Slow Boat

Flying the American Canal Society Flag on a canal boat on the C and D canal.

Wheee!  This was the scene Wednesday on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  The tide was coming in and we boomed along at a bracing 8 mph!  Free ride!

You know we never miss a canal. And this is a VERY cool one!   Nearly 200 years old, and still one of the busiest in the world. It connects the Delaware Bay to Chesapeake Bay.

HISTORY: Waaay back in the mid-1600s, a mapmaker from Bohemia noticed that, if you cut a canal across the 14 miles from Chesapeake City (on Chesapeake Bay) to Delaware City (on Delaware Bay), you'd cut 300 miles off the sailing distance between Philly and Baltimore.

But you know how slowly governments move. Construction on the canal didn't start till 1804.  The original canal had 4 locks.  Teams of mules and horses towed vessels through, Erie Canal-style.

In the early 1900s the canal was made deeper, making a direct sea-level connection between the two bays and getting rid of the need for locks. That's why we're flying along: High tide on the Chesapeake is pushing us through!

Gotta go. My turn to steer. Great big container ships sometimes use this channel.  Could be fun. Check the SlowBoatCruise Facebook page for more photos.