avoid the brunt of the tidal currents by sticking to the edges.


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

Wonderful info and greatly appreciated!! Where do you get 620EDT from? I was just looking at the NOAA predictions here and it looks like between 7am and 7:30am is when the changeover from flood to ebb is?

Bill - where exactly are you talking about anchoring? I'm looking at the chart and across the river from the canal looks like pretty thin water!

With regards to Red #4 vs. Red #10, one of the people coming with us has done this route many times before and I believe he said when you reach Red 10, head towards Green 5 and then skirt the beach around Cape May and then to the inlet entrance. Apparently you can cut off many miles this way if you plan on ducking in to Cape May Harbor overnight. I may have heard him wrong though. Depending on the weather, however, we will probably head offshore some past Red #4 and then turn north towards NYC for an overnight sail. I'm only going to take this route if it's light and he's with me. I just paid up my SeaTow membership too 

I'm glad to hear Perry designed boats love this run! I'm somewhat nervous about the Delaware Bay.

Thanks again for the info!


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Labatt..what is your 'air draft" on the P40? If you are less than 55 you can go into Cape May through the canal which can save time and trouble. Otherwise...I would stay in the ship channel until you can safely hang a left as the whole area is vey shoaly and unless you have rcent local knowledge it is kind of iffy for a shortcut IMHO.


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

Unfortunately, I'm going the long way around. I don't know the exact height (but will be measuring when we drop the stick for the trip up the canal) but I'm estimating 55' - 58'.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Well...at least you'll know for the trip back! (G)


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Chris,
I used to sail out of Cape May a lot and CAM is right, you don't want to cut the corner. Go out to Red #4 and then head up the coast. Good luck.
Tom


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## btrayfors (Aug 25, 2006)

Labatt,

We anchored in 10' just outside Salem Cove at 39 34.7N 75 32.5W. It's well out of the ship channel. Posted an anchor watch, of course.

I got the CURRENT times (not the tide) from Maptech's Offshore Navigator, but I failed to note that it was using Atlantic Standard Time....same as EDT. I had thought it was displaying EST, and added an hour. Very sorry about that.

So, deduct an hour from the times I posted above, e.g., slack current May 8 outside the Eastern end of the C&D canal is 0520 EDT. And slack current at Cape May is 4 hours later at 0924 EDT. So, you really want to be underway from the canal by 0430 or earlier.

Re: Red #4 vs. #10, I agree with the previous poster: stay in deep water. It's really not that much further, and why worry about the shoals?

My mast height is 64', so I can't do the Cape May shortcut anyway. I believe the design height of mast on a P40 is 56' 6.5", plus antennas, so the shortcut may be denied you also.

Bill


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

It's looking like I need to go down the Delaware on Thursday if I want to get a good sleep. Oh well - sleep just ain't in the cards!  I need to be to NYC by Friday and in Albany by Monday - weather permitting of course.

That mast height sounds about right for what I estimated. I wasn't going to risk the Cape May canal without knowing my exact height.


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## ebs001 (May 8, 2006)

BTRAYFORS, I would think that Maptech uses EDT, the local time for Cape May, but I am surprised they don't use GMT to avoid confusion. Is GMT an option with Maptech?


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

I know I can set my Maptech Chart Nav Pro to any time zone, including GMT.


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## gershel (Feb 4, 2001)

Another good place to anchor after transiting the C & D . A few miles south to st'bd is Reedy Is. with a small well marked cut leading to the other side, with a decent anchorage. This has the advantage of being in the same direction you're heading, without having to back-track.

Marc


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## kptmorgan04 (Apr 10, 2007)

hey labatt. keep me posted on your trip. I am planning the exact same trip, but ending in Cape May about a month after you, so would appreciate any lessons learned along the way. I wont have a strict time line, so will probably do it in two days and anchor in Reedy Is. like gershel recommended. and I should have the advantage of being able to cut in the back way to cape may with a 50' air draft


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## btrayfors (Aug 25, 2006)

ebs001,

Yes, you can set Offshore Navigator to use GMT or whatever. But mine was set to AST (which is the same as EDT).

