deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

[shebwilly]

hello i live near burlington/bristol bridge,i was reading about the deleware and it said that it runs down to cape may,does anyone know if its clear for boats all the way down there i think it would be neat to hop in the boat and go down for the weekend,also is there like a daily rental dock space....

 

[TBarCYa]

Re: deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

I know from Delran to Cape May is clear as my uncle made the trip a couple years ago and last year came up from Cape May to Camden for a weekend. As far as dockage, I've stayed at the Cape May Marina which is probably the closest to the DE Bay, you can also check Utchs' and Bree Zee Lee.

 

[shebwilly]

Re: deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

thanks alot tbarcya,about how long did it take and how much fuel,seems like it would be a fun trip for the weekend,oh by the way whos the woman in your avatar,looks pretty good for the thumbnail size image that i can see

 

[zopperman]

Re: deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

What a great idea! Might be worth taking the trip down! LEt me know how your trip goes.

 

[Philster]

Re: deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

Bree Zee Lee Marina has plenty of transients slips. Get Delaware River charts. Down near DE and the C/D Canal, there are some hidden sand bars. Although the channel is marked, I always hear sand bar stories.

Your wording concerns me. Anyone thinking of running from north of Philly to Cape May should know you are dealing with the Delaware River which empties into the Delaware Bay. Cape May is the southern end of New Jersey (The Cape) where the Delaware Bay meets the ocean. The Delaware Bay, to a boater, IS THE OCEAN. For sake of a map, it's a bay. To a boater, it is the ocean.

You aren't just 'hopping in the boat' and shooting down there. You need to know your stuff, plan, plan and plan. Experience in coastal waters is a requirement.

You should know your rivers, bays, and coastal waters. Navigation skills and ability to read charts is a must. .

.

Edit to add: It ain't 'neat'. I would suggest you launch closer to the DE Bay. Maybe haul the boat to the C and D Canal and make the run from there.
.

 

[pole position]

Re: deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

X2 for BZ Lee.Don't know what kind of boat you have but the Delaware Bay can get nasty in a hurry when the wind and tide are against each other.Been out there too many times when I should have went in sooner.Pick your day and have fun!

 

[TBarCYa]

Re: deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

thanks alot tbarcya,about how long did it take and how much fuel,seems like it would be a fun trip for the weekend,oh by the way whos the woman in your avatar,looks pretty good for the thumbnail size image that i can see

I wasn't part of the trip when my uncle did it but it was a very long cruise at his cruising speed of around 30kts. Don't know about the fuel either but I can ask him about both. He's in a 28' Bayliner with BravoII drive and his consumption is much different than mine. As everyone said, definitely get the charts and plan the trip well as there are obstacles along the way BUT since it's a shipping lane, you should be ok as long as you stay in the channel. Once you get down to Cape May, you will likely want to go into Cape May Harbor thru the jetties where the Cape May - Lewes ferry travels. That will keep you away from the "rips" at the mouth of the bay that can get nasty. It's also pretty nasty on the ocean side of the harbor at the end of the jetties.

The girl in the pic is my fiance, Susan. She's happy to play the part of "boat ornament" every chance she gets.

 

[rshenowski]

Re: deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

FWIW I routinely run the stretch from bordentown to philly, and in my 21' cuddy with 150hp Johnson ob i average about 2mpg (25mi each way, i burn about 25 gal in the round trip). Looking at the charts it looks like from the burl bridge to the cape may canal is about 100mi so my setup would require about 50 gal of fuel each way. Your mileage may vary (quite literally) but that's at least an idea.

I know that theres several places to stop between the bridge and the C&D canal which would be about your half way marker, however i think the facilities become more sparce on the southern end. If you do it take some pics and let us know how it goes.

 

[maxum2400sc]

Re: deleware river to cape may from burlington bristol bridge

I slip my 24' sport cuddy in Del. City. Last year I decided to cruise my boat from de city to bay side of Bethany beach, DE. I planned the trip to have a following tide, as soon as we neared the nuclear plant, we started hitting 2' chop. The chop lasted the entire way down to Lewis. Around Lewis it was closer to 3' chop and once in the ocean we were riding 6' swells with almost no chop. I know the waterway pretty well; I planned using charts and Google earth. I stayed about 2-4 miles off the Delaware coast most of the way and had a hand chart to keep an eye out for some of those shoals. I think it was about 90 miles, it took about 3 hours and I used about 35-40 gallons of fuel. It was something I had always wanted to do, but wouldn?t do any time soon again. I towed the trailer to the beach the week before so I wouldn?t have to cruise back and I was thankful for that. It was a good onetime trip.