Friday, August 20, 1993 - Lewes, Delaware

We needed diesel before heading out into the Atlantic on our way to New York. Since we couldn't get to the fuel dock in Delaware City, Roy was thinking of going all the way back to Chesapeake City for it, but I suggested heading south to Lewes, which is right at the entrance to Delaware Bay. According to our reliable "Waterway Guide", Lewes has marinas and fuel docks, and is also an interesting historical town, having been a leading whaling port in the 1800's. Roy accepted my suggestion, and we headed south.
Thunderstorms were predicted for the evening, and the sky was cloudy all day. We were able to sail part of the way, but when we had to change course, the wind was against us, so we had to take in the sails.
Roy quickly found the problem with the VHF transmitter--the switch was stuck. He loosened it up, and now it works perfectly.
It was fifty miles to Lewes. We got there about 6:30 in the evening. Before entering the channel, I tried to call the Harbormaster on the VHF. There was no response, so I called any marina and then anyone who could give us information about the channel. The Coast Guard responded and said the channel was only about four feet deep at low tide, and it was low tide right then. So much for taking Jofian to the fuel dock. We anchored in ten feet of water near the entrance.
We needed a few groceries, so we paddled to town, which proved to be considerably farther than we had thought--maybe four miles up the river. There really was a marina, but it didn't look like much. We also found the fuel dock. The attendant assured us that we wouldn't have any problem getting in and out at high tide, so we'll try it tomorrow.
Took our Royaks up the town's launch ramp and walked half a mile or so to the grocery store, where we bought as much as we could carry. It was getting late, so we decided to eat supper at a small restaurant.
Just as we were finishing our meal, lightning started flashing, thunder boomed, and the rain came down in sheets. Before leaving the boat, I had closed the forward hatch, checked the portholes, and closed the cockpit curtain on the windward side, but even though we both knew thunderstorms were predicted, neither of us thought to take rain gear with us. We knew we'd get drenched and cold if we went out in that downpour, so we sat in the restaurant as long as we could, but it was nearly time for them to close. We explained our predicament to the waitress and asked for a couple of plastic trash bags to put over our heads. She was very nice and not only gave us the bags but drove us back to the launch ramp. By then the rain was letting up and the wind had died down, so we were able to paddle back to the Jofian without getting wet.