Bill


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

kptmorgan - I've heard (many many times) that cutting through the Cape May Canal is the way to go. The weather and wave action at the base of the Delaware is supposed to be pretty nasty and the canal and path through the harbor helps avoid a good portion of it.

I'll be taking plenty of notes along the way. I'll share with you what I have.

Chris


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

Can someone walk me through this again.. I must have taken stupid pills 

I'm at the Delaware City Marina. I want to round Cape May tomorrow (May 8, 2007) , and I would like to get as much of a push (or at least not have the current against us) as we're going down the Delaware River. 

In my Chart Navigator Pro, I show the tide turns to an ebb tide at Delaware city at 0622EST (back to flood 1329). I show the tide turns to ebb at the Delaware Bay entrance at 0400EST (back to flood at 1034). I'm thinking I have this reverse - leaving at 6am or so. Am I supposed to be measure floods and leaving then?

When is the optimum time to leave in the morning and how do I figure it out?

Thanks again!

Chris


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

labatt-

You can figure that slack tide will be about an hour before ebb-tide at 0622. If you leave at 0530 or so, you will have almost five hours of slack/ebb tide to make it out to Cape May.

However, I make it about 60 miles between the two... and I don't think you will be going 12 knots, even with the current with you. You should adjust your time so that you'll be fighting flood tide where ever the current is weakest... which is probably going to have you leaving around 0530 still... since it will probably be weaker at the mouth of the river, where the river is much wider. * Ideally, you should get to the bay entrance around slack tide, or just as it starts to ebb, since that will make your exiting the river the easiest... no tidal current fighting the river flow...
*_
I doubt you will want to get to the bay entrance at flood tide, since the tide and river will be fighting each other, and that can make for some very interesting and nasty chop to deal with. _


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Chris,
sailingdog has it right, leave about 5:30. You can't make it all the way without the tide turning against you but at least you'll be near the wider part of the bay when it does turn. Don't take that shortcut at Cape May point and you'll probably have a weak current running down the coast a bit when you do make the turn. Good luck.
Tom Shannon


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## kptmorgan04 (Apr 10, 2007)

camaraderie said:


> Position yourself to be at the Delaware side 1 hour before Full Flood tide.
> Start heading down the Bay and let the tide ebbing catch you and give you a lift down the bay. As I recall it is about a 10 hour trip so you can't avoid adverse tides but you can play around their ends rather than meet full flow going down the Bay.


Just want to make sure I am looking at this right as I am starting to plan my trip through the C&D Canal to Cape May on the 9th & 10th of June (I was planning on docking at Delaware City Marina the night of the 9th. The tidal predictions I am looking at for the DE side of the C&D Canal Entrance on the 10th show that Max Flood is at 0821, so I should plan on heading south from there around 7ish in the morning?
And is there any advantage/difference between hugging the Jersey or DE side on the way south?


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

KPT....You have it right. 7AM will be fine. I would just run outside the main ship channel buoys on the way down. Perhaps staying on whatever side of the channel was to leeward. Stay in deepest water once the tide changes as traffic permits. It will be a long day but at least you can make the inside bridge! Have fun!


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

Just make sure you monitor chan. 13. That's what all of the ships will be on. We went down the Delaware in the fog and navigated using charts bearings, compass, a little GPS and radar. We couldn't see a thing, but we could hear, feel, smell the ships less than 1/4 mile away. They could see us far in advance on radar and would call us on 13. We navigated the right side of the channel (the green side) for the 12 hour trip to Cape May (the long way around).


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Boat collision closes Chesapeake-Del. canal
Looks like you just made it through the c&d in time Labatt!!
What is it with boats hitting stuff in the last month or two??


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

I just saw the other thread on it... that's insane... someone wasn't paying attention.. I found the tugs don't seem to like non-commercial traffic and make you very aware of it on channel 13. My guess is the schooner wasn't monitoring its radio.


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