Day 5- Delaware

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Our mantra for this trip is "We're not in a hurry".  That phrase tends to lull one into thinking of sleeping in, a leisurely breakfast, reading the news before casting off for the day. The reality is that departures are governed by the tides, so we were up at 5:15AM preparing to leave the dock. The inlet at Chincoteague has a very strong current, so departure had to be coordinated with the slack & outgoing tide  in order to have the current helping and not working against us.

We got away just fine. We even had "help" from a gentleman who was a former Merchant Marine and very obviously wished he was going with us instead of just to the coffee shop.  He threw me a couple dock lines that I could have easily managed, but, hey, if it made his day I'm very ok with that.

We ran the inlet with the commercial fishing boats.  They headed southeast, but we turned east and then north following the coast but far enough offshore that the coast was only a feature on the horizon.
The scenery out our window looks like this
Love it. Nobody else in sight.

In the afternoon the wind was just enough for us to motor sail with the big spinnaker flying.  As we closed in on the coast to make the entrance to Delaware Bay big thunderstorms were forming as the heavy wet air off the ocean went over the hot land. 
 We finished the day sailing just around Delaware's Cape Henlopen  dropping the anchor in a delightfully secure spot just behind the breakwater. We covered 70+ miles today, passing through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.

The state park at Cape Henlopen provided Shelby a place to stroll the beach.  Her amblings were cut short by the rapidly rising tide. We stood ankle deep in water that just moments before was dry sand 20 feet from the water.  We were never in any danger but delighted in the activities of ghost crabs and fish responding to the rising waters in their twice daily rituals. Shelby basked in the refreshing cool waters but only wading deep enough to wet her belly as is her habit.

The day closed with a cool breeze!  We sat  on the bow to enjoy the breeze and sunset and watch the dolphins feed. After dark we could hear them splashing about just  at the the stern. No moon meant we couldn't see them though. 

Shelby "helped" make dinner by sleeping in front of the stove in the galley. 

